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Due Deference: Cosmopolitan Social Identity and the Psychology of Legal Obligation in International Politics

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  • Bayram, A. Burcu

Abstract

Why are some politicians guided by a sense of obligation toward international law but others are not? Why do some politicians have a social as opposed to an egoistic preference over compliance with international legal rules? Existing approaches largely assume that the structural features of the compliance environment shape preferences. As a result, they neglect the heterogeneity across decision makers' subjective beliefs in the legitimacy of international law, which is critical for explaining who exhibits a sense of obligation and has a non-egoistic preference for compliance. Drawing upon a large body of psychological research on social identity and influence, I argue that obligation toward international law has a behavioral foundation shaped by cosmopolitan social identity. Using data from an original survey of German politicians that includes two compliance experiments, I show that politicians with a high degree of cosmopolitanism are driven by a sense of legal obligation that results in a social preference for compliance while those low on cosmopolitanism lack the same sense of normative respect. Replicated in a second experimental study conducted with a convenience sample, my results indicate that strategic rationality in compliance applies, but only to a particular set of actors. By illuminating the psychological underpinnings of obligation toward international law, this study contributes to a richer understanding of compliance preferences and builds a bridge between instrumental and normative models.

Suggested Citation

  • Bayram, A. Burcu, 2017. "Due Deference: Cosmopolitan Social Identity and the Psychology of Legal Obligation in International Politics," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 71(S1), pages 137-163, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:cup:intorg:v:71:y:2017:i:s1:p:s137-s163_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Brandon K. Yoder & Kyle Haynes, 2021. "Signaling under the Security Dilemma: An Experimental Analysis," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 65(4), pages 672-700, April.
    2. Monika Bauhr & Nicholas Charron, 2020. "In God we Trust? Identity, Institutions and International Solidarity in Europe," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(5), pages 1124-1143, September.
    3. Barbara Pavlikova & Lenka Freel & Jitse P. van Dijk, 2020. "Compliance with the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in Slovakia and in Finland: Two Different Worlds," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-18, September.
    4. Dong Wang & Alastair Iain Johnston & Baoyu Wang, 2021. "The Effect of Imagined Social Contact on Chinese Students’ Perceptions of Japanese People," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 65(1), pages 223-251, January.
    5. Keren Yarhi-Milo & Joshua D. Kertzer & Jonathan Renshon, 2018. "Tying Hands, Sinking Costs, and Leader Attributes," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 62(10), pages 2150-2179, November.
    6. Kohno, Masaru & Montinola, Gabriella R. & Winters, Matthew S., 2023. "Foreign pressure and public opinion in target states," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    7. Asif Efrat & Abraham L. Newman, 2020. "Intolerant justice: ethnocentrism and transnational-litigation frameworks," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 271-299, January.

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