The ultimate criticism of the social trend theory begins in the difficulty of observing this
motivation matched with the rationalist view that states act with reason and even social behaviors
have a rationalist origin. To survive as part of the international collective, it is important to
observe some norms of action. For example, even perpetually “neutral” Switzerland finally
joined the UN in 2002. Rationalists would say that it eventually became untenable for
Switzerland to not be part of this order and that cost-benefit analysis includes the element of
pervasive social pressures. In fact, it can be argued that social behavior has a rational origin in
the motivation of a desire to be part of a group. Finally, the critics would contend that if public
diplomacy has become a norm of state behavior, then this does not explain the many states which
remain outside this sphere of activity.