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‘Identity’ in International Relations and Foreign Policy Theory

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Theorizing Foreign Policy in a Globalized World

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in International Relations Series ((PSIR))

Abstract

Quoting George Orwell, Frederick Cooper and Roger Brubaker once suggested that instead of elaborating alternative and better suited analytical concepts for social inquiry,1 the social sciences and the humanities have ‘surrendered’ to the word ‘identity’ — ‘the worst thing one could do with words’ (Brubaker and Cooper, 2000, 1).2 Indeed, the growing interest in this concept in social science in general, but also in International Relations (IR) and Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA) in particular, has not led to a substantial clarification about the relevance of identity in contemporary (international) politics. Considering the significant proliferation of conceptualizations, it even seems as though the field now amounts to ‘definitional anarchy’ (Abdelal et al., 2006, 695), apparently depriving the concept of any analytical advantage. Nonetheless, identity-based theoretical explanations of foreign policy and international relations have continued to gain popularity, even across fairly different paradigms and schools.

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Authors
  1. Ursula Stark Urrestarazu
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany

    Gunther Hellmann (Professor of Political Science) (Professor of Political Science)

  2. Aarhus University, Denmark

    Knud Erik Jørgensen (Professor of International Relations) (Professor of International Relations)

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© 2015 Ursula Stark Urrestarazu

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Urrestarazu, U.S. (2015). ‘Identity’ in International Relations and Foreign Policy Theory. In: Hellmann, G., Jørgensen, K.E. (eds) Theorizing Foreign Policy in a Globalized World. Palgrave Studies in International Relations Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137431912_7

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