Please Join us for a Seminar Presentation by Professor Stefani Walter from the University of Zürich.
To Accommodate or Not? Balancing reputational and material concerns in international relations
In situations where other states challenge international norms and institutions, governments need to decide whether to accommodate or take a tough stance against such behaviour. Even though a tough stance can be materially costly, governments have incentives to sanction and not accommodate non-cooperative behaviour for reputational reasons. However, bringing voters on board with this approach can be challenging. This paper examines to which extent the trade-off between the material benefits of cooperation and reputational considerations influences the extent to which citizens are willing to support a tough and materially costly response. It evaluates this argument using survey experiments across three contexts: a) willingness to sustain economic sanctions against Russia, b) responding to British and Swiss attempts to achieve privileged access to the EU’s internal market and c) dealing with non-compliance with rule of law norms in the European Union. Across all cases, highlighting the reputational risks associated with accommodation strengthen voters’ willingness to support an uncompromising stance. This willingness is particularly strong when both types of cost are emphasized. Emphasizing the costs of non-accommodation, in contrast, does not increase voters’ willingness to compromise.
Stefanie Walter is Full Professor for International Relations and Political Economy at the Department of Political Science at the University of Zurich. Her research examines distributional conflicts, political preferences and economic policy outcomes related to globalization, European integration, and financial crises. Current projects examine the backlash against globalization and the politics of international non-cooperation. Stefanie Walter’s work has been published in journals such as the Annual Review of Political Science, American Journal of Political Science, Comparative Political Studies, and International Organization. She is the author of “Financial Crises and the Politics of Macroeconomic Adjustments” (2013, Cambridge University Press) and co-author of “The Politics of Bad Options” (2020, Oxford University Press).
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