IR scholars often define prestige as "reputation for power" and argue for its significance in the context of high-stakes negotiations, the dynamics of power transition, or (bi-polar) competition to attract allies and partners. Famously, Giplin argued that for international relations prestige is "enormously important" - even more so than power itself. This is because "if your strength is recognized, you can generally achieve your aims without having to use it." But whereas Giplin and others correctly conceptualize the power of prestige in driving desired outcomes, there is yet little attention to what exactly it means for strength to be "recognized," and who is doing the recognizing.
Drawing on the "visual turn" in IR and starting from the original (visual) connotation of prestige as "dazzling influence" and "glamour," this talk interrogates the links between prestige and recognition from the vantage point of the politics of aesthetics. For the purpose, I turn to select cases linked to China's bid for international prestige, especially based on the invocation of common (Silk Road) past and shared future. I show how, in different communities, visual representations and public displays disrupt standard formulations of a shared (Silk Road) past and also bring forth alternative understandings of the meaning and work of prestige. These cases, I suggest, can help clarify not only the important links between power and recognition, but can also showcase the need for critical exploration of prestige in relation to empire and ontologies of power, the complexities of post-colonial order, and the evolving spaces for political agency..