RETURN TO THE FIRST IMAGE: A PLACE FOR PEOPLES IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Abstract

This project examines the relationship between the international system and the lived experience of peoples. This dissertation is aimed at understanding the ways in which recognition at the international level can shape not only the way people choose to behave, but also the way they conceive of their own identities. It introduces theorizing on the concepts of identity, habitus, and hysteresis to the field of international relations (IR) in an attempt to better understand often overlooked conflicts created by the international state system. In doing so, it includes an exploration of the role that recognition plays in creating idealized identities for everyone in the state system and the resulting conflicts that arise when individuals possess group identities that do not align with the state-based identities that the international system and its structures are premised upon. Through a return to studying the first image in the IR literature I explore the ways in which varying forms of recognition in international institutions (states, collections of law, and IO positions, agreements, and membership rules) impact the way different groups of people view themselves within the larger global order, and how that in turn alters the way they behave politically over time. I argue that misrecognition of the identities of individuals and collectives of individuals by international institutions and actors threatens their habitus, potentially resulting in shifts in their political behavior dependent upon the cohesion of the collective’s sense of self and the support they have from other members of the international community.