A new study from Müberra Dinler explains how states manage international labels such of deviance as “rogue state” or “state sponsor of terrorism” by utilizing symbolic power to construct a Separate System of Honour. Using the case of Revolutionary Iran, the article demonstrates that actors who do not feel ashamed by external stigma can transform that condemnation into a source of domestic pride and legitimacy. This is achieved by mobilizing symbolic capital derived from past struggles against foreign intervention and monarchy, which allows the regime to maintain its ontological security and stability despite heavy economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation. Ultimately, the study reveals that counter-stigmatization practices, such as aligning with regional and international "in-groups" like the Axis of Resistance or partners like Russia and China, enable states to actively contest Western-led normative hierarchies and reproduce their own competing visions of the international order.
How does the Iranian regime survive international stigma? Insights from a new article