State Identity Politics in International Relations

This chapter sets out the book’s theoretical framework of state identity politics . It begins by tracing the development of the concept of state identity, first within the broader social sciences and later within international relations. It then examines the relationship between state identity and foreign policy, reviewing major theoretical approaches that connect identity to a state’s behaviour. Particular attention is given to the limitations of existing scholarship, notably its tendency to underemphasise agency, institutional contexts, and political processes. Building on this critique, the chapter introduces the state identity politics framework, situating it within conventional constructivism while incorporating insights from other theoretical traditions. Central to the framework is the concept of agency space, which captures how domestic institutional structures, political configurations, and situational dynamics shape whether actors pursue domestic or international politics of assertion . First, agency space is shaped by regime type, whether autocratic or democratic. Second, in autocracies, it is influenced by existing elite power relations, whereas in democracies, it is determined by pre-existing issue-specific configurations. Third, in autocracies, the level of power consolidation among key actors, and in democracies, the degree of domestic homogeneity on the issue, fundamentally define the scope of agency space. A smaller agency space tends to foster domestic politics of assertion , in which an actor’s immediate circle forms the in-group and rival domestic actors are cast as the out-group. A larger agency space supports international politics of assertion , where the state constitutes the in-group and collectively confronts international out-groups. This distinction has significant implications for how states conduct themselves in international relations.