(Ed.). You could not be signed in, please check and try again. Power is influenced by norms, ideas, and practices; in a constructivist reading, power depends on how it is used and what it means in the interaction of states. Security communities. Practice theory and relationalism as the new constructivism. There is significant overlap with the socialization literature here as the mechanisms by which an idea becomes a norm are not all that different from the mechanisms by which an actor outside a normative community is brought within. Steele, B. In essence, these scholars and those who draw upon their work consider that much of behavior in world politics arises from ingrained, unconscious motivations either habits or practices that drive precognitive behavior. Studies of norm diffusion or spread moved constructivists into the area of socialization. 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. Contestation over variants of universal participation then had significant impact on the evolution of the universal participation norm and climate governance outcomes. Constructing institutional interests: EU and NATO enlargement. For March and Olsen, the logic of consequences where agents undertake actions on the basis of rationally calculating the optimal (usually materially) course of action remained an insufficient foundation for theorizing behavior in international relations. Empirical norms studies have both drawn on these debates and fueled them with empirical data supporting different claims. After making the case that norms matter and developing a number of theoretical frameworks to show how norms emerge, spread, and influence behavior, norms-oriented constructivists have shifted their attention to a new set of questions, and in particular compliance with the strictures of social norms and change in norms themselves. 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. Our assessments, publications and research spread knowledge, spark enquiry and aid understanding around the world. International Organization, 53(3), 433468. Only those with equal power could make such demands, and the Athenians make good on their threat to destroy the Melians, declaring that might is right and the weak suffer what they must (Thucydides 1951, pp. The essay proceeds by first describing the initial establishment of constructivist norms research and critiques that flowed from the original choices made. Intersubjective facts like social norms only exist within a community of actors that accept them. International Politics, 53(2), 176197. Constructing international relations: The next generation. Mitzen, J. As Sandholtz (2008:101) puts it disputes about acts are at the heart of a process that continually modifies social rules. Katzenstein, P. J. Abstract: The history of social constructivism in International Relations (IR) is marked by cognitive change and continuity. While constructivism has made significant inroads into IR theorizing, it does not mean that it is unproblematic or immune from criticism. Cham: Springer. Hopf, T. (1998). (3) Normative emergence how an idea reaches intersubjective status in a community. Kurki, M., & Sinclair, A. While states may choose to participate in war or not for strategic or material reasons, it is often ideational justifications (i.e., related to justice, values or existential threat) that provide the compelling argument for or against war. New York: M. E. Sharpe. 451497). ), Epistemic communities, constructivism, and international environmental politics (pp. Introduction. (Ed.). While realists would argue that decision to go to war are based on rational state interests, constructivists would argue that the Geneva Convention represents the idea that war is a social and cultural practice and driven by moral considerations. Social constructivism is not among the most popular theoretical approaches used in forecasting in International Relations. [1] [2] [3] The most important ideational factors are those that are collectively held; these collectively held beliefs construct the interests and identities of actors. The growth of Private Military Companies (PMCs) or Private Military Security Contractors (PMSCs) in the 1990s and their increased use in conflicts has been a consequence of a range of different factors: increasing neo-liberalization, cuts to defense budgets and a desire for states to outsource security. The Geneva Convention (1949) is an example of an international regime. It is a social institution with norms, rules, and procedures to govern how civilians and combatants should be treated in war. (1951). In this sense, constructivism is really at its core a social theory of international relations because the focus on identity and interactions show how clashes and cooperation manifest in the global arena. 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- (pp. Some preexisting knowledge of speech act theory, constructivism, and securitization theory is useful before reading this chapter . They demonstrated that constructivism consisted of more than a metatheoretical critique of rational/material approaches and could indeed be used to structure rigorous empirical investigations across the spectrum of issues in international relations. Percy, S. (2016). For example, norms can challenge practices and beliefs that are seen to be no longer fit for purpose. 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. Despite their position of material weakness, the Melians argued that freedom and justice are more important. 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. Keywords Constructivists International norms International relations Rationalism Strategic behaviour Countering hybrid warfare as ontological security management: The emerging practices of the EU and NATO. (Eds.). The nuclear taboo: The United States and the normative basis of nuclear non-use. (Wendts book is vital reading for all constructivist scholars and his ontological and epistemological position on constructivism is set out more fully here. Constructivism in international relations: The politics of reality. Identity informs preferences and interests, so to understand why certain states behave the way they do on the international stage, paying attention to how their identities drive their interests and actions matters. From this perspective, the logic of appropriateness, as it was developed through engagement with the logic of consequences foil, allowed the socially constructed ideational/normative world to play a role by providing cues as to what behaviors were appropriate. But we dont call it torture! Constructivism is a theory of knowledge which argues that humans generate knowledge and meaning through world interactions and ideas. Norms and identity in world politics (pp. Assessing the effects and effectiveness of the Geneva Conventions. Poststructuralism in international relations: An exploration of discourse and the military. In this section you learn about: Realism, liberalism, constructivism, feminism and neo-Marxism as ways of explaining international relations. But a constructivist reading of the Melian Dialogue (Lebow 2001) shows how ideas rather than material factors played a role in the decision of the Melians, even if the outcome was grim (Agius 2006). While some of the major criticisms of constructivist thought should be at the forefront when considering security and military problems through this lens, the potential to see the world in more dynamic terms is one of constructivisms leading contributions. Correspondence to Thucydides. Wendts contention was that rather than see anarchy as a given condition of the international system, ordering relations and compelling states to behave in certain ways to secure themselves, anarchy, rather, depends on whether states buy into this view. International Organization, 48(2), 185214. As Tannenwald says, [e]ven as states pursue their interests, they do so within a normative structure (2017, p. 17). Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 15(1), 923. At the core of social constructivism is the idea that international politics and indeed human relations are socially constructed rather than given. Its core ideas are based around three ontological positions relating to identity, ideas, and mutual constitution. They were aware of and noted the simplifications being made caveating their work with notations about the fluid and inherently contested nature of norms. In addition, norms-oriented research and the constructivist literature writ large has begun to concern itself more with research questions that fall out from constructivist thought independently without as much reference to competing approaches (Checkel 2004). And while the focus on norms is important, there is an overwhelming tendency to examine good norms theres often the assumption that norms are good or ethical without critically analyzing what makes them good and what they mean for international change (Erskine 2012; Kowert and Legro 1996). Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, You can also search for this author in Roennfeldt, C. F. (2022). Contrastingly, neorealist prescriptions of power see it as hard, material, military power (such as large military forces or superior weapons) and are concerned with its distribution in the international system. This is a different way to think about and imagine the international realm beyond the narrow confines of rationalist power prescriptions. An example of this can be seen in the case of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which was created in 2002 to hear cases of war crimes. The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in the chapter's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. In addition, rather than taking the external norm as given, recent socialization studies examine compliance with international norms as a process by which states (already normatively constituted) interact with, manipulate, and (sometimes) incorporate external ideas in a dynamic fashion. Consider the shared norms that define military conduct and the institutions that have evolved around military practice; from the Geneva Conventions to the classic texts on warfare that are part of military training, a process of social interaction is taking place where norms are learned, and culture and identity are shaped. Social Constructivism in International Relations and the Gender Dimension . Wiener (2007) has advanced what she is calling a new logic of contestedness and has explored (2004) the dynamics of interpretation and contestation in European responses to the 2003 Iraq War. Throughout the chapter, reference will be made to constructivisms epistemological (how we know it), ontological (what we know), teleological (what is the purpose), and methodological (the tools we use to study) standing, where it is located in IR theorizing, and what it can mean for understanding military phenomena (see Philosophy of Military Science by Sookermany in this volume). Social norms were conceptualized as aspects of social structure that emerged from the actions and beliefs of actors in specific communities; norms shaped those actions and beliefs by constituting actors identities and interests. Allen, J. Katzenstein, P. J. [1] [3] Special issue. Constructivism is a structural theory of the international system that makes the following core claims: (1) states are the principal units of analysis for international political theory; (2) the key structures in the states system are intersubjective rather than material; and. 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). In A. M. Sookermany (Ed. His (2000:2) logic of arguing is designed to clarify how actors develop a common knowledge and how norms and ideas can have a constitutive effect while retaining the reflection and choice Sending (2002:458) deems necessary for mutual constitution and change. NATO and the New Europe. - 51.75.65.162. Wiener (2004:203) argues that the interpretation of the meaning of norms, in particular, the meaning of generic sociocultural norms, cannot be assumed as stable and uncontested. Some constructivists stress reflection and consider that agents are able to reason about the various pulls on their possible behavior (either solely normative/ideational pulls or those in addition to material/strategic pulls). Second, analytic tractability is necessary and is no trivial accomplishment. New York: Columbia University Press. PS: Political Science and Politics, 50(1), 7174. Understanding how ideas about danger and threat are socially constructed, and how states form social relations in the international system is a key starting point in discussions about global security. As Onuf states: Constructivism holds that people make society, and society makes people. 124). Constructivism is the claim that significant aspects of international relations are historically and socially contingent (subject to change), rather than inevitable consequences of human nature or other essential characteristics of world politics. The concept of power: A constructivist analysis. This article aims to illuminate how social constructivism has evolved as a mainstream international relation (IR) paradigm within a short period of time. Hagstrm, L., & Gustafsson, K. (2015). Japan and identity change: Why it matters in international relations. This matters because it suggests that international relations is more dynamic rather than fixed. Constructivism The international relations theory that suggests that people create their own 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. Moreover, for some, constructivism is problematic because it is seen as apolitical and its efforts to form a via media with rationalism bring the state back in (Weber 1999; Zehfuss 2002). In military exercises with other nations, states share practices and ideas and in doing so, learn from each other. Social Constructivism is one of international relations approach. For neorealists, the relative material capabilities of states determine hierarchy and power in international relations. States interactions are socially constructed. Reuters, 2 July. In K. M. Fierke & K. E. Jrgensen (Eds. Even among security communities such as the Nordic states, different strategic cultures can be found because they are informed by a range of historical and cultural experiences, with different experiences of war and conflict, membership of alliances, and other factors (see special issues of Cooperation and Conflict (2005) and Global Affairs (2018) for further discussions). This chapter will also cover the different branches of constructivist thought and the main critiques of constructivism to highlight its key contributions and the problems it also raises. Recent efforts to ensure gender equality in militaries represent a normative shift, affecting operations and culture. Neumann, I. van Meegdenburg, H. (2019). The Peloponnesian War. Combining the beliefs, norms and values of influential individuals, as well as the state as a whole, creates its identity, which then influences its behaviors. Just as liberalism was a response to realism, economic structuralism is a response to liberalism. While constructivists do not deny the importance of material factors, they also argue that ideas also matter, and in some cases, matter more. Is Dewey a social constructivist? Constructivism's approach to the subjects of threat, conflict and security in global politics originated from their fundamental emphasis on the social dimensions of international politics, thus it defined them as socially constructed elements in the process of identity formation under the influence of the norms and shared values of society. Constructivist ideas are present when attention is turned to alliances and security communities. 1820; see also Katzenstein 1996). Although the theory lies more on non-material factors that govern states, it explains that politics also plays a role in international relations. An example of this can be seen in the rationalist understanding of behavior in warfare. Treating social norms as fully formed, static constructs, even for analytic convenience, underplayed this dynamism. Cooperation and Conflict, 49(4), 519535. The second is compliance or diffusion actors from different normative communities seek to enlarge their communities or to hold on to extant norms in the face of external normative challenges and disputes that arise can lead to normative change in both communities. Norms in international relations: Some conceptual and methodological reflections. Quintessentially, Finnemore and Sikkink (1998:914) noted the highly contingent and contested nature of normative change and normative influence in their examination of the norm life cycle. Presents a social constructivist reading of securitization theory that, besides the Copenhagen school, also includes other constructivist interpretations of security that draw on securitization and speech act theory. His refusal to allow the UN weapons inspectors into Iraq during the buildup to war in 2003 was seen as irrational to many in the west. Wiener (2004:198) warns us that studying norms as causes for behavior leaves situations of conflicting or changing meanings of norms analytically underestimated. Certainly norms exhibit stability, as they are recognizable by the common expectations that they structure but, paradoxically, norms are also in a constant state of dynamism and flux. Staff & Defence College, Norwegian Defence University College, Oslo, Norway, Norwegian Defence University College / Norwegian Military Academy, Oslo, Norway. Altmetric. People who share an identification are then assumed to share unique traits and attributes. The Constructivist Approach to Explain National Identity . Ideas about whether actors reason about norms or through norms can be linked to behavioral logics, which provide conceptions of how actors and norms are linked. (1999). They (2005:25) note, As domestic actors search about for new ideas to legitimate their self-interested preferences, the norms and institutions of the international system often provide them. While Cortell and Davis do not problematize the substance of the financial liberalization norm under examination, they do attend to a neglected aspect of norm dynamics the actions of those actors who are targeted for socialization. Beginning with the assumption that actors reason about social norms means considering norms to be (at least somewhat) external to actors, part of their social context, but at least potentially manipulable by actors. In A. M. Sookermany (Ed. An example here is in what is generally called the laws of armed conflict, such as the Geneva Conventions, which sets the rules for how victims of war are to be treated, and the Hague Conventions (1899 and 1907), which addressed the conduct of war, such as the types of weapons permissible in warfare.
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