International misrecognition: The politics of humour and national identity in Israel’s public diplomacy
| Date | 01 March 2019 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1354066117745365 |
| Published date | 01 March 2019 |
| Author | Rebecca Adler-Nissen,Alexei Tsinovoi |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1354066117745365
European Journal of
International Relations
2019, Vol. 25(1) 3 –29
© The Author(s) 2018
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DOI: 10.1177/1354066117745365
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JR
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International misrecognition:
The politics of humour and
national identity in Israel’s
public diplomacy
Rebecca Adler-Nissen
University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Alexei Tsinovoi
University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Abstract
Recognition, or the lack of it, is a central concern in International Relations. However,
how states cope with international misrecognition has so far not been thoroughly
explored in International Relations scholarship. To address this, the article presents a
theoretical framework for understanding international misrecognition by drawing on
discursive and psychoanalytical theories of collective identity formation and humour
studies. The article conceptualises international misrecognition as a gap between the
dominant narrative of a national Self and the way in which this national Self is reflected
in the ‘mirror’ of the international Other. We argue that humour offers an important
way of coping with misrecognition by ridiculing and thereby downplaying international
criticism. The significance for international relations is illustrated through an analysis
of the public diplomacy campaign ‘Presenting Israel’, which, through parodying video
clips, mobilised ordinary Israeli citizens to engage in peer-to-peer public diplomacy
when travelling abroad. Public diplomacy campaigns are commonly seen by scholars and
practitioners as attempts to improve the nation’s image and smoothen or normalise
international Self–Other relations. However, after analysing the discursive and visual
components of the campaign — which parodied how European media portrayed
Israel as primitive, violent and exotic — this article observes that in the context of
international misrecognition, such coping attempts can actually contribute to further
international estrangement.
Corresponding author:
Rebecca Adler-Nissen, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 5, Copenhagen, DK-1014, Denmark.
Email: ran@ifs.ku.dk
745365EJT0010.1177/1354066117745365European Journal of International RelationsAdler-Nissen and Tsinovoi
research-article2017
Article
4 European Journal of International Relations 25(1)
Keywords
Humour, Israel, misrecognition, national identity, public diplomacy
Introduction
This is the camel. The camel is the typical Israeli animal used by the Israelis to travel from place
to place in the desert where they live. It is the means of transport for water, merchandise and
ammunition. It is even used by the Israeli cavalry. (Masbirim’s Channel, 2010a)
With these words, a British TV reporter, dressed in khaki, depicts Israel as he is walking
past a caravan of camels in a desert. However, the reporter is starring not in an actual
documentary film, but in a satirical video clip, one that was produced in 2010 by the
newly established Israeli Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs (MPDDA).
As part of the campaign ‘Presenting Israel’, the objective of the video was to mobilise
ordinary Israeli citizens travelling abroad to become citizen-diplomats. An accompany-
ing campaign website coached citizens in how to counter foreign myths and portray
Israel as a modern, sophisticated and peace-loving state. The campaign was part of a
series of initiatives meant to improve Israel’s global image, which, according to many
indications, had hit rock bottom.1 Israeli officials promoting the campaign argued that,
despite the humorous tone, ‘Presenting Israel’ was responding to an actual threat to
Israel’s image as foreigners ‘paint a picture so different from the reality in the eyes of
Israelis, and with such little regard for their point of view’ (Seaman, 2010).
The campaign was widely contested within Israel and abroad. Israeli media and aca-
demics criticised the campaign for being ‘ridiculous’ and for neglecting the link between
international criticism and Israel’s ongoing policies, such as the military occupation of
the West Bank and the ‘separation wall’ (Bronner, 2010; Caspi, 2010; Haaretz, 2010).
Foreign reporters were also offended for being portrayed as ‘stupid’ and ‘gullible’
(Rabinovsky, 2010). Nonetheless, according to the MPDDA, the campaign was a great
success, seen by 86% of Israeli survey respondents as an ‘effective call to action’
(Attias, 2012: 477). Between 2010 and 2012, over 3 million users visited the campaign
website, hundreds of advocacy coaching sessions were provided to delegations and over
100,000 advocacy pocket guides were distributed at the national airport (Attias, 2012:
478–479). The conception of a growing gap between the image that many Israelis have
of their country and the way in which the world sees it has become increasingly central
to Israel’s foreign policy and, in recent years, has ignited a plethora of public–private
advocacy partnerships, attempting to mediate Israel’s growing sense of international
estrangement.
To understand the campaign — and, more broadly, how states struggle for interna-
tional recognition — this article explores the phenomenon of misrecognition in interna-
tional relations. To do so, we need to go beyond the binary distinction between recognition
and non-recognition that is so prominent in International Relations (IR) theory. Drawing
on insights from poststructuralist discourse analysis and concepts from psychoanalytic
social theory, we argue that articulating a discourse of a coherent national Self requires
recognition in the ‘mirror’ of international Others. This always entails the possibility of
misrecognition, arising from the gap between domestic discourses of the national Self
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