Seen One, Seen Them All? Group Perception and Reputation Formation in International Politics
Reputation is key to understanding a wide range of outcomes in international politics, from military disputes and alliance formation to states’ compliance with international legal and financial obligations. However, the micro-foundations of reputation – how it forms and, crucially, whom it adheres to – remain poorly understood. Recent experimental research finds that, while reputations adhere to countries and to leaders, country-specific reputation outweighs leader-specific reputation even when leaders have complete control over foreign policy. This presents a puzzle: why do leader-specific actions generate country-specific reputations? Drawing on the psychology of attribution and group perception, I offer a theory of why observers form country-specific reputations. Focusing on reputations for resolve, I employ an online survey experiment to test the theory. The findings help understand how countries acquire the properties of agents in international politics and anticipate the consequences that a country’s foreign-policy choices have on its prospects for cooperation with friends, or deterrence of foes, in the future.
Date:
16 November 2022, 14:00 (Wednesday, 6th week, Michaelmas 2022)
Venue:
Nuffield College, New Road OX1 1NF
Venue Details:
This is a hybrid event--interested participants can attend in person in the Clay Room at Nuffield College or virtually via Zoom
Speaker:
Paola Solimena (University of Oxford)
Organising department:
Nuffield College
Organiser:
Noah Bacine (University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address:
noah.bacine@nuffield.ox.ac.uk
Host:
Noah Bacine (University of Oxford)
Part of:
CESS Colloquium Series
Booking required?:
Recommended
Booking url:
https://cess-nuffield.nuff.ox.ac.uk/events/colloquium/paola-solimena-university-of-oxford-2/
Booking email:
noah.bacine@nuffield.ox.ac.uk
Audience:
Members of the University only
Editors:
Noah Bacine,
Martina Beretta
