Not all states respond to external phenomena in the same way, which invokes a need to consider how domestic and cultural factors shape the identity and interests of actors. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. While this is obviously a false dichotomy and constructivist studies do not treat norms as exclusively internal or external to actors, the distinction matters for how scholars approach compliance and contestation. (Wendts book is vital reading for all constructivist scholars and his ontological and epistemological position on constructivism is set out more fully here. Although some debate exists over whether it is more of an approach rather than a theory (McCourt 2016, p. 476), its importance for international relations can be found in its emphasis on social relations between actors; how actors relate to each other shapes international politics. Constructivism had been marginalized by these mainstream theories because it focused on social construction instead of material construction (Barkin, 2017). Norms are born anew every day as actors instantiate them through their beliefs and actions and, as Sandholtz (2008:101) notes, normative structures, in other words, cannot stand still.. Norms are shared beliefs, knowledge, and practice about the world in this sense, they are intersubjective, meaning a norm can be understood and shared amongst actors. Constructivisms overwhelming focus on the state and state agents obscures other actors and processes. But NATO transformed itself into something more than a military alliance. This had some success. Searle, J. R. (1995). As shared objects, they appear as external to any particular actor actors experience norms, at least in part, as external rules. Schmidt, B. Yet Saddam did not want to appear weak to enemies such as Iran (Allen 2009). Initial constructivist studies of social norms generally clustered into three areas. Its 1999 Strategic Concept altered the organization from a Cold War alliance to something more akin to Deutschs idea of a security community that was based on common values, norms, and identity, making democracy and human rights central. People who share an identification are then assumed to share unique traits and attributes. Social constructivism primarily seeks to demonstrate how the core aspects of the international relations are contrary to the assumptions of Neorealism and Neoliberalism within the frame of social construction, taking up forms of ongoing processes of social practice and interaction. New York: M. E. Sharpe. In other words, they worry that mutual constitution implies that actors have a difficult time stepping outside the bounds of their social/normative context to decide what is right to do. Social constructivism is well suited to address continuous changes in European integration. 4. Third, critical scholars argue that constructivism is deeply flawed because it is apolitical, does not adequately analyze categories such as norms, or simply resurrects rationalist ideas. However, this focus did little to advance understanding of how norms themselves change without necessarily being replaced (Van Kersbergen and Verbeek 2007; Hoffmann 2005; Chwieroth 2008; Sandholtz 2008). (2001). This also goes to the foundation of questions of the causes of war. e. In international relations, constructivism is a social theory that asserts that significant aspects of international relations are shaped by ideational factors. This was a vastly different kind of theorizing than was current in the mainstream of international relations that was locked in the neorealist/neoliberal debate (e.g., Krasner 1983; Keohane 1984, 1986; Baldwin 1990; Grieco 1990). Constructivism in international relations: The politics of reality. The goal of most norms-oriented studies in the initial wave of empirical constructivist work was to explain something about how world politics functions. Assessing the effects and effectiveness of the Geneva Conventions. These initial waves of constructivist writing met the challenge issued by Keohane and played a significant role in vaulting constructivism into prominence during the 1990s and early 2000s (Checkel 1998, 2004). (2006). In P. J. Katzenstein (Ed. Social Constructivism Summary Notes. Is something rotten in the state of Denmark? Constructivism and European integration. Discourse has power because language can shape how we view phenomena simple acts such as defining a conflict as one of terrorism, for example, then calls into effect a range of policy options associated with countering terrorism. Risses (2000) and Sendings (2002) critiques focus on the taken-for-granted mode of action implied the logic of appropriateness. Early empirical approaches did engage with normative dynamics and change (e.g., Finnemore and Sikkink 1998), but the understanding of dynamics and change was relatively circumscribed. Yet, the degree to which agents are able to independently evaluate their social context (as well as their material reality as far as that goes) and act upon it is what separates different behavioral logics and it is one way that different constructivist approaches in the current second wave (Acharya 2004) of norms research can be differentiated. Katzenstein, P. J. Percy, S. (2016). Social constructivism is a school of thought in International Relations (IR) theory. Constructivist explanations of different phenomena related to the military can highlight how norms and identity come into play. Rather than see security and conflict in the same way, actors will interpret and pursue security based on the ideas, norms, identities, and values that have meaning for them. 1999). A constructivist lens on PMCs, however, reveals how questions of national identity can also be central to their use. Main Theorists. Behavioral logics are concrete expressions of how mutual constitution works and what motivates actors to behave they way that they do. The analytic focus is shifting to the targets of socialization and the dynamic and agentic process whereby actors interact with their normative context. The superior military capabilities of the USA were a significant material advantage that should have compelled Iraq to avoid invasion. It is especially relevant and pertinent as a tool of criticism of widely held empirical and normative theories. International Relations employs three theories that political scientists use to explain and predict how world politics plays out.To define the theories of Realism, Liberalism, and Constructivism we will explore how each theory views anarchy, power, state interests, and the cause of war. (1999). forthcoming). In this regard, although posited by Wendt as a via media (1992, 1999) or middle ground (Adler 1997) with rationalism, constructivism offers a different view of key concepts like power. Bruner (1990) and Piaget (1972) are considered the chief theorists among the cognitive constructivists, while Vygotsky (1978) is the major theorist among the social constructivists. forthcoming). Norms and identity in world politics (pp. Realists have traditionally seen neutral states as weak and small, responding only to the external anarchic realm (Agius 2006). 6061). Sookermany, A. M. (2021). Rationalist critiques relate to constructivist methodology and epistemological claims. What Is Social Constructivism? Abstract: The history of social constructivism in International Relations (IR) is marked by cognitive change and continuity. There. There is considerable confusion in the field on what precisely constitutes social constructivism and what distinguishes it from other approaches to international relations.1 As a result, it has become fairly common to introduce constructivism as yet another substantive theory of international rela- If material is not included in the chapter's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. All of this came about through processes of socialization and persuasion, where interested groups such as NGOs, epistemic communities, and other actors not only successfully changed the norm around the treatment of civilians and combatants in warfare but instigated this norm as part of identity, and how states define right behavior. Bjrkdahl, A. First, unlike realist theory which sees actors as like units which respond to external phenomena in the same way, constructivists argue that who actors think they are matters. International norms dynamics and political change. Constructivism is an International Relations (IR) theory. Social Constructivism posits the argumentation that academic discourse as opposed to political engagement is more fruitful in bringing about lasting and genuine change in global affairs. The UK and the USA are part of NATO, so share alliance membership, but have also stood shoulder to shoulder in conflicts like Afghanistan and Iraq in response to global terrorism, which both states understand to be an existential threat to their way of life. Meaning is socially constructed this epistemological claim suggests that depending on ones position and perspective, knowledge and meaning produce different interpretations (Guzzini 2005, p. 498). By the end of the 1990s and early 2000s, constructivists were engaging with both the small number of big important things that Waltz (1986:329, cited in Finnemore 1996:1) famously claimed for structural realism and the large number of big important things that other approaches ignored (Finnemore 1996:1). Norms and identity in world politics. (One of the foundational texts that covers chapters on security and strategic culture, albeit from a mainly conventional perspective). Identifies the norms and ideas associated with them. Post Cold War Era- Provided much diverse approach to understand and analyze international relations. Second, there is a division between what is generally called conventional and critical constructivism (Hopf 1998), largely over questions of state centricity and treatment of identity. It will then consider some key criticisms of this approach and conclude with a short summary. While neorealists argued that attacking Iraq was not in the national interests of the USA and that containment was more effective (Mearsheimer and Walt 2003), neoconservative hawks determined otherwise. (1996). Captured by Alexander Wendts now-famous maxim anarchy is what states make of it, social constructivism is the idea that the world out there is not given, as realists would argue, but rather, socially constructed. In doing so, social constructivism places a focus on the importance of mutual constitution: international politics is shaped by both structures, such as anarchy, or agents, such as states and other actors. Sandholtz (2008:121) deems this to be a built-in dynamic of change whereby the ever present gap between general rules and specific situations, as well as the inevitable tension between norms, creates openings for disputes.. Self-identity and the IR state. Social Constructivist International Relations and the Military. Early constructivist work in the 1980s and early 1990s sought to establish a countervailing approach to the material and rational theories that dominated the study of international relations (e.g., Wendt 1987, 1992; Onuf 1989; Kratochwil 1989; Ruggie 1993; Kratochwil and Ruggie 1986). International relations require various perspectives to comprehend the complexity of the interactions that take place in the international sphere. The development of and debate over logics of behavior is the foundation of the reasoning about normsreasoning through norms spectrum. B., & Heikka, H. (2005). These works argue that norms do not provide fully specified rules for every situation, and especially not for novel situations. Its value also depends on the market, so it can go up and down, or buy more or fewer things, dependent on inflation, and other variables. An example of this can be seen in the case of Libya in 2011, which is broadly hailed as a successful R2P intervention. London: Routledge. It matters if one assumes that norms are manipulable by political actors who can reason about them from an external standpoint or if norms (and social structure more generally) more fundamentally constitute actors such that they cannot stand outside the social norms that shape their interests and behaviors. Is Dewey a social constructivist? Constructing institutional interests: EU and NATO enlargement. 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