Constructivisms key influences come from sociological and philosophical perspectives on the nature of reality and phenomena, which brings knowledge, language, and social relations to the fore. 2023 Springer Nature Switzerland AG. Social Constructivism sees the whole discipline of International Relations as a social construction. This goes against realist reliance on a world structured by anarchy that compels states to behave in certain ways, regardless of what sort of states they are (Farrell 2002, pp. 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. (1992). Both compliance and contestation studies have broadened our understanding of norm dynamics allowing norms themselves to change and exploring the conditions under which norms will elicit conformance but they do so in different ways. Self-identity and the IR state. International Theory, 4(3), 449468. For neorealists, the relative material capabilities of states determine hierarchy and power in international relations. The logic of anarchy is but one way in which it is possible to imagine how the international system works. Scholars such as Adler (2008), Pouliot (2008), and Hopf (2002) found this reflective aspect of the logic of appropriateness to allow for too much independence between agents and structures. I also explored the growing body of constructivist . Advance of Theory of Constructivism in IR The theory's rise is generally attributed after the end of cold war . Steele, B., Gould, H., & Kessler, O. States may join military alliances to bandwagon with stronger powers, as realists tell us. 12). Constructivists used this logic in early efforts to contrast their work with more established rationalist perspectives on world politics (see especially Finnemore 1996) because the logic of appropriateness contends that actors in world politics undertake actions that are appropriate for their particular identity. As Koschut (2014, p. 525) explains, this can transform the behaviour of states from a self-help manner to trust-building. Think here about realist logic at the end of the Cold War with the demise of bipolarity, NATO should have gone the same way as the Warsaw Pact. 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. Abstract: The history of social constructivism in International Relations (IR) is marked by cognitive change and continuity. Constructivists interested in norm change have recently begun reconceiving norm dynamics in a different way and have focused on contestation within communities of norm acceptors. While arguments remain about constructivisms ontological commitments and efforts to build a bridge between rationalist and reflectivist approaches, its relevance for military studies can be widely seen in terms of how it can broaden thinking about how to see and respond to other actors in terms of security and cooperation. Perhaps this is simply a matter of what questions are being asked. Constructivism considers the relations between states (and other actors) as a social realm; less about the distribution of resources and power and more about the distribution of ideas. London: Penguin. 219227). Critical methodology and constructivism. Hilde van Meegdenburg argues that in the case of Denmark, the use of PMSCs has been limited because it is not seen to align with Danish values. This also goes to the foundation of questions of the causes of war. The traditional theories (Idealism and Realism) had diverted all focus to state and Power. The work of Cortell and Davis (2005) and Acharya (2004) are relevant examples of this type of compliance research. Likewise, culture plays a significant role in international security. (Ed.). However, the success of this initial wave of constructivist norms studies was built on an analytic move that would engender significant debate in the 2000s. Jacobsen (2003:60) recognizes the need to theorize this relationship observing that, constructivists of all stripes seem to agree that it is vital to theorize links between subjective experience and social/institutional structures. The two versions of norm dynamics discussed above posit different conceptions of the intersubjective/subjective relationship, but neither has developed the final answer to this open question. (2019), and Kessler and Steele (2016) for recent advanced debates.) March and Olsen introduced the discipline to the notion of behavioral logics in delineating the logic of consequences and the logic of appropriateness, framing their discussion in terms of a rationalist-sociological debate (March and Olsen 1998). Social constructivism is a school of thought in International Relations (IR) theory. Introduction to International Relations Theory 100% (10) 63. This review examines the constructivist norms-oriented literature from early efforts geared at gaining acceptance in a field dominated by the neorealist/neoliberal debates, through the recent emergence of agendas focused on norm compliance and contestation. As Tannenwald says, [e]ven as states pursue their interests, they do so within a normative structure (2017, p. 17). A notable example that Searle uses to explain this is money. Fierke, K. M., & Jrgensen, K. E. On the learning literature more generally, see Levy , Jack , "Learning and Foreign Policy: Sweeping a Conceptual Minefield (Review Article)," International Organization 48 (Spring 1994 . 6667). What agents want and who they are may be constituted by social structures, but there is never a complete sublimation of agents they retain an ability to reason about constitutive social structures and make relatively independent behavioral choices. The Risse, Ropp, and Sikkink volume developed the spiral model that explained socialization of recalcitrant Southern states into universal human rights norms by referring to the linkages between and actions of transnational human rights activists, domestic human rights activists in the target state, and powerful Western state sponsors. London: Routledge. 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. Trust, collective identity, shared norms, and intersubjective meanings are important for alliances and security communities, helping to ensure collective vision and purpose (Adler and Barnett 1998). Constructivism is based on the general notion that international relations are socially constructed. Theo Farrell (2002, p. 50) explains this in the following way: where actors are great powers, the social structure is an international system that gives meaning to great power and recognizes this identity in particular practices, such as the use of force against smaller states; through such practices, states great and small in turn shape the international system. If the world is anarchic, Wendt argued, it is because states believe it to be so, and seek to secure themselves by the logic that anarchy produced. It stresses the social dimensions of International relations. The goal of most norms-oriented studies in the initial wave of empirical constructivist work was to explain something about how world politics functions. 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. Steele, B. For decades, the theory of International Relations was dominated by two approaches: realism and liberalism. 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. Whereas Morgenthaus classical realism described interests in terms of power as a truism of international relations, in empirical terms, power might not be a driver for states interests and actions. According to this approach, the behaviour of humans is determined by their identity, which itself is shaped by society's values, history, practices, and institutions. Following the initial success of empirical norms studies that established the efficacy of studying norms and showed that they mattered, current norms research explores when/where norms matter and how/when/why norms themselves change to a greater extent. Norms and Social Constructivism in International Relations | Oxford Research Encyclopedia of International Studies 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. First, norms are relatively stable if they were not, it would be hard to justify or observe this analytic category. (2005). (One of the foundational texts that covers chapters on security and strategic culture, albeit from a mainly conventional perspective). 55K views 2 years ago International Relations Constructivism is one of critical theories in IR criticizing the classical theories. Understanding compliance with and contestation over norms either in isolation or together can be enhanced by paying more attention to the prior understanding of who is in the community. This recent research speaks to and is driven by broader questions of conceptualizing the relationship between actors and norms whether actors reason through or about social norms. For liberals, the belief that liberal ideas such as democracy and the free market are ideas to be shared to make the world a better place suggests a transfer of ideas rather than an exchange of ideas. This article aims to illuminate how social constructivism has evolved as a mainstream international relation (IR) paradigm within a short period of time. Glanville, L. (2016). International Studies Quarterly, 60(3), 475485. Two strands of research, on the relations between strategic behaviour and international norms and between rationalism and constructivism, serve as examples of promising research in constructivist international relations theory. Steele, B. Moreover, military alliances are increasingly not just about physical security but about binding together states with shared interests, identities, and norms. In A. M. Sookermany (Ed. This freezing of norms tended to make them independent from politics as variables in political behavior. (). 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. Constructivism is the new approach to International Relations. Identities are formed through shared meanings and understandings of the world, which then brings in culture, intersubjective or shared meanings and norms and values. Our assessments, publications and research spread knowledge, spark enquiry and aid understanding around the world. This is akin to what Krebs and Jackson (2007:434) describe as implication contests where actors agree on the nature of an issue, but not the policy implications and framing contests where there is fundamental disagreement about the situation at hand. Constructivism is an International Relations (IR) theory. Second, analytic tractability is necessary and is no trivial accomplishment. During the First World War, Belgium, driven by a sense of honor, chose to fight Germany even though the Belgians risked and experienced catastrophic consequences (Steele 2008b). The goal was to show how a target behavior can be accounted by considering the ideational context, how ideas and norms constitute interests, or how social norms influence actors understandings of the material world. When actors follow the logic of arguing, they seek common understandings through discourse and dialogue. Your current browser may not support copying via this button. 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. To be clear, constructivists have been quite good at demonstrating the replacement of one norm with another. Chapter 4 Constructivism and Interpretive Theory CCRAIGPARSONS [A constructivist argument claims tear people do one thing and not anurher due co the presence of certain social construct ideas, belies, noms, idenies, or some other iterpreuire fer through which people perceive the wood. It is through human agreement that a piece of paper, metal, or even cryptocurrency is seen as a form of money, which is assigned a certain value (Searle 1995, pp. 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. For military studies scholars, his three cultures of anarchy help capture how conventional constructivism relates to military affairs and international security). For example, norms can challenge practices and beliefs that are seen to be no longer fit for purpose. Learning Objectives. Reuters, 2 July. Sandholtz (2008) himself proposes a cyclical model to explain the evolution of norms prohibiting wartime plunder. Perhaps more fundamentally from a feminist perspective, Locher and Prugl contend that the objectivist stance of many constructivist scholars is inconsistent with their social ontology. Constructivism insists that reality is subjective. . Security institutions as agents of socialization? Yet Saddam did not want to appear weak to enemies such as Iran (Allen 2009). 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). Just as liberalism was a response to realism, economic structuralism is a response to liberalism. Kessler, O., & Steele, B. Birdsall, A. (1996). Norms, identity, and their limits: A theoretical reprise. Constructivism, normative IR theory and the limits and possibilities of studying ethics in world politics. Wendt, A. Cham: Springer. 451497). (2002). The nuclear taboo: The United States and the normative basis of nuclear non-use. New York: Oxford University Press. The compliance literature is most often concerned with the actions of actors (Japan in the Cortell and Davis piece or the Southeast Asian nations in Acharyas work) who have yet to accept or internalize international norms (financial liberalization and cooperative security/humanitarian intervention). Arguments over the different actions feed back and alter the meaning of the original norms. The basics of constructivism While constructivism has made significant inroads into IR theorizing, it does not mean that it is unproblematic or immune from criticism. (2018). This dynamism, it should also be noted, may not always be positive ideas about security can also regress or become less normative or progressive. 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. (1999). An example of this can be seen in the rationalist understanding of behavior in warfare. The international system is defined by anarchy. This standpoint of Constructivism is contrary to the 'atomized' Cooperation and Conflict, 40(1), 523. Katzenstein, P. J. The market for ontological security. General norms must be operationalized or translated into specific actions for specific situations. 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). These criticisms are predominantly about where constructivism claims to fit in IR (as the middle ground between rationalist and reflectivist approaches) and its methodological commitments. Weinhabits world of our making" (Onuf,1989),and setion i . (2010). Indeed, norms, identity, and ideas are key factors in constructivist theory. Farrell, T. (2002). The rest of this section explores this distinction in greater detail, discussing the behavioral logics at the foundation of the about/through spectrum before examining the recent compliance and contestation literatures that are developing new ideas about norm dynamics. ), Epistemic communities, constructivism, and international environmental politics (pp. 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. About us. Culture can refer to symbolic or evaluative standards that guide relations and provide meaning. New York: Routledge. In K. M. Fierke & K. E. Jrgensen (Eds. (1951). As Farrell tells us, liberals and realists do not agree on what prevents war is it democracy (as liberals would contend?) Anarchy is what states make of it: The social construction of power politics. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Empirical norms studies have both drawn on these debates and fueled them with empirical data supporting different claims. Constructivists argue that international life is social, resulting from the ways people interact with each other (i.e. Initial constructivist norm studies thus tended to focus on how behavior in a community coalesces around a norm or is reconstituted when a norm emerges. Moravcsik, A. International Relations, 22(2), 243261. This pivot is an interesting development in norms research for two reasons. Nonetheless, constructivist approaches to identity, norms, and ideas about the world and its social relations can impact understandings of what it means to be secure. It then turns to a discussion of two directions currently being explored in social norms research and the open questions that remain. (pp. Does R2P matter? Identity and culture can be problematic categories and distract from other factors that can explain international relations, such as capitalism or patriarchy (Kurki and Sinclair 2010). Agius, C. (2006). European Security, 27(3), 374392. The seminal volume edited by Risse, Ropp, and Sikkink (1999) was the fountainhead for much of this research as it provided an explicit mechanism for how a particular set of human rights norms diffused beyond the community that originally endorsed them. 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. The norms (both established and potential) meaning, constitutive properties, and behavioral strictures remain unchanged throughout the analysis (Van Kersbergen and Verbeek 2007). Cham: Springer. Meanings: socially constructed. The underlying idea of the logic of appropriateness that actors draw upon ideas about what they should do in specific situations given who they are was consistent with social constructivisms commitment to the causal and constitutive (Wendt 1998) effects of norms. New York: Columbia University Press. Even though it was opposed by the USA, which did not want to subject its military forces to external war crime trials, it is an example of a constitutive norm (which creates new actors, interests and categories of action (Bjrkdahl 2002, pp. ), Handbook of military sciences (pp. In The New Constructivism in International Relations Theory, David McCourt offers a refreshing take on Constructivism by reviewing old, present, and new concepts in Constructivism and connects them pragmatically with methodological examples.Moreover, this book functions as a handbook on 'how to constructivist' in an era defined and dominated by new advances in computational social science. Subsequently, states do what they can to secure themselves, which often means resorting to military force. 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. https://doi.org/10.1080/23340460.2018.1533385. 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. How are self-understandings and identity constituted in the international realm? Nordic strategic culture. Critical constructivists would seek to include different identities in how they understand the nation and present a more complex picture of what identity means and how it is contested and can be deconstructed (Fierke 2001). They were aware of and noted the simplifications being made caveating their work with notations about the fluid and inherently contested nature of norms. Realists have traditionally seen neutral states as weak and small, responding only to the external anarchic realm (Agius 2006). International Organization, 53(3), 433468. The main empirical focus tended to be on either the development of a European polity (e.g., Checkel 2001) or on attempts at socializing Southern states into (relatively) universal international norms like human rights and sovereign statehood (Finnemore 1996; Risse et al. States interactions are socially constructed. Reviewing the complementary identity-oriented approaches is beyond the scope of this essay, but its neglect here in no way reflects the importance of this crucial aspect of constructivist theorizing (on identity see, e.g., Hall 1999; Hopf 2002). Th e article argues that constructivism suff ers from the same . Copy this link, or click below to email it to a friend. Second, at a broader level, the current norms literature is wrestling with the relationship between intersubjective and subjective reality. Instead, constructivism is held together by consensus on broader questions of social process its position on the agent-structure problem and the primacy of the ideational and the intersubjective aspects of social life (for overviews of constructivism see Onuf 1998; Ruggie 1998; Finnemore and Sikkink 2001; Ba and Hoffmann 2003). ), Constructing international relations: The next generation (pp. 1516). But for constructivists, it is social structure that is important (Farrell 2002, p. 52). 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. Critical constructivists prefer to examine state identity in terms of its wider story (Fierke and Jrgensen 2001). Conformance how social norms as intersubjective objects stabilize expectations and even bound what is considered to be possible (Yee 1996) was a crucial area for constructivists because without evidence of conformance with the strictures of social norms, constructivists could not demonstrate that norms mattered. Abstract. INRODUCTION T O INTERNA TIONAL RELA TION THEO RIES 23/10/2018. Constructivists are certainly aware that actual behavior in world politics fails to correlate exactly to what are in essence ideal typical models of behavior. But the nuclear issue is also important because it shows how competing ideas about norms co-exist or contrast for example, former US President Donald Trump tried to change the norm around the use of nuclear weapons, arguing for the ability to use low yield nuclear weapons and the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review returned to the idea that nuclear superiority mattered (Tannenwald 2018). Social constructivism can also help make sense of security and military phenomena, such as alliances and threat perceptions, or why states go to war. Yet the logic of appropriateness appears to cede the ground of purposeful, goal-oriented behavior to rationalist perspectives (whether it actually cedes this ground is an additional, and crucial question). Wiener (2004:191, 192) notes that this behavioralist approach operates with stable norms and is best suited to inferring and predicting behavior by referring to a particular category of norms that entail standards for behavior. While these studies unveiled how the norms they examined contributed to dynamic political processes, they tended to hold the norms themselves constant. Constructivism in international relations: The politics of reality. The link was not copied. This aspect of the literature is more focused on how actors understand the norms that constitute them and alternatively consider how actors that reason through norms can contest and reconstruct the norms that bind communities together. Krahmann, E. (2018). Zehfuss, M. (2002). Whose progress, which morals? If any further proof were needed for the continuing rise to fame of constructivism in International Relations, this would be it . Constructivism demonstrates the flexibility and critical stance that characterizes the reflectivist theories by stressing the socially constructed aspect of international realities and highlighting the ever-changing nature of the study of International Relations. Put simply, social norms were treated as independent variables explanations for varied behaviors observed in world politics. When ideas and behaviors differ over time or space, trends that once looked solid and consistent can shift as well. Of course, norms can be subjected to revision or even reversed. Rather than diminishing other major theories, according to its holders and proponents, constructivism theory provides wider illumination a larger explanation for determining the dynamic and the function of world politics. In essence, they theorized norm diffusion as taking place from a community of Western states constituted by compliance with universal human rights norms to individual Southern states. Identifies the norms and ideas associated with them. International relations and military sciences. Seizing the middle ground: Constructivism in world politics. The nuclear taboo is another example of a regulative norm (prescribing non-use), but it was also a constitutive norm (associating the taboo with the idea that civilized nations would not resort to using nuclear weapons) (Tannenwald 1999). In his study of how the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and its constituent states interacted with global norms, Acharya (2004:251) demonstrates that localization does not extinguish the cognitive prior of the norm-takers but leads to its mutual inflection with external norms. International norms are adapted to local circumstances by actors with the ability to observe and manipulate ideas from the external normative context in so doing they alter the substance of the international norm to build congruence. Tannenwald, N. (2018). As political processes such as the 2008 economic crisis in Europe and Brexit show, theorising a polity. Beyond fueling critiques of constructivism, treating norms as static entities made it difficult for constructivists to explain normative change (ironic for an approach that rose to prominence with its critique of other theories inability to explain change). Critics found this dual understanding of the logic of appropriateness wanting and thus developed additional behavioral logics that modeled differing motivations and modes of behavior more explicitly. European Journal of International Relations, 3(3), 319363. Neumann, I. In A. M. Sookermany (Ed. A key illustration here is the norm of human rights, which is widely accepted by actors (Katzenstein 1996). Social constructionism is not the norm. Instead, norms are general principles that must be translated into specific actions (Gregg 2003). A paradox of social norms is their dual quality. In both cases, compliance with an international norm behaving in a way that matches the behavioral strictures of the norm is expressly theorized and variation in compliance is explained not by pitting constructivist and rationalist/materialist variables, but by examining processes by which domestic actors interpret and manipulate international and local norms. Constructivism considers these interactions as a sociological process in which its agents and structures are centered in a reciprocal constitution; a part of society can not be understood without the other ones. 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. A key illustration here is the norm of human rights, which is widely accepted actors... Relations are socially constructed covers chapters on security and strategic culture, from. Constructivists, it is social structure that is important ( Farrell 2002, p. 525 ),... 22 ( 2 ), 433468 norms research and the normative basis of nuclear non-use Relations and meaning! Crisis in Europe and Brexit show, theorising a polity it is,. Constructivists, it would be hard to justify or observe this analytic category norms are social constructivism international relations stable they. Rationalist understanding of behavior in warfare subjected to revision or even reversed what questions are being asked of rights... Just as liberalism was a response to liberalism as Iran ( Allen 2009 ) 60 ( ). Birdsall, a foundation of questions of the foundational texts that covers chapters on security strategic. Only to the foundation of questions of the foundational texts that covers chapters on security and culture. 3 ( 3 ), and their limits: a theoretical reprise external anarchic (... That remain can be subjected to revision or even reversed for neorealists, the current norms literature is with. The relationship between intersubjective and subjective reality while these studies unveiled how the international system works international,... Interna TIONAL RELA TION THEO RIES 23/10/2018 this freezing of norms in Europe and Brexit show, a... The foundation of questions of the original norms the causes of war trivial accomplishment albeit from a conventional... When ideas and behaviors differ over time or space, trends that once looked and! Must be operationalized or translated into specific actions for specific situations IR theory and normative! K. M. Fierke & K. E. Jrgensen ( Eds research and the questions... And is no trivial accomplishment with the relationship between intersubjective and subjective reality with each other i.e! Imagine how the international realm, identities, and their limits: a reprise. Relatively stable if they were aware of and noted the simplifications being made their! Stronger powers, as realists tell us B., Gould, H., & Steele, B. Birdsall,.. Relations and provide meaning specific actions ( Gregg 2003 ) Acharya ( 2004 ) are relevant of! 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