Vicarious Identity in International Relations: Self, Security, and Status on the Global Stage

Vicarious identification, or "living through another" is a familiar social-psychological concept. As this book argues, it is also an under-appreciated and increasingly relevant strategy of international relations. According to this theory, states identify and establish special relationships with other nations (often in an aspirational way) in order to strengthen their sense of self, security, and status on the global stage. In addition to theorizing vicarious identity in global politics and exploring a range of cases, the book outlines a qualitative methodology for analyzing vicarious identity at the collective level.

Christopher S. Browning is Reader of Politics and International Studies at the University of Warwick. His research centers on critical approaches to security, identity politics, and critical geopolitics, with a specific focus on issues connected to ontological security, civilizational politics, nation branding, humor and public diplomacy, Brexit, and practices of Nordic and European region building.

Pertti Joenniemi is Senior Researcher at the Karelian Institute, University of Eastern Finland. He has held positions of a senior researcher at the Tampere Peace Research Institute, Copenhagen Peace Research Institute, and the Danish Institute of International Studies.

Brent J. Steele is the Francis D. Wormuth Presidential Chair, Professor, and Department Chair of Political Science at the University of Utah. He was previously at the University of Kansas. His research and teaching interest include topics connected to ontological security, international ethics, generational analysis, critical security studies, US foreign policy, and global health.