Affective values in international relations: Theorizing emotional actions and the value of resilience
| Author | Steven C Roach |
| Published date | 01 November 2016 |
| Date | 01 November 2016 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0263395716629687 |
| Subject Matter | Special Section: Resurrecting IR TheoryGuest Edited by Kyle Grayson (Newcastle University, UK), Martin Coward (The University of Manchester), and Robert Oprisko (Independent Scholar) |
Politics
2016, Vol. 36(4) 400 –412
© The Author(s) 2016
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DOI: 10.1177/0263395716629687
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Affective values in
international relations:
Theorizing emotional actions
and the value of resilience
Steven C Roach
University of South Florida, USA
Abstract
This article critically examines the interrelationship of values and emotions in international
relations. It focuses on the different meaning of affects and emotions, and theorizes about the
affective qualities of values in world politics. It defines affective values as values that arise from
the ceaseless, unconscious striving(s) to contest the outside control over one’s life. In doing so, it
distinguishes between negative affective values, which represent the evocation of fear, shame, and
distrust to shape and project the creative energies of resistance, and positive affective values that
signify the material and practical strategies that convert these energies into an awareness of one’s
insecurity in the world. The article argues that the tension between positive and negative affective
values allows us to understand the transformative link between emotions and values. By focusing
on the norm of humanitarian intervention, it contextualizes positive affective values in terms of the
new resilience initiative of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P).
Keywords
affect, emotions, international relations theory, resilience, values
Received: 6 February 2015; Revised version received: 17 September 2015; Accepted: 6 October 2015
Introduction
Moral values form an important part of inquiry in international relations (IR). By giving
meaning and purpose to one’s actions, they also help to determine one’s conduct. Values
in this sense affect how we think and act in the world; they explain why we become
emotionally attached to a cause. In studying this emotional connection, social scientists
have studied how certain emotions, that is, shame and anger, shape our experiences and
actions (Demertzis, 2013; Scheff, 2000; Thoits, 1989). Much of their work draws on a
Corresponding author:
Steven C Roach, Department of Government and International Affairs, University of South Florida,
4202 E. Fowler Avenue, Tampa, FL 33620, USA.
Email: sroach@usf.edu
629687POL0010.1177/0263395716629687PoliticsRoach
research-article2016
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