Theorizing emotions in world politics
Top Cited Papers
- 9 October 2014
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in International Theory
- Vol. 6 (3), 491-514
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s1752971914000232
Abstract
Emotions play an increasingly important role in international relations research. This essay briefly surveys the development of the respective debates and then offers a path forward. The key challenge, we argue, is to theorize the processes through which individual emotions become collective and political. We further suggest that this is done best by exploring insights from two seemingly incompatible scholarly tendencies: macro theoretical approaches that develop generalizable propositions about political emotions and, in contrast, micro approaches that investigate how specific emotions function in specific circumstances. Applying this framework we then identify four realms that are central to appreciating the political significance of emotions: (1) the importance of definitions; (2) the role of the body; (3) questions of representation; and (4) the intertwining of emotions and power. Taken together, these building blocks reveal how emotions permeate world politics in complex and interwoven ways and also, once taken seriously, challenge many entrenched assumptions of international relations scholarship.Keywords
This publication has 68 references indexed in Scilit:
- Emotional States from Affective DynamicsEmotion Review, 2013
- Realism, emotion, and dynamic allegiances in global politicsInternational Theory, 2013
- Truly Enactive EmotionEmotion Review, 2012
- Human Nature and World Politics: Rethinking `Man'International Relations, 2009
- A Clash of Emotions: The Politics of Humiliation and Political Violence in the Middle EastEuropean Journal of International Relations, 2009
- Revenge in International PoliticsSecurity Studies, 2008
- Fear no more: emotions and world politicsReview of International Studies, 2008
- Human nature and the first image: emotion in international politicsJournal of International Relations and Development, 2006
- Rationality and Psychology in International PoliticsInternational Organization, 2005
- The Passion of World Politics: Propositions on Emotion and Emotional RelationshipsInternational Security, 2000