Constructivism in IR

1. Definition

“A theoretical approach usually attributed to Alexander Wendt, which sees self-interested states as the key actors in world politics; their actions are determined not by anarchy but by the ways states socially construct and then respond to the meaning they give to power politics”.

2. The Context / Introduction

• Intellectually rooted in the Frankfurt school of critical theory.
• Chiefly inspired by the events and circumstances at the end of the cold war and thereafter in 1990’s. As IR mainstream theories could not predict the end of cold war, and it was felt that certain actors and interactions were left unexplored by the mainstream IR theorists.
• This failure at the end of the cold war opened space for alternative ways of looking at IR.
• Constructivism like other alternative approaches questions some of the basic assumptions that define mainstream theories.
• Social constructivism questions the materialism of liberal institutionalism, realism and Marxism by focusing on the role of ideas in IR.
• It questions the basis of international society.
• Emphasized the role of idea in IR.
• Constructivists ask if anarchy is a given thing then why two states behave differently in an anarchic international environment, one as self-helper, the other as regime builder. Examples: Sweden spent much of the 20^th century as a liberal institutionalists whereas Russia reacted to the same international environment as structural realists.
• Constructivists look at this odd situation and conclude that you cannot understand the world as a set of clearly defined cause and effect relationships because one cause may have many different effects depending on how it is perceived. Example: “if there is a riot going on in your neighbourhood, you may decide to lock yourself in your house or you may decide to band together with your neighbour. Either strategy may be rational depending on how you perceive both the threat and your neighbour”.
• Constructivists extend this metaphor to international society, states like people react to their contexts in different ways depending on how they perceive the situations. According to constructivists some states may be arming themselves in this anarchic structure against potential threats and some may join collective security regimes. Alexander Vendt sums up this idea in a simple statement – anarchy is what states make of it.

3. Basic Assumption

• World politics can be best understood through the prism of intersubjective human actions and the social construct of political life – “inter-subjective human actions refer to shared cognition and consensus that are essential in shaping out ideas and relations”. Unlike rocks and oceans these social actions depend on human interactions to make them real. We create and reproduce the societies we inhabit and we can choose to change them if our perception of reality changes.
• Social construction of reality – Means that aspects of IR like anarchy, sovereignty, regimes and the security dilemma are produces of human action or social facts.
• States’ national interests are not dictated by the structures they inhabit. It is socially constructed by their perceptions of the world in which they live.
• Link between identity and national interest – State’s interests are derived from the way they perceive themselves and those around them. Example: core values or identities of state define what the state considers important and will also affect the way it perceives other actors. North Korea vs USA and USA vs Western Europe.
• Constructivist view society, the world and human relations as shaped by human thoughts, ideas and beliefs and are not just natural or physical.
• It rejects the scientific material view of IR and prefers an ideational view of IR.
• Nothing is given IR; all human relations including International Relations are made through conscious human efforts.
• Anarchy is what states make of it.
• Cooperation or conflict in IR are not due to material considerations. These are reflected through agreements and disagreements of human minds.
• Idea precedes matter.
• Sovereignty is not constant, it is continuously challenged by institutional reforms and new national needs.

4. Social Constructivism

5. Agent-Oriented Constructivism

• “Domestic or internal identities are crucial in shaping perceptions in international arena”.

6. Application or Constructivism in Action

• It is the newest theory in IR
• It has been a successful theory in IR because it tells us things about the world which are useful and interesting.
• One important application of constructivism to problems in IR is securitization – this concept was formulated by Copenhagen School which includes scholars like professor Ole Waver and Barry Buzan.
• This concept highlights the way that we often use the language of security to emphasize the importance of some issues over others. Example: Was is a good example of how language can be used to justify as states use of extra-ordinary methods to pursue its national interest.
• Politics is full of wars against impersonal foes; the war on terror, war on drugs, war on poverty.
• Making something a matter of security raises its higher importance and draws the public’s attention. It can also militarize an issue, a step that can actually get in the way of effective problem solving. Example: USA in case of 9/11 attacks, Iraq wars used this language of social constructivism. Another example could be Narendra Modi and his definition of national interest.

7. Criticism

• Supplement liberalism and realism.
• Less focus on methodological issues.
• A general social scientific framework not theory.

8. Conclusion

• Reveals the inherent subjectivity of world politics and inability of any single theory to explain it.