The Empathic Foundations of Security Dilemma De‐escalation

TY - JOUR

T1 - The Empathic Foundations of Security Dilemma De‐escalation

AU - Baker, Joshua

PY - 2019/12/1

Y1 - 2019/12/1

N2 - Security dilemma theorists have long recognized the importance of empathy to the de‐escalation of conflict between actors caught in security dilemma dynamics, but they have left empathy undertheorized and have neglected to recognize its deeply contested nature. This article responds to this omission by bringing multidisciplinary literature on empathy to bear on security dilemma thinking. Contrary to some contemporary empathy research that draws attention to its automatic, unconscious, and intuitive properties, the article highlights the deliberate, effortful, and reflexive capacity to empathize across complex social contexts such as security dilemma dynamics. It shows how empathy of this kind can lead actors to moderate their positions on key issues at the heart of a conflict, reinterpret their interests, and broaden the zone of possible agreement between themselves and an adversary. The article demonstrates these notions empirically by locating empathy within the de‐escalation of tensions between the United States and Iran between 2009 and 2016. Drawing on primary interview material with former U.S. officials, the argument is made that the development of specific empathic capacities by key U.S. officials played an important and unrecognized role in the de‐escalation of security dilemma dynamics between the United States and Iran.

AB - Security dilemma theorists have long recognized the importance of empathy to the de‐escalation of conflict between actors caught in security dilemma dynamics, but they have left empathy undertheorized and have neglected to recognize its deeply contested nature. This article responds to this omission by bringing multidisciplinary literature on empathy to bear on security dilemma thinking. Contrary to some contemporary empathy research that draws attention to its automatic, unconscious, and intuitive properties, the article highlights the deliberate, effortful, and reflexive capacity to empathize across complex social contexts such as security dilemma dynamics. It shows how empathy of this kind can lead actors to moderate their positions on key issues at the heart of a conflict, reinterpret their interests, and broaden the zone of possible agreement between themselves and an adversary. The article demonstrates these notions empirically by locating empathy within the de‐escalation of tensions between the United States and Iran between 2009 and 2016. Drawing on primary interview material with former U.S. officials, the argument is made that the development of specific empathic capacities by key U.S. officials played an important and unrecognized role in the de‐escalation of security dilemma dynamics between the United States and Iran.

KW - U.S.-Iran

KW - de-escalation

KW - empathy

KW - security dilemma

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85074025108&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1111/pops.12623

DO - 10.1111/pops.12623

M3 - Article

VL - 40

SP - 1251

EP - 1266

JO - Political Psychology

JF - Political Psychology

SN - 0162-895X

IS - 6

ER -