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International Studies in Phenomenology and Philosophy

Series | Book | Chapter

192565

Recognition going awry

ngos and the global rise of the unelected

Volker Heins

pp. 199-219

Abstract

There is a growing consensus that the key to social and global justice is to overcome the sense of powerlessness and the lack of self-respect that prevails among impoverished, marginalized, and oppressed populations. As political theorist John Rawls puts it, self-respect is a "primary good" whose production depends on the make-up of basic social and political institutions. More precisely, justice is the name of behaviours that form the 'social bases of self-respect" (1993, p. 319). Like Rawls's liberal theory of justice, neo-Hegelian theories of recognition emphasize the centrality of mutual respect and esteem in the development of human relations and identities (Honneth, 1995; Ikäheimo, 2014; Ricoeur, 2005; Taylor, 1994). The core notion underpinning theories of recognition is that human autonomy and agency are not givens, but are the result of a continuous and dynamic process of mutual recognition between persons and groups. Recognition is about constituting and performing inclusion, actorness, and membership. To be recognized as a legitimate actor and a full member of society implies more than simply having legal rights. In modern societies, there is a wide range of social relations based on respect, esteem, and affection, which, taken together, constitute "the opposite of practices of domination or subjection" (Honneth 2007b, p. 325; Honneth, 2014).

Publication details

Published in:

Daase Christopher, Fehl Caroline, Geis Anna, Kolliarakis Georgios (2015) Recognition in international relations: rethinking a political concept in a global context. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.

Pages: 199-219

DOI: 10.1057/9781137464729_11

Full citation:

Heins Volker (2015) „Recognition going awry: ngos and the global rise of the unelected“, In: C. Daase, C. Fehl, A. Geis & G. Kolliarakis (eds.), Recognition in international relations, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 199–219.