Punishment beyond borders: Attitudes toward punishment in interpersonal and international contexts

In contrast to domestic societies, second-party punishment-that is, punitive action by the victim of a transgression or a party close to the victim-remains a common practice in international politics. This chapter discusses two experimental studies that examined citizens' responses to second- and institutional third-party punishment in international and interpersonal relations in order to learn about the public legitimacy of punitive force in international relations. It was found that citizens consider the delegation of punishment to a third party more legitimate than second-party punishment not only in the context of the nation-state but also internationally. Even so, the difference in support between second- and third-party punishment is more pronounced at the individual level than at the international level. Confidence in punitive institutions appears to be an important factor in citizens' support for punishment across settings.