In this article, I seek to demonstrate the usefulness of Erving Goffman’s theory of dramaturgical action for International Relations. This theory conceptualizes actors in a cultural environment as performers engaged in manipulative presentations of self and framing who are, at the same time, constrained by the script and the consistency requirement of their roles. I argue that parts of the international system qualify as “international communities” characterized by a common ethos and high interaction density. In such international communities, strategic actors are not only forced to commit themselves to, and legitimize their actions on the grounds of, the community ethos but also to act consistently in accordance with the constitutive values and norms of the community in order to preserve their image as a community member in good standing. I illustrate the applicability, analytical value, and explanatory power of Goffman’s social theory for IR in an account of the Eastern enlargement of the European Union.
