Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T23:45:01.273Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Collective Identity Formation and the International State

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2013

Alexander Wendt
Alexander Wendt
Affiliation:
Yale University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The neorealist-neoliberal debate about the possibilities for collective action in international relations has been based on a shared commitment to Mancur Olson's rationalist definition of the problem as one of getting exogenously given egoists to cooperate. Treating this assumption as a de facto hypothesis about world politics, I articulate the rival claim that interaction at the systemic level changes state identities and interests. The causes of state egoism do not justify always treating it as given. Insights from critical international relations and integration theories suggest how collective identity among states could emerge endogenously at the systemic level. Such a process would generate cooperation that neither neorealists nor neoliberals expect and help transform systemic anarchy into an “international state”—a transnational structure of political authority that might undermine territorial democracy. I show how broadening systemic theory beyond rationalist concerns can help it to explain structural change in world politics.

Type
Articles
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 88 , Issue 2 , June 1994 , pp. 384 - 396
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 1994

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adler, Emanuel. 1991. “Cognitive Evolution.” In Progress in Postwar International Relations, ed. Adler, Emanuel and Crawford, Beverly. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Alker, Hayward. N.d. “The Presumption of Anarchy in World Politics.” Rediscoveries and Reformulations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Forthcoming.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, Benedict. 1983. Imagined Communities. London: Verso.Google Scholar
Ashley, Richard. 1987. “The Geopolitics of Geopolitical Space.” Alternatives 12:403–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ashley, Richard. 1988. “Untying the Sovereign State: A Double Reading of the Anarchy Problématique.” Millennium 17:227–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Axelrod, Robert. 1984. The Evolution of Cooperation. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Baldwin, David, ed. 1993. Neorealism and Neoliberalism. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Benjamin, Roger, and Duvall, Raymond. 1985. “The Capitalist State in Context.” In The Democratic State, ed. Benjamin, Roger and Elkin, Stephen L.. Lawrence: University of Kansas Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berger, Peter, and Luckmann, Thomas. 1966. The Social Construction of Reality. New York: Anchor Books.Google Scholar
Brewer, Marilynn. 1991. “The Social Self: On Being the Same and Different at the Same Time.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 17:475–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bull, Hedley. 1977. The Anarchical Society. New York: Columbia University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buzan, Barry. 1993. “From International System to International Society.” International Organization 47:327–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Calhoun, Craig. 1991. “The Problem of Identity in Collective Action.” In Macro-Micro Linkages in Sociology, ed. Huber, Joan. Beverly Hills: Sage.Google Scholar
Caporael, Linnda, Dawes, Robyn, Orbell, John, and Kragt, Alphonse J.C. van de. 1989. “Selfishness Examined: Cooperation in the Absence of Egoistic Incentives.” Behavioral and Brain Sciences 12:683–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caporaso, James. 1992. “International Relations Theory and Multilateralism: The Search for Foundations.” International Organization 46:599–632.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chafetz, Glenn. 1993. “The Psychology of Nonproliferation.” University of Georgia. Typescript.Google Scholar
Chase, Jonathon. 1992. “The Self and Collective Action: Dilemmatic Identities.” In Social Psychology of Identity and the Self Concept, ed. Breakwell, G.. Surrey University Press.Google Scholar
Cohen, Michael, and Axelrod, Robert. 1984. “Coping with Complexity: The Adaptive Value of Changing Utility.” American Economic Review 74(1):30–42.Google Scholar
Connolly, William. 1991. “Democracy and Territoriality.” Millennium 20:463–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cox, Robert. 1987. Production, Power, and World Order. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Dahl, Robert. 1993. “System Effectiveness Versus Citizen Effectiveness.” Yale University. Typescript.Google Scholar
Dawes, Robyn, Kragt, Alphons J. C. van de, and Orbell, John. 1990. “Cooperation for the Benefit of Us—Not Me, or My Conscience.” In Beyond Self-interest, ed. Mansbridge, J.. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Den Boer, Monica, and Walker, Neil. 1993. “European Policing after 1992.” Journal of Common Market Studies 31:3–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deudney, Daniel. 1993. “Dividing Realism: Structural Realism Versus Security Materialism on Nuclear Security and Proliferation.” Security Studies 2:7–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deutsch, Karl et al. , 1957. Political Community and the North Atlantic Area. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Douglas, Mary. 1986. How Institutions Think. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.Google Scholar
Duvall, Raymond, and Wendt, Alexander. 1987. “The International Capital Regime and the Internationalization of the State.” University of Minnesota. Typescript.Google Scholar
Ferguson, Yale, and Mansbach, Richard. 1991. “Between Celebration and Despair: Constructive Suggestions for Future International Theory.” International Studies Quarterly 35:363–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gaertner, Samuel, Davidio, John, Anastasio, Phyllis, Bachman, Betty, and Rust, Mary. 1993. “The Common Ingroup Identity Model.” In European Review of Social Psychology 4:1–26. Ed. Stroebe, W. and Hewstone, M.. New York: John Wiley and Sons.Google Scholar
Gamson, William. 1992. “The Social Psychology of Collective Action.” In Frontiers in Social Movement Theory, ed. Morris, A. and Mueller, C.. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Geser, Hans. 1992. “Towards an Interaction Theory of Organizational Actors.” Organization Studies 13:429–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goffman, Erving. 1959. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. New York: Anchor Books.Google Scholar
Green, Donald, and Shapiro, Ian. 1994. Pathologies of Rational Choice Theory. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Hall, Stuart. 1986. “The Problem of Ideology—Marxism without Guarantees.” Journal of Communication Inquiry 10:28–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Held, David. 1990. “Democracy, the Nation-State, and the Global System.” Economy and Socidy 20:138–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hopkins, Raymond. 1978. “Global Management Networks: The Internationalization of Domestic Bureaucracies.” International Social Science Journal 30:31–46.Google Scholar
Hurrell, Andrew. 1990. “Kant and the Kantian Paradigm in International Relations.” Review of International Studies 16:183–205.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ikenberry, John, and Kupchan, Charles. 1990. “Socialization and Hegemonic Power.” International Organization 44:283–315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jackson, Robert, and Rosberg, Carl. 1982. “Why Africa's Weak States Persist: The Empirical and the Juridical in Statehood.” World Politics 35:1–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jencks, Christopher. 1990. “Varieties of Altruism.” In Beyond Self-Interest, ed. Mansbridge, J.. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Jervis, Robert. 1978. “Cooperation under the Security Dilemma.” World Politics 30:167–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jervis, Robert. 1988. “Realism, Game Theory, and Cooperation.” World Politics 40:317–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, James. 1988. “Symbolic Action and the Limits of Strategic Rationality.” In Political Power and Social Theory, vol. 7, ed. Zeitlin, M.. Greenwich: JAI.Google Scholar
Kaiser, Karl. 1971. “Transnational Relations as a Threat to the Democratic Process.” In Transnational Relations and World Politics, ed. Keohane, Robert and Nye, Joseph. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Katzenstein, Peter. 1990. “Analyzing Change in International Politics: The New Institutionalism and the Interpretative Approach.” Cornell University. Typescript.Google Scholar
Keohane, Robert. 1984. After Hegemony. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Keohane, Robert. 1988. “International Institutions: Two Approaches.” International Studies Quarterly 32:379–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keohane, Robert, and Hoffmann, Stanley. 1991. “Institutional Change in Europe in the 1980s.” In The New European Community, ed. Keohane, Robert and Hoffmann, Stanley. Boulder: Westview.Google Scholar
Keohane, Robert, and Nye, Joseph. 1977. Power and Interdependence. Glenview: Scott, Foresman.Google Scholar
Kratochwil, Friedrich. 1989. Rules, Norms, and Decisions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lasswell, Harold. 1972. “Future Systems of Identity in the World Community.” In The Future of the International Legal Order, vol. 4, ed. Black, Cyril E. and Falk, Richard A.. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Legro, Jeffrey. 1993. “Preferences and International Cooperation.” Presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Washington.Google Scholar
Leplin, Jarrett. 1988. “Is Essentialism Unscientific?” Philosophy of Science 55:493–510.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Linklater, Andrew. 1990. “The Problem of Community in International Relations.” Alternatives 15:135–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lukes, Steven. 1974. Power: A Radical View. London: MacMillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lumsdaine, David. 1993. Moral Vision in International Politics. Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCall, G., and Simmons, J.. 1978. Identities and Interactions. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Mead, George Herbert. 1934. Mind, Self, and Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Melucci, Alberto. 1989. Nomads of the Present. London: Hutchinson.Google Scholar
Mercer, Jonathon. 1993. “Anarchy, Self-Help, and Relative Gains.” Stanford University. Typescript.Google Scholar
Milner, Helen. 1991. “The Assumption of Anarchy in International Relations Theory: A Critique.” Review of International Studies 17:67–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moravcsik, Andrew. 1992. “Liberalism and International Relations Theory.” Harvard University Center for International Affairs. Typescript.Google Scholar
Morris, Aldon, and Mueller, Carol McClura, eds. 1992. Frontiers in Social Movement Theory. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Nau, Henry. 1993. “Identity and International Politics.” Presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Washington.Google Scholar
Nye, Joseph. 1987. “Nuclear Learning and U.S.-Soviet Security Regimes.” International Organization 41:371–402.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oldenquist, Andrew. 1982. “Loyalties.” Journal of Philosophy 79:173–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olson, Mancur. 1965. The Logic of Collective Action. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pasic, Amir. 1993. “The Role of Authority in International Relations Theory.” Presented at the Northeast International Studies Association meeting, Newark.Google Scholar
Picciotto, Sol. 1991. “The Internationalization of the State.” Capital and Class 43:43–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plotke, David. 1992. “Political Judgment, Identities, and Collective Action.” New School for Social Research. Typescript.Google Scholar
Pogge, Thomas. 1992. “Cosmopolitanism and Sovereignty.” Ethics 103:48–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Risse-Kappen, Thomas. 1991. “Cooperation among Democracies: Alliance Norms and the European Influence on U.S. Foreign Policy.” Yale University. Typescript.Google Scholar
Rosenau, James, and Czempiel, Ernst-Otto, eds. 1992. Governance without Government: Order and Change in World Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenberg, Morris. 1981. “The Self-Concept: Social Product and Social Force.” In Social Psychology, ed. Rosenberg, M. and Turner, R.. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Ruggie, John. 1983a. “Continuity and Transformation in the World Polity: Toward a Neorealist Synthesis.” World Politics 35:261–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ruggie, John. 1983b. “International Regimes, Transactions, and Change: Embedded Liberalism in the Postwar Economic Order.” In International Regimes, ed. Krasner, Stephen D.. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Ruggie, John. 1993a. “Multilateralism: Anatomy of an Institution.” International Organization 46:561–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ruggie, John. 1993b. “Territoriality and Beyond: Problematiz-ing Modernity in International Relations.” International Organization 47:139–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Russett, Bruce. 1963. Community and Contention. Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press.Google Scholar
Russett, Bruce, and Sullivan, John. 1971. “Collective Goods and International Organization.” International Organization 25:845–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schroeder, Paul. 1993. “The Transformation of Political Thinking, 1787–1848.” In Coping with Complexity in the International System, ed. Jervis, Robert. Boulder: Westview.Google Scholar
Schwalbe, Michael. 1991. “The Autogenesis of the Self.” Journal for the Theory of Social Behavior 21:269–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sen, Amartya. 1985. “Goals, Commitment, and Identity.” Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization 1:341–55.Google Scholar
Shapiro, Ian, and Wendt, Alexander. 1992. “The Difference That Realism Makes: Social Science and the Politics of Consent. Politics and Society 20:197–223.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shorter, John. 1990. “Social Individuality Versus Possessive Individualism.” In Deconstructing Social Psychology, ed. Parker, Ian and Shotter, John. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Smith, Anthony. 1992. “National Identity and the Idea of European Unity.” International Affairs 68:55–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stein, Arthur. 1983. “Coordination and Collaboration: Regimes in an Anarchic World.” In International Regimes, ed. Krasner, S.. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Stigler, George, and Becker, Gary. 1977. “De Gustibus Non Est Disputandum.” American Economic Review 67(2):76–90.Google Scholar
Strang, David. 1991. “Anomaly and Commonplace in European Expansion: Realist and Institutional Accounts.” International Organization 45:143–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, Michael, and Singleton, Sara. 1993. “The Communal Resource: Transaction Costs and the Solution of Collective Action Problems.” Politics and Society 21:195–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, Paul. 1991. “The European Community and the State.” Review of international Studies 17:109–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turner, Jonathon. 1988. A Theory of Social Interaction. Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Walker, R. B. J. 1990. “Sovereignty, Identity, Community.” In Contending Sovereignties, ed. Walker, R. B. J. and Mendlovitz, S.. Boulder: Lynne Rienner.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walker, R. B. J. 1991. “On the Spatiotemporal Conditions of Democratic Practice.” Alternatives 16:243–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walker, Stephen, ed. 1987. Role Theory and Foreign Policy Analysis. Durham: Duke University Press.Google Scholar
Walt, Stephen. 1987. The Origins of Alliances. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Waltz, Kenneth. 1979. Theory of International Politics. Boston: Addison-Wesley.Google Scholar
Wartenberg, Thomas. 1991. “Social Movements and Individual Identity.” Philosophical Forum 22:362–82.Google Scholar
Weides, Jutta. 1993. “Constructing National Interests: The Logic of U.S. National Security in the Postwar Era.” Ph.D. Diss., University of Minnesota.Google Scholar
Wendt, Alexander. 1987. “The Agent-Structure Problem in International Relations Theory.” International Organization 41:335–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wendt, Alexander. 1992. “Anarchy Is What States Make of It: The Social Construction of Power Politics.” International Organization 46:395–421.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wendt, Alexander. N.d. Social Theory of International Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Forthcoming.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wendt, Alexander, and Barnett, Michael. 1993. “Dependent State Formation and Third World Militarization.” Review of International Studies 19:321–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williams, Shirley. 1991. “Sovereignty and Accountability in the European Community.” In The New European Community, ed. Keohane, Robert and Hoffmann, Stanley. Boulder: Westview.Google Scholar
Wolfe, Alan. 1992. “Democracy Versus Sociology: Boundaries and Their Political Consequences.” In Cultivating Differences, ed. Lamont, Michele and Foumier, Marcel. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.