Abstract
This impressive piece of scholarship provides a forensic examination of respect, which the author, Reinhard Wolf, Professor of International Relations at Goethe University Frankfurt, argues is a universal need, intrinsically ethical, and expected by all. Respect is not a zero-sum property: all persons and political entities can impart and receive it, though this does not always occur. The perceived presence or absence of respect is magnified at international level, when interpersonal relations among leaders can transpose to larger collectives. Wolf employs a qualitative, multidisciplinary approach that integrates influences from International Relations, anthropology, sociology, behavioural economics, political theory, and, mainly, social psychology. Organization is among the book’s many commendable attributes. Following an informative introduction, a solid theoretical base is laid out in Part One, comprising three chapters and outlining testable hypotheses (p. 110). Part Two applies a case study methodology to present three detailed bilateral illustrations. A conclusion reaffirms the ‘significance of respect for scholars and practitioners’. The text demonstrates a command of diverse material and offers instructive explications.
As the author is well aware, differentiating the terms (Table 2.1, p. 58) impacts on theory-building. Respect is precisely distinguished from related concepts (potentially mistaken as synonymous), including recognition, status, honour, dignity, deference, and esteem. It is crystallised as ‘a considerate attitude expressed through the adequate acknowledgement of another party’s social status’ (p. 8). Thus, status (social rank) is a gauge for respect, and its equally important antithesis, disrespect, as Chapter Two unpacks. Yet status and respect are qualitatively different. Respect is an ethical concept (p. 25). Status may be associated with ethical concerns but is not intrinsically ethical. Informed intent is critical to respect/disrespect. These are relevant in pure form when A is aware of B’s (self-regard for its) social status and chooses to behave in a way that transmits one or other option.
The case study on post-Soviet Russia and the United States (ending before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022) finds, inter alia, that ‘Moscow’s constructive responses to renewed respect have been less substantial than its aggressive responses to behaviour it perceives as disrespectful’ (p. 164). The case of ‘Debt-Ridden Greece and Its Creditors’ deals with different circumstances. Rather than great power rivalry, military capacity, and geopolitical threat, here finance, economics, supranational institutions, a defiant national government, and an angry population are the main interacting factors. The defiance emphasised was perhaps Greece’s only means by which to express self-respect in response to the disrespect inflicted by creditors and their agents. The third case, developed around the personalities of Trump and Kim Jong-Un, may be the most intriguing one. It discusses their unusual relations against a background, and sometimes foreground, of North Korean nuclear ambitions. The chapter concludes with the appraisal that the ‘ebb and flow of respect clearly mattered for the relationship but evidently cannot account for the whole story’ (p. 224).
The author contends that there are few systematic investigations of respect. A vast array of sources are drawn on, to position and contrast his book within the International Relations literature and beyond it. Duncombe (2019), Paul et al. (2014), and Renshon (2017), for example, have understandings of respect (or status), which Wolf challenges as inaccurate or incomplete. One of few relevant works not cited is Giorgini and Irrera’s (2017) edited collection. It could have attracted some of the robust critique applied here. Wolf also argues that ontological security or recognition are insufficient or unsuitable conceptual fields from which to derive a comprehensive and convincing theoretical perspective on respect/disrespect internationally. Accordingly, he eschews speculative philosophy. Rather, empirical social psychology is the principal (though not sole) source of disciplinary evidence.
While the book broadly conveys a constructivist interpretation of international affairs, material effects are crucial. These can result from responses to insult triggered by another’s apparent lack of respect. ‘Moral sentiment’, infused with emotions, is an essential element motivating this behaviour, often contradicting instrumental calculation and possibly compounding the insulted party’s losses. But such (violent) responses occur nonetheless, aiming to (materially) damage the disrespecter. Would then political actors behave differently if they perceived respect transmitted in the form, quantity, and timing they consider appropriate? Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Donald Trump, or Ursula von der Leyen may desire respect and be offended by what they regard as disrespect, but how would their practice and goals alter – in appreciable and sustained manner – should they attain the respect they consider deserved? Despite some qualifications, the author’s answer to the ‘key question’, whether dis/respect has a ‘discernible impact on interstate relations’, is ‘an unequivocal “yes”’. Furthermore, ‘the experience of respect promotes trust and pragmatism’ (p. 226). Yet, how much the figures noted, and others, would act or have acted differently is indeterminate.
The book also prompts other questions and observations. It is not a normative project, says the author, which the dispassionate, articulate text reflects. However, the analysis is not completely divorced from any notions of ‘abstract right’ given that the central concept is underpinned by, and presumably projects, moral/ethical principles (pp. 46–47). Do dis/respect have the same functions, expressions, meanings, and justifications, regardless of regime or behaviour, or is it a genuine universal? Some personalities, political classes, and nations generally, seem to react more intensely, at least overtly, to perceived instances of dis/respect than others. Culture and the characteristics of political systems influence how and to what extent dis/respect are consequential. Also interesting are remarks that sometimes it is only possible to make a certain party (an individual, a political leader, a nation) ‘feel respected if we dissemble in ways that betray our own convictions’ and that ‘greater sensibility for respect does not promise a blueprint for international harmony’ (p. 11). Whether the actors discussed here, and others, do or do not deserve respect, from counterparts or other observers, could inform a (more philosophical) sequel to what is an erudite and rigorous contribution.
The book will interest International Relations scholars, social psychologists, diplomats, and others engaged in foreign policy. Doctoral students in political science and other disciplines might also benefit from this assiduous work that admirably synthesises theory and empirical case studies.
