Organised by the Emotions in Politics and IR Working Group to celebrate the announcement of the winner of their 2020 book prize.
Participants:
Chair - Dr Amanda Russell Beattie (Aston University)
Dr Robin Markwica (Oxford University, BISA EPIR Prize winner)
Dr Simon Koschut (Freie Universität)
Dr Gemma Bird (Liverpool University)
In Emotional Choices: How the Logic of Affect Shapes Coercive Diplomacy (Oxford University Press, 2018), Robin Markwica examines why states often prefer war to compliance and refuse to yield to military threats from more powerful actors. In doing so, Markwica introduces the logic of affect, or emotional choice theory, into the field of International Relations. Drawing on scholarship in sociology and psychology, Markwica argues that the logic of affect reveals how actors' behaviour is shaped by the interplay between norms, identities, and emotions. This is then to applied to Nikita Krushchev's behaviour during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962 and Saddam Hussein's decision making in the Gulf conflict in 1990-1991. These detailed case studies offer novel explanations for why U.S. coercive diplomacy succeeded in one case but not the other.
This roundtable facilitates a discussion between Robin Markwica and the judges for the BISA EPIR book prize. Do join us for what promises to be a fascinating conversation on the current debates on emotions and affect in politics and international relations.