Representation, Recognition and Respect in World Politics

Representation, recognition and respect in world politics addresses a critical issue in global politics: how recognition and misrecognition have the power to fuel conflict and initiate reconciliation. It demonstrates how the representations of one state by another can be a key influence in foreign policymaking behaviour. In a thorough conceptual engagement with the issues at stake, the book presents a detailed empirical investigation of one of the most significant flashpoints in global politics, the fraught bilateral relations between the US and Iran.

In 2015, Iran and the US reached an agreement on the framework for a long-term deal that allows Iran limited nuclear technological capacity in exchange for the lifting of debilitating economic sanctions. This book answers key questions on how we can best explain the success of this deal in light of decades of animosity between Iran and the US, which previously thwarted attempts on both sides to reach an amicable agreement. It also confronts increasing concerns about the future of the agreement under the Trump administration.

Duncombe uses this key example of the US and Iran to explore the importance of representation in shaping the identity of a state, as well as how it is recognised by others on the world's political stage. This book will be essential reading for scholars in International Relations, Security Studies, Critical Terrorism Studies, Political Psychology and Peace and Conflict Studies, and has a lasting practical relevance for practitioners, strategists, policymakers and diplomats.