defense de thèse en sciences politiques et sociales - Elise Rousseau

The Creative Potential of Blame: How the attribution of moral responsibility influences governmental actions in international relations

 

Promotor: Prof. Thierry Balzaq Braspenning (UNamur & Sciences Po); President: Prof. Laurent De Briey; other members of the jury: Prof. Valérie Rosoux (UCLouvain), Prof. Ariel Colonomos (CERI, Sciences Po), Prof. Stéphane J. Baele (University of Exeter) and Prof. Christopher Kutz (University of Berkeley, US).

Abstract: This thesis questions how the attribution of moral responsibility to states for their involvement in the rough diamond trade fuelling wars in Angola and Sierra Leone led to the creation of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS). More generally, it seeks to understand the role of blame in international relations. Whereas IR scholars see manifestations of blame – such as naming and shaming – as emanating mostly from non-state actors, fixed in time, and directed towards a relatively passive target, I showed that (1) states can also enter the blame game, that (2) blaming is a dynamic process (3) having the potentiality to empower blamed actors. Indeed, by taking the lead for finding solutions, the same states that were denounced for their complicity in the wars managed both to avoid blame and to be praised for their leadership. With political power comes responsibility, says Hans Jonas. This dissertation suggests that the reverse logic is also true: endorsing more responsibility can lead to power increase.

The defense will be held in French.

Contact : Thierry Balzaq Braspenning - thierry.balzacq@sciencespo.fr
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