Stigma in World Politics: What Is at Stake?

Abstract Stigma has emerged as a powerful lens in international relations (IR), offering new insights into how hierarchies are constructed, identities contested and international order reproduced. Scholars have shown how states, societies and practices are stigmatized as deviant or inferior and how these processes produce and entrench global power asymmetries. Yet, as stigma’s analytical reach expands, questions arise about its conceptual boundaries, mechanisms and normative implications. This introductory article to the special forum “Stigma in World Politics” consolidates and advances the field, first by situating stigma’s rise in IR within three key developments: the critique of constructivist and English School approaches for overlooking power and hierarchy; the relational turn, which foregrounds the co-constitution of actors and structures; and the integration of sociological and psychological theories to illuminate the affective and experiential dimensions of international politics. We then map the stigma research landscape by proposing two structuring analytical wagers: first, whether stigma is analyzed at the micro (agential), meso (state/group) or macro (structural) level; second, whether stigma is treated as explanatory or as a phenomenon to be explained. These wagers reveal debates about the intentionality of stigma imposition, the role of emotions and the blurred lines between stigma, shaming and discrimination. Our forum contributors push these conversations forward by refining definitions, adding stigma management strategies and grappling with normative dilemmas. By systematizing these discussions, the forum both maps the current state of the field and sets an agenda for future research on stigma’s role in the contestation and reproduction of international order.