Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T11:09:06.114Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Status of Status in World Politics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 March 2021

Paul K. MacDonald  and
Joseph M. Parent
Get access

Abstract

What is status? How does it work? What effects does it tend to have? A new wave of scholarship on status in international relations has converged on a central definition of status, several causal pathways, and the claim that the pursuit of status tends to produce conflict. The authors take stock of the status literature and argue that this convergence is not only a sign of progress, but also an obstacle to it. They find that the consensus definition conceals critical contradictions between standing and membership, that its causal pathways are promising but often in tension with each other, and that the literature may be overlooking the ways in which status can help states avoid conflict and promote cooperation under certain conditions.

Keywords

foreign policymembershippower politicsprestigerankrecognitionstandingstatus
Type
Review Article
Information
World Politics , Volume 73 , Issue 2 , April 2021 , pp. 358 - 391
Copyright
Copyright © Trustees of Princeton University 2021

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-Nissen, Rebecca. 2014. “Stigma Management in International Relations: Transgressive Identities, Norms, and Order in International Society.” International Organization 68, no. 1: 143–76. At https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020818313000337.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barnhart, Joslyn. 2016. “Status Competition and Territorial Aggression: Evidence from the Scramble for Africa.” Security Studies 25, no. 3: 385–419. At https://doi.org/10.1080/09636412.2016.1195620.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barnhart, Joslyn. 2017. “Humiliation and Third-Party Aggression.” World Politics 69, no. 3 (July): 532–68. At https://doi.org/10.1017/S0043887117000028.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barnhart, Joslyn. 2020. The Consequences of Humiliation: Anger and Status in World Politics. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, Rupert. 2000. “Social Identity Theory: Past Achievements, Current Problems, and Future Challenges.” European Journal of Social Psychology 30, no. 6: 745–78. At https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1002/1099-0992(200011/12)30:6%3C745:AID-EJSP24%3E3.0.CO;2-O.3.0.CO;2-O>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Butt, Ahsan I. 2019. “Why Did the United States Invade Iraq in 2003?” Security Studies 28, no. 2: 250–85. At https://doi.org/10.1080/09636412.2019.1551567.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carranza, Mario E. 2014. “Rising Regional Powers and International Relations Theories: Comparing Brazil and India’s Foreign Security Policies and Their Search for Great-Power Status.” Foreign Policy Analysis 13, no. 2: 255–77. At https://doi.org/10.1111/fpa.12065.Google Scholar
Charoenvattananukul, Peera. 2020. Ontological Security and Status-Seeking: Thailand’s Proactive Behaviours during the Second World War. New York, N.Y.: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cline, Kirssa, Rhamey, Patrick, Henshaw, Alexis, Sedziaka, Alesia, Tandon, Aakriti, and Volgy, Thomas J.. 2011. “Identifying Regional Powers and Their Status.” In Volgy, Thomas J., Renato, Corbetta, Grant, Keith A., and Baird, Ryan G., eds., Major Powers and the Quest for Status in International Politics. New York, N.Y.: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Coggins, Bridget. 2014. Power Politics and State Formation in the Twentieth Century: The Dynamics of Recognition. New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cooley, Alexander, and Snyder, Jack, eds. 2015. Ranking the World: Grading States as a Tool of Global Governance. New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dafoe, Allan, Renshon, Jonathan, and Huth, Paul. 2014. “Reputation and Status as Motives for War.” Annual Review of Political Science 17, no. 1: 371–93. At https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-071112-213421.Google Scholar
de Carvalho, Benjamin, and Neumann, Iver B., eds. 2014. Small States and Status Seeking: Norway’s Quest for International Standing. New York, N.Y.: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deng, Yong. 2008. China’s Struggle for Status: The Realignment of International Relations. New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Destradi, Sandra, and Johannes, Plagemann. 2019. “Populism and International Relations: (Un)predictability, Personalisation, and the Reinforcement of Existing Trends in World Politics.” Review of International Studies 45, no. 5: 711–30. At https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210519000184.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Drezner, Daniel W. 2020. The Toddler in Chief: What Donald Trump Teaches Us about the Modern Presidency. Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duque, Marina G. 2018. “Recognizing International Status: A Relational Approach.” International Studies Quarterly 62, no. 3: 577–92. At https://doi.org/10.1093/isq/sqy001.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellemers, Naomi, and Alexander Haslam, S.. 2012. “Social Identity Theory.” In Van Lange, Paul A. M., Kruglanski, Arie W., and Tory Higgins, E., eds, Handbook of Theories of Social Psychology. London, UK: SAGE Publications: 379-98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evans, M. D. R., and Jonathan, Kelley. 2002. “National Pride in the Developed World: Survey Data from 24 Nations.” International Journal of Public Opinion Research 14, no. 3: 303–38. At https://doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/14.3.303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fordham, Benjamin O. 2011. “Who Wants to Be a Major Power? Explaining the Expansion of Foreign Policy Ambition.” Journal of Peace Research 48, no. 5: 587–603. At https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0022343311411959.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Getachew, Adom. 2019. Worldmaking after Empire: The Rise and Fall of Self-Determination. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Gilady, Lilach. 2018. The Price of Prestige: Conspicuous Consumption in International Relations. Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Gilpin, Robert. 1983. War and Change in World Politics. New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Goddard, Stacie E. 2018. When Right Makes Might: Rising Powers and World Order. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Götz, Elias. 2019. “Strategic Imperatives, Status Aspirations, or Domestic Interests? Explaining Russia’s Nuclear Weapons Policy.” International Politics 56, no. 6: 810–27. At https://doi.org/10.1057/s41311-018-0168-7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Graz, Jean-Christophe. 2003. “How Powerful Are Transnational Elite Clubs? The Social Myth of the World Economic Forum.” New Political Economy 8, no. 3: 321–40. At https://doi.org/10.1080/1356346032000138041.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greve, Andrew Q., and Levy, Jack S.. 2018. “Power Transitions, Status Dissatisfaction, and War: The Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895.” Security Studies 27, no. 1: 148–78. At https://doi.org/10.1080/09636412.2017.1360078.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grey, Edward. 1908. “Memorandum (31 July)”. In Gooch, G. P. and Temperley, H. W. V., eds., British Documents on the Origins of the War 1898—1914, vol. 6, appendix 3. London, UK: His Majesty’s Stationary Office.Google Scholar
Hafner-Burton, Emilie M., and Montgomery, Alexander H.. 2006. “Power Positions: International Organizations, Social Networks, and Conflict.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 50, no. 1: 3–27. At https://doi.org/10.1177%2F002200270 5281669.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hall, Todd H. 2017. “On Provocation: Outrage, International Relations, and the Franco-Prussian War.” Security Studies 26, no. 1: 1–29. At https://doi.org/10.1080/09636412.2017.1243897.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heimann, Gadi. 2015. “What Does It Take to Be a Great Power? The Story of France Joining the Big Five.” Review of International Studies 41, no. 1: 185–206. At https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210514000126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huddy, Leonie. 2001. “From Social to Political Identity: A Critical Examination of Social Identity Theory.” Political Psychology 22, no. 1: 127–56. At https://doi.org/10.1111/0162-895X.00230.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hymans, Jacques E. C. 2002. “Applying Social Identity Theory to the Study of International Politics: A Caution and an Agenda.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Studies Association, New Orleans, March 24–27.Google Scholar
Johnson, Dominic D. P., and Dominic Tierney. 2006. Failing to Win: Perceptions of Victory and Defeat in International Politics. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnston, Alastair Iain. 2008. Social States: China in International Institutions, 1980—2000. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karim, Moch Faisal. 2018. “Middle Power, Status-Seeking and Role Conceptions: The Cases of Indonesia and South Korea.” Australian Journal of International Affairs 72, no. 4: 343–63. At https://doi.org/10.1080/10357718.2018.1443428.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keohane, Robert O. 2010. “The Economy of Esteem and Climate Change.” St. Anthony’s International Review 5, no. 2: 16–28. Kruck, Andreas, and Bernhard Zangl. 2019. “Trading Privileges for Support: The Strategic Co-optation of Emerging Powers into International Institutions.” International Theory 11, no. 3: 318–43. At https://doi.org/10.1017/S1752971919000101.Google Scholar
Lake, David A. 1993. “Leadership, Hegemony, and the International Economy: Naked Emperor or Tattered Monarch with Potential?” International Studies Quarterly 37, no. 4: 459–89. At https://doi.org/10.2307/2600841.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lake, David A. 2009. Hierarchy in International Relations. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Lake, David A. 2014. “Status, Authority, and the End of the American Century.” In Paul, T. V., Deborah Welch, Larson, and Wohlforth, William C., eds., Status in World Politics, 246-70. New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lamont, Michele, Guetzkow, Joshua A., Herzog, Hanna, da Silva, Graziella Moraes Dias, Mizrachi, Nissim, Reis, Elisa Pereira, and Welburn, Jessica S., eds. 2016. Getting Respect: Responding to Stigma and Discrimination in the United States, Brazil, and Israel. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Larson, Deborah Welch, Paul, T. V., and Wohlforth, William C.. 2014. “Status and World Order.” In Paul, T. V., Larson, Deborah Welch, and Wohlforth, William C., eds., Status in World Politics. New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Larson, Deborah Welch, and Alexei, Shevchenko. 2019. Quest for Status: Chinese and Russian Foreign Policy. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Lebow, Richard Ned. 2010. Why Nations Fight: Past and Future Motives for War. New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lind, Jennifer M. 2010. Sorry States: Apologies in International Politics. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Lipscy, Phillip Y. 2017. Renegotiating the World Order: Institutional Change in International Relations. New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacDonald, Paul K., and Parent, Joseph M.. 2018. Twilight of the Titans: Great Power Decline and Retrenchment. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
McDonald, Patrick J. 2015. “Great Powers, Hierarchy, and Endogenous Regimes: Rethinking the Domestic Causes of Peace.” International Organization 69, no. 3: 557–88. At https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020818315000120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mercer, Jonathan. 2017. “The Illusion of International Prestige.” International Security 41, no. 4: 133–68. At https://doi.org/10.1162/ISEC_a_00276.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, Jennifer L., Jacob, Cramer, Volgy, Thomas J., Paul, Bezerra, Megan, Hauser, and Christina, Sciabarra. 2015. “Norms, Behavioral Compliance, and Status Attribution in International Politics.” International Interactions 41, no. 5: 779–804. At https://doi.org/10.1080/03050629.2015.1037709.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, Manjari Chatterjee. 2014. Wronged by Empire: Post-Imperial Ideology and Foreign Policy in India and China. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Murray, Michelle K. 2019. The Struggle for Recognition in International Relations: Status, Revisionism, and Rising Powers. New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Nolte, Detlef. 2010. “How to Compare Regional Powers: Analytical Concepts and Research Topics.” Review of International Studies 36, no. 4: 881–901. At https://doi.org/10.1017/S026021051000135X.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Onea, Tudor A. 2014. “Between Dominance and Decline: Status Anxiety and Great Power Rivalry.” Review of International Studies 40, no. 1: 125–52. At https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210512000563.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paul, T. V. 2016. “The Accommodation of Rising Powers in World Politics.” In Paul, T. V., ed., Accommodating Rising Powers. New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Petersen, Roger Dale. 2002. Understanding Ethnic Violence: Fear, Hatred, and Resentment in Twentieth-Century Eastern Europe. New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pew Research Center. 2019. “Views of the Balance of Power between U.S. and China.” December 5. At https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2019/12/05/views-of-the-balance-of-power-between-u-s-and-china-2019/.Google Scholar
Pouliot, Vincent. 2016. International Pecking Orders: The Politics and Practice of Multilateral Diplomacy. New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pu, Xiaoyu. 2019. Rebranding China: Contested Status Signaling in the Changing Global Order. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Putin, Vladimir. 2014. “Address by President of the Russian Federation.” March 18. At http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/20603.Google Scholar
Renshon, Jonathan. 2017. Fighting for Status: Hierarchy and Conflict in World Politics. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Ringmar, Erik. 2014. “International Politics of Recognition.” In Erik, Ringmar and Thomas, Lindemann, eds., The International Politics of Recognition. New York, N.Y.: Paradigm.Google Scholar
Röhl, John C. G. 2015. Young Wilhelm: The Kaiser’s Early Life, 1859—1888. New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Røren, Pål, and Beaumont, Paul. 2019. “Grading Greatness: Evaluating the Status Performance of the BRICS.” Third World Quarterly 40, no. 3: 429–50. At https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2018.1535892.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rüger, Jan. 2011. “Revisiting the Anglo-German Antagonism.” Journal of Modern History 83, no. 3: 579–617. At https://doi.org/10.1086/660841.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sambanis, Nicholas, Skaperdas, Stergios, and Wohlforth, William C.. 2015. “Nation-Building through War.” American Political Science Review 109, no. 2: 279–96. At https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055415000088.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saurette, Paul. 2006. “You Dissin me? Humiliation and Post 9/11 Global Politics.” Review of International Studies 32, no. 3: 495–522. At https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210506007133.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simmons, Beth A., and Elkins, Zachary. 2004. “The Globalization of Liberalization: Policy Diffusion in the International Political Economy.” American Political Science Review 98, no. 1: 171–89. At https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055404001078.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snyder, Jack L. 1991. Myths of Empire: Domestic Politics and International Ambition. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Solt, Frederick. 2011. “Diversionary Nationalism: Economic Inequality and the Formation of National Pride.” Journal of Politics 73, no. 3: 821–30. At https://doi.org/10.1017/S002238161100048X.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Suzuki, Shogo. 2008. “Seeking ‘Legitimate’ Great Power Status in Post-Cold War International Society: China’s and Japan’s Participation in UNPKO.” International Relations 22, no. 1: 45–63. At https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0047117807087242.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thompson, William R. 2014. “Status Conflict, Hierarchies, and Interpretation Dilemmas.” In Paul, T. V., Deborah Welch, Larson, and Wohlforth, William C., eds., Status in World Politics. New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Trager, Robert F. 2017. Diplomacy: Communication and the Origins of International Order. New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trump, Donald J. 2018. “Remarks by President Trump to the 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly.” September 25. At https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-73rd-session-united-nations-general-assembly-new-york-ny/.Google Scholar
Turner, John C., and Reynolds, Katherine J.. 2003. “Why Social Dominance Theory Has Been Falsified.” British Journal of Social Psychology 42, no. 2: 199–206. At https://doi.org/10.1348/014466603322127184.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Volgy, Thomas J., Renato, Corbetta, Grant, Keith A., and Baird, Ryan G.. 2011. “Major Power Status in International Politics.” In Volgy, Thomas J., Renato, Corbetta, Grant, Keith A., and Baird, Ryan G., eds., Major Powers and the Quest for Status in International Politics. New York, N.Y.: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Volgy, Thomas J., Corbetta, Renato, Patrick Rhamey, J., Baird, Ryan G., and Grant, Keith A.. 2014. “Status Considerations in International Politics and the Rise of Regional Powers.” In Paul, T. V., Deborah Welch, Larson, and Wohlforth, William C., eds., Status in World Politics. New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Volgy, Thomas J., and Mayhall, Stacey. 1995. “Status Inconsistency and International War: Exploring the Effects of Systemic Change.” International Studies Quarterly 39, no. 1: 67–84. At https://doi.org/10.2307/2600724.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ward, Steven Michael. 2017a. “Lost in Translation: Social Identity Theory and the Study of Status in World Politics.” International Studies Quarterly 61, no. 4: 821–34. At https://doi.org/10.1093/isq/sqx042.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ward, Steven. 2017b. Status and the Challenge of Rising Powers. New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ward, Steven. 2020. “Status, Stratified Rights, and Accommodation in International Relations.” Journal of Global Security Studies 5, no. 1: 160–78. At https:// doi.org/10.1093/jogss/ogz014.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wimmer, Andreas. 2018. Nation Building: Why Some Countries Come Together While Others Fall Apart. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Wohlforth, William C. 1993. The Elusive Balance: Power and Perceptions during the Cold War. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wohlforth, William C. 2009. “Unipolarity, Status Competition, and Great Power War.” World Politics 61, no. 1 (January): 28–57. At https://doi.org/10.1017/S0043887109000021.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wohlforth, William C. 2014. “Status Dilemmas and Interstate Conflict.” In Paul, T. V., Deborah Welch, Larson, and Wohlforth, William C., eds., Status in World Politics. New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Wohlforth, William C. 2019. “Introduction to H-Diplo/ISSF Roundtable 1027 on Steven Ward ‘Status and the Challenge of Rising Powers’.” H-Diplo/ISSF Roundtable X, no. 27. At https://issforum.org/ISSF/PDF/ISSF-Roundtable-10-27.pdf.Google Scholar
Wohlforth, William C., Benjamin, de Carvalho, Halvard, Leira, and Neumann, Iver B.. 2018. “Moral Authority and Status in International Relations: Good States and the Social Dimension of Status Seeking.” Review of International Studies 44, no. 3: 526–46. At https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210517000560.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolf, Reinhard. 2011. “Respect and Disrespect in International Politics: The Significance of Status Recognition.” International Theory 3, no. 1: 105–42. At https://doi.org/10.1017/S1752971910000308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolf, Reinhard. 2014. “Rising Powers, Status Ambitions, and the Need to Reassure: What China Could Learn from Imperial Germany’s Failures.” Chinese Journal of International Politics 7, no. 2: 185–219. At https://doi.org/10.1093/cjip/pou029.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Xi, Jinping. 2019. “Speech at the Reception in Celebration of the 70th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China.” September 30. At https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/wjdt_665385/zyjh_665391/t1704400.shtml.Google Scholar
Zarakol, Ayşe. 2011. After Defeat: How the East Learned to Live with the West. New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar