Status anxiety definitely exists at a political level. Many Iraqis were annoyed with the US essentially for reasons of status: for not showing them respect, for humiliating them.

De Botton extends his theme of “status anxiety” beyond private life into geopolitics: nations and populations, like individuals, react strongly to perceived slights, disrespect, and public humiliation. The remark suggests that resentment toward the U.S. presence in Iraq cannot be reduced to material interests or ideology alone; it also involves symbolic injuries—being treated as inferior, ignored, or shamed. In this view, political legitimacy depends partly on rituals of recognition (dignity, courtesy, acknowledgment of agency). The quote implies that failures of respect can become strategic failures, because humiliation breeds anger, resistance, and a desire to restore honor.