Crime and Punishment in International Politics: On the Agency and Moral Standing of Community.

This article investigates how the concept of the international community was rhetorically constructed in public diplomatic discourse and endowed with both agential status and moral authority. It argues that this conceptual innovation emerged during a critical juncture in the 1920s–1930s, amid debate...

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Publicado en:International Studies Quarterly Vol. 69; no. 3; pp. 1 - 14
Autor principal: Roshchin, Evgeny
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Oxford University Press / USA Sep2025
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      pub: Oxford University Press / USA
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      tig:
        atl: Crime and Punishment in International Politics: On the Agency and Moral Standing of Community.
      aug:
        au: Roshchin, Evgeny
        affil:
          Center for European Policy Analysis, USA
          Johns Hopkins University, USA
      su:
        League of Nations
        Crime
        Moral agent (Philosophy)
        Social norms
        Coalitions
        Legitimacy of governments
        International relations
        International security
        International organization
      sug:
        subj:
          Crime
          Moral agent (Philosophy)
          Social norms
          Coalitions
          Legitimacy of governments
          International relations
          International security
          League of Nations
          Foreign affairs
          International Affairs
          International organization
      ab: This article investigates how the concept of the international community was rhetorically constructed in public diplomatic discourse and endowed with both agential status and moral authority. It argues that this conceptual innovation emerged during a critical juncture in the 1920s–1930s, amid debates on collective security within the League of Nations. In response to acts of aggression that undermined the newly established international order, diplomats employed contested notions of "crime" and "punishment" to characterize state behavior. In the League's debates over the first international sanctions, references to extra-legal moral principles were used to bolster both the legitimacy and efficacy of the legal regime. Since the principle of sovereign equality precluded any single state from claiming moral authority, diplomats instead innovatively portrayed the international community as a fictive agent endowed with superior moral standing. This rhetorical move helped legitimize calls for punishing aggressors. Adopting a historically informed constructivist approach, the article illuminates how conceptual transformations within the normative order unfold through diplomatic practice. It shows how diplomatic forums can serve as platforms for conceptual innovation with lasting impact on public discourse on world politics.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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