The emotional politics of sovereignty: On dignity, state personhood, and kidnappings

Overview

This study examines the relationship between emotional performance, sovereignty violations, and multilateral diplomatic responses. It theorizes sovereignty as a social institution that constructs states as persons bearing dignity, with this construction maintained through shared affective norms. The research identifies sovereignty violations as denials of dignity that trigger expectations for appropriate emotional performances across the international system. The framework incorporates how colonial legacies and standards of civilization shape these emotional performances in interstate relations.

Methods and approach

The analysis employs theoretical conceptualization of sovereignty as a dignity-conferring institution sustained through performative emotionality and shared feeling rules. Two historical case studies provide empirical examination: Argentina's diplomatic response to the 1960 abduction of Adolf Eichmann by Israeli agents, and Japan's ongoing diplomatic engagement regarding North Korean kidnappings of Japanese citizens. These cases illustrate how states mobilize emotional and diplomatic multilateralization in response to sovereignty violations, revealing patterns in how dignity claims are constructed and communicated across the international system.

Key Findings

The research demonstrates that sovereignty violations function as denials of dignity rather than mere territorial or jurisdictional infractions. States respond through performative emotional displays designed to appeal to other states' recognition of their equal moral and personhood status. The analysis reveals that multilateralization of sovereignty disputes operates through emotional appeals anchored in shared norms about appropriate state conduct. The case studies show differential receptivity among states, patterned by the international system's colonial history and embedded standards of civilization that continue to structure which dignity claims gain traction multilaterally.

Implications

The findings suggest that understanding sovereignty violations requires attention to their affective dimensions and the emotional labor involved in maintaining state personhood recognition. Sovereignty operates as a social institution dependent on collective emotional performance and shared dignity norms rather than solely institutional mechanisms. The persistent influence of colonial-era civilizational standards on which sovereignty violations receive multilateral attention indicates structural inequalities in the system's dignity-recognition mechanisms. This framework has implications for theorizing how states construct legitimacy claims and how multilateral systems adjudicate competing sovereignty claims.