Abstract:The `special relationships' formed by Spain, France and Britain with their former colonies demonstrate that even ties initially based on political and economic domination transform the identities of both parties. In this study, we show how European post-colonial behavior in Africa, Asia and Latin America has been inspired by historically rooted subjective conceptions of national identity and norms of interstate community. We employ a constructivist approach to provide a generalizable, middle-range explanation … Show more
“…Constructivists also often assume a strong connection between culture at the mass-societal level and policymaking at the elite level. Research on identities and roles, for example, typically takes for granted that there is a single national identity or role that is shared between elites and masses (for example , Banchoff 1999;Duffield 1999;Brysk et al 2002;Catalinac 2007;McCourt 2011). 14 Some constructivists allow for a disconnect between elite and masses, but see cultural values and identities residing at the societal level and constraining elites (similar to some democratic peace explanations) from adopting foreign policies more commensurate with these states' power in the international system (for example , Berger 1998;Duffield 1999).…”
Over the last 25 years, there has been a noteworthy turn across major International Relations (IR) theories to include domestic politics and decision‐making factors. Neoclassical realism and variants of liberalism and constructivism, for example, have incorporated state motives, perceptions, domestic political institutions, public opinion, and political culture. These theoretical developments, however, have largely ignored decades of research in foreign policy analysis (FPA) examining how domestic political and decision‐making factors affect actors’ choices and policies. This continues the historical disconnect between FPA and “mainstream” IR, resulting in contemporary IR theories that are considerably underdeveloped. This article revisits the reasons for this separation and demonstrates the gaps between IR theory and FPA research. I argue that a distinct FPA perspective, one that is psychologically‐oriented and agent‐based, can serve as a complement, a competitor, and an integrating crucible for the cross‐theoretical turn toward domestic politics and decision making in IR theory.
“…Constructivists also often assume a strong connection between culture at the mass-societal level and policymaking at the elite level. Research on identities and roles, for example, typically takes for granted that there is a single national identity or role that is shared between elites and masses (for example , Banchoff 1999;Duffield 1999;Brysk et al 2002;Catalinac 2007;McCourt 2011). 14 Some constructivists allow for a disconnect between elite and masses, but see cultural values and identities residing at the societal level and constraining elites (similar to some democratic peace explanations) from adopting foreign policies more commensurate with these states' power in the international system (for example , Berger 1998;Duffield 1999).…”
Over the last 25 years, there has been a noteworthy turn across major International Relations (IR) theories to include domestic politics and decision‐making factors. Neoclassical realism and variants of liberalism and constructivism, for example, have incorporated state motives, perceptions, domestic political institutions, public opinion, and political culture. These theoretical developments, however, have largely ignored decades of research in foreign policy analysis (FPA) examining how domestic political and decision‐making factors affect actors’ choices and policies. This continues the historical disconnect between FPA and “mainstream” IR, resulting in contemporary IR theories that are considerably underdeveloped. This article revisits the reasons for this separation and demonstrates the gaps between IR theory and FPA research. I argue that a distinct FPA perspective, one that is psychologically‐oriented and agent‐based, can serve as a complement, a competitor, and an integrating crucible for the cross‐theoretical turn toward domestic politics and decision making in IR theory.
“…Jepperson et al. (1996:60), for instance, state that identities “both generate and shape interests,” because “actors often cannot decide what their interest are until they know what they are representing.” Other coincide with this view by using different variations of verbs, such as “underlie,”“shape,” and “imply,” as a function of identity toward interests (for instance, Hopf 2002:16; Brysk et al. 2002:269; Barnett 1999:6).…”
Section: State Identity and Foreign Poilcymentioning
confidence: 96%
“…Some works treat identity as a foundational concept for theorising constructivist approaches to IR (Jepperson, Wendt, and Katzenstein 1996; Weldes 1996; Wendt 1999). Others pursued empirical analyses with specific causal inferences centering on identity: how the identity of states shapes their interests (Banchoff 1999; Brysk, Parsons, and Sandholtz 2002; Lee 2006); how a change of national identity brings about a change in state policy (Berger 1996; Checkel 2001) and, consequently, a change in the international system (Koslowski and Kratochwill 1994; Hall 1999); how a state policy can be explained as way to deal with an identity crisis by its political leaders (Barnett 1999) or as a political practice to produce and maintain the state’s identity (Campbell 1992; Steele 2005); and how a state’s identity, together with its material power, influences foreign policy (Nau 2002).…”
Over the last decade, the international relations field witnessed a surge in literature dealing with the concept of identity, a trend that is likely to continue. At the same time, the multi‐directional focus of the current identity literature, together with the rather loose application of the term “identity”, leaves some observers sceptical about the validity and utility of identity as an analytical concept. With this backdrop, the article seeks to articulate an essential mechanism by which identity functions as a source of a state's foreign policy: A concept of state identity generates a specific value (a pro attitude toward a certain kind of action), which in turn determines a state's preference for a particular foreign policy option. This causal mechanism is then demonstrated by the empirical analysis of Japan's foreign policy toward post‐Cold War regional institution‐building. Further, by placing the identity mechanism within the value‐action framework of general foreign policy, the study raises concern about the conditions by which identity becomes a prominent factor, that is to say when identity matters. Along this line, the study highlights the context‐dependent and versatile natures of identity's function, and therefore, it cautions against overly deterministic approaches toward the role of identity in foreign policy and international relations.
“…As Brysk et al. argue, the use of familial language “constructs post‐colonial relationships as domestic, paternalistic and dedicated to reproduction” (, p. 270). Following the Brexit vote, Rosindell reiterated the argument for representation in regard to Gibraltar, his language drawing parallels between the territory and the devolved nations of the UK:I do not see any arguments why Gibraltar should not have its own Member of Parliament.…”
Section: Parliamentary Perceptions Of Overseas Territoriesmentioning
This article explores discussion of Britain's overseas territories in the UK Parliament. It provides quantitative and qualitative analyses of Hansard from the start of the Coalition Government in 2010 until the prorogation of Parliament in 2017, identifying dominant concerns regarding financial transparency, sovereignty disputes, and whether Parliament should legislate for the territories. The character of debate on the overseas territories suggests first that they occupy a particular and equivocal “space of concern” within the national legislature, and second that this attention often intersects and overlaps with a focus on other places and spatial scales in which concern for the overseas territories is sometimes secondary or subsumed. This discourse highlights uncertainty and questioning over the nature of the overseas territories’ relationship with the UK. The inclusion of the affairs of distant territories within national political discourse provides a rich and unique example of the disjunction between sovereignty, state and territory, and highlights the ongoing complexity and ambiguity of the UK's political geography.
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