Representation, Recognition and Respect in World Politics: The Case of Iran-US Relations

This book addresses a critical issue in global politics: how recognition and misrecognition fuel conflict or initiate reconciliation. The main objective of this book is to demonstrate how representations of one state by another influence foreign policy-making behaviour.Representations are important because they shape both the identity of a state and how it is recognised by others. States respond to representations of themselves that do not fit with how they wish to be recognised. These issues are explored within a detailed empirical investigation of the fraught bilateral relations between the US and Iran, which is perhaps one of the most significant flashpoints in global politics today. While Iran and the US have finally reached an agreement on the nuclear issue, questions remain about how best to explain the success of this deal considering the decades of animosity between Iran and the US.

Constance Duncombe is Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Queensland