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Pariah state
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Pariah state
A pariah state (also called an international pariah or a global pariah) is a nation considered to be an outcast in the international community. A pariah state may face international isolation, sanctions, or even an invasion by nations that find its policies, actions, or even its very existence unacceptable. A pariah state often violates peremptory norms, facing restricted commerce and diplomatic expulsions. Consequently, a pariah state may face economic decline and other crises that cause loss of government control or reckless behavior, making the term associated with failed states or rogue states.
Until recent centuries, the authority to designate a nation as a pariah state was relatively clear, often resting with religious authorities. With the Peace of Westphalia, the Ottoman Empire was regarded as a pariah state until the nineteenth century on a "religious basis." Recently, however, the criteria for and implications of pariah statehood, as well as the designating authorities, have become the subject of disagreement. Olawale Lawal, a Nigerian scholar from Lagos State University, has stated:
There are so many open questions on the issue of Pariah State. For instance who determines a Pariah State and how a nation becomes a Pariah State... This becomes more profound when one realizes that a nation that is an outcast in one region, has diplomatic and friendly relations with others.
By some criteria, nations can be considered pariahs within their own neighborhood of surrounding states. By other criteria, an international body (such as the United Nations) or perhaps a consensus among certain nations may govern the meaning or use of the term.
The word "pariah" derives from Paraiyar, a large indigenous tribal group of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Under the Indian caste system, the Paraiyar were members of the lowest caste, which were called the "outcastes". Since its first recorded use in English in 1613, cultures worldwide have accepted the term "pariah" to mean "outcast".
A pariah state, defined in its simplest terms, is an outcast state. This is not a new term in the lexicon of International Relations, nor is it a new historical concept. What is new, however, is what Lawal refers to as "the basis for Pariahood appellation." Other definitions have been advanced that expand this basis (see next section below), or perhaps add more academic nuance, which may vary by author or the author's field of study. These definitions are here grouped into two categories: definitions focusing on the lack (or disadvantage) the pariah state objectively suffers from, and definitions focusing on the political justification - given by other nations - for why that pariah state "deserves" their extraordinary attitude towards it.
The first type of definitions is well exemplified by Bellany's definition, according to which a pariah state is "A state lacking any significant soft power." Similarly, The Penguin Dictionary of International Relations defines the pariah states as "international States/actors which, by virtue of their political systems, ideological postures, leadership or general behavior, suffer from diplomatic isolation and widespread global moral opprobrium." This definition, as the previous one, does not indicate what kind of political system, ideological posture, leadership or general behavior, is ascribed to the pariah state by the other nations.
The second type of definitions is most simply exemplified by Weiss's definition, according to which pariah states are "states that violate international norms." Similarly, Harkavy offers, "A Pariah State is one whose conduct is considered to be out of line with international norms of behavior." Geldenhuys gives a more detailed definition of that type: "A pariah (or outcast) country is one whose domestic or international behaviour seriously offends the world community or at least a significant group of states." Marks's definition elaborates more: a pariah state is "a state with provocative policies or expansionary territorial ambitions, measures of the absence of diplomatic relations with neighboring states or the situational harm posed to other states if the state in question acquired nuclear weapons."
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Pariah state
A pariah state (also called an international pariah or a global pariah) is a nation considered to be an outcast in the international community. A pariah state may face international isolation, sanctions, or even an invasion by nations that find its policies, actions, or even its very existence unacceptable. A pariah state often violates peremptory norms, facing restricted commerce and diplomatic expulsions. Consequently, a pariah state may face economic decline and other crises that cause loss of government control or reckless behavior, making the term associated with failed states or rogue states.
Until recent centuries, the authority to designate a nation as a pariah state was relatively clear, often resting with religious authorities. With the Peace of Westphalia, the Ottoman Empire was regarded as a pariah state until the nineteenth century on a "religious basis." Recently, however, the criteria for and implications of pariah statehood, as well as the designating authorities, have become the subject of disagreement. Olawale Lawal, a Nigerian scholar from Lagos State University, has stated:
There are so many open questions on the issue of Pariah State. For instance who determines a Pariah State and how a nation becomes a Pariah State... This becomes more profound when one realizes that a nation that is an outcast in one region, has diplomatic and friendly relations with others.
By some criteria, nations can be considered pariahs within their own neighborhood of surrounding states. By other criteria, an international body (such as the United Nations) or perhaps a consensus among certain nations may govern the meaning or use of the term.
The word "pariah" derives from Paraiyar, a large indigenous tribal group of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Under the Indian caste system, the Paraiyar were members of the lowest caste, which were called the "outcastes". Since its first recorded use in English in 1613, cultures worldwide have accepted the term "pariah" to mean "outcast".
A pariah state, defined in its simplest terms, is an outcast state. This is not a new term in the lexicon of International Relations, nor is it a new historical concept. What is new, however, is what Lawal refers to as "the basis for Pariahood appellation." Other definitions have been advanced that expand this basis (see next section below), or perhaps add more academic nuance, which may vary by author or the author's field of study. These definitions are here grouped into two categories: definitions focusing on the lack (or disadvantage) the pariah state objectively suffers from, and definitions focusing on the political justification - given by other nations - for why that pariah state "deserves" their extraordinary attitude towards it.
The first type of definitions is well exemplified by Bellany's definition, according to which a pariah state is "A state lacking any significant soft power." Similarly, The Penguin Dictionary of International Relations defines the pariah states as "international States/actors which, by virtue of their political systems, ideological postures, leadership or general behavior, suffer from diplomatic isolation and widespread global moral opprobrium." This definition, as the previous one, does not indicate what kind of political system, ideological posture, leadership or general behavior, is ascribed to the pariah state by the other nations.
The second type of definitions is most simply exemplified by Weiss's definition, according to which pariah states are "states that violate international norms." Similarly, Harkavy offers, "A Pariah State is one whose conduct is considered to be out of line with international norms of behavior." Geldenhuys gives a more detailed definition of that type: "A pariah (or outcast) country is one whose domestic or international behaviour seriously offends the world community or at least a significant group of states." Marks's definition elaborates more: a pariah state is "a state with provocative policies or expansionary territorial ambitions, measures of the absence of diplomatic relations with neighboring states or the situational harm posed to other states if the state in question acquired nuclear weapons."