The Logic of Ritual Action in International Relations
Mälksoo, Maria. The Logic of Ritual Action in International Relations, Global Studies Quarterly 6(1) (Special Forum: Ritual Action in World Politics, guest editor: Maria Mälksoo), pp. 1-13. © The Author (2026) DOI: 10.1177/00108367241254307
International politics abounds with rituals, but the rationale for ritual action has not been systematically expounded in international theory. This introduction to the special forum on Ritual Action in World Politics invites the scholars and students of International Relations (IR) to take ritual seriously. Flagging ritual action as an underappreciated, yet politically consequential genre of action in international relations, I make two main contributions. First, the paper conceptualizes ritual action in relation to the existing rational and constructivist theories of social action. I probe the rationality, functionality, and performativity of ritual(ized) conduct vis-à-vis the logics of consequences, appropriateness, practice/practicality, and habit in international relations. I argue that ritual action seeks to navigate uncertainty and mediate ambiguity in international relations by its promise to create enchantment effects. Second, the paper relates ritual to the already sedimented IR conceptual universe of practices, rules, norms, and performances, and provides a modular framework for the forum contributions to engage with. The forum’s collective aim is to: (1) consolidate the conceptualization of international rituals, (2) deepen the evolving conversation on the features, forms and logic of ritual action in different empirical realms of world politics, and (3) outline a novel research agenda in the well-trodden subfields of deterrence, diplomacy and knowledge production in IR.
Maria Mälksoo • 24 February 2026