Collective Identity Formation and the International State

@article{Wendt1994CollectiveIF,
  title={Collective Identity Formation and the International State},
  author={Alexander Wendt},
  journal={American Political Science Review},
  year={1994},
  volume={88},
  pages={384-396}
}
  • Alexander Wendt
  • Published 1 June 1994
  • Political Science
  • American Political Science Review
The neorealist-neoliberal debate about the possibilities for collective action in international relations has been based on a shared commitment to Mancur Olson's rationalist definition of the problem as one of getting exogenously given egoists to cooperate. Treating this assumption as a de facto hypothesis about world politics, I articulate the rival claim that interaction at the systemic level changes state identities and interests. The causes of state egoism do not justify always treating it… Expand
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