social constructivism international relations

Recent studies have taken the generic nature of norms more seriously and have subsequently focused on how actors must operationalize their normative context to take specific actions (Hoffmann 2005; Van Kersbergen and Verbeek 2007; Sandholtz 2008). European Journal of International Relations, 5(4), 435450. 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. Baumann, M. (2022). Recent efforts to ensure gender equality in militaries represent a normative shift, affecting operations and culture. Weinhabits world of our making" (Onuf,1989),and setion i . Assuming that actors reason through social norms means beginning analysis with the understanding that the very way that actors view and understand the world is shaped by social norms. Hi!Welcome back to the King's College London International Relations Today Youtube channel. Arguments over the different actions feed back and alter the meaning of the original norms. There. Structures and agents influence each other. It stresses the social dimensions of International relations. The initial empirical norms research tended to simplify normative dynamics to facilitate analysis and dialogue with competing perspectives, treating the norms that they analyzed as relatively static entities with relatively specific meanings and strictures. Critiques Lack a theory of agency: - According to Hopt (The Promise of Constructivism in international relations theory, 1998), constructivism is an approach, not a theory; or at most a theory of process. Copy this link, or click below to email it to a friend. 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. What is the main argument of constructivism? ), The culture of national security: Norms and identity in world politics (pp. Tactical constructivism, method, and international relations. 3536). The essay proceeds by first describing the initial establishment of constructivist norms research and critiques that flowed from the original choices made. FBI says Saddams weapons bluff aimed at Iran. Constructivists hold that . 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. Focusing on these elements of normative dynamics led to progress in how constructivists understood conformance with normative strictures, the spread of existing norms, and the emergence of new norms. Today's video is the third in our IR 101 series in which we discu. Social norms were conceived as aspects of social structure that emerged from the actions and beliefs of actors in specific communities and in turn norms shaped those actions and beliefs by constituting actors identities and interests. forthcoming). On the contrary, this analytic device has a deep history in the sociological and economic literatures. 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). From this mainly structural perspective, social norms were conceptualized as an alternative to rationalist/materialist variables in explanations of world politics. ), Handbook of military sciences (pp. IR: The resurrection or new frontiers of incorporation. Instead, attempts at synthesis of constructivism and rationalism are now en vogue (e.g., Fearon and Wendt 2001; Schimmelfennig 2001, 2005; Checkel and Zurn 2005; Kornprobst 2007; Culpepper 2008; Kelley 2008). A paradox of social norms is their dual quality. Identities are formed through shared meanings and understandings of the world, which then brings in culture, intersubjective or shared meanings and norms and values. 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. The superior military capabilities of the USA were a significant material advantage that should have compelled Iraq to avoid invasion. Cooperation and Conflict, 40, 1. Journal of European Public Policy, 6(5), 721742. He argued: If behavior in the real social world can almost always be located in some of the intermediate spaces between the corners of the triangle, one single metatheoretical orientation will probably not capture it. In the context of the global war on terror, US efforts to extract intelligence from suspected terrorists led to the use of enhanced interrogation techniques which was widely seen to have abrogated or contested the global prohibition on the use of torture (Steele 2008a; see also Birdsall (2016) who argues that it worked to strengthen the anti-torture norm). 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. 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. (2005). 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. 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). The identity of agents such as states matter because identity helps determine national interests. Of course, norms can be subjected to revision or even reversed. For decades, the theory of International Relations was dominated by two approaches: realism and liberalism. Having made the case that norms matter and having developed a number of theoretical frameworks to show how norms emerge, spread, and influence behavior, normsoriented constructivists have begun to turn their attention to a new set of questions. 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. A Social Constructivist Interpretation of the Liberal Argument," European Journal of International Relations 1 (December 1995)CrossRef Google Scholar. To gain acceptance and make the case that constructivist ideas mattered empirically, constructivists endeavored to demonstrate how their ideational perspective could provide superior understanding and explanation of political phenomena. In P. J. Katzenstein (Ed. Ideas about whether actors reason about norms or through norms can be linked to underlying behavioral logics that constructivists have devised and developed since the inception of the approach. An example of this can be seen in the case of Libya in 2011, which is broadly hailed as a successful R2P intervention. It is especially relevant and pertinent as a tool of criticism of widely held empirical and normative theories. New York: Columbia University Press. The logic of anarchy is but one way in which it is possible to imagine how the international system works. Staff & Defence College, Norwegian Defence University College, Oslo, Norway, Norwegian Defence University College / Norwegian Military Academy, Oslo, Norway. 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). If any further proof were needed for the continuing rise to fame of constructivism in International Relations, this would be it . Advance of Theory of Constructivism in IR The theory's rise is generally attributed after the end of cold war . Viewed in this way, as Onuf insists, "Constructivism applies to all fields of social inquiry" and "is a way of studying social relations - any kind of social relations." Finnemore, M., & Sikkink, K. (1998). Bjrkdahl, A. Both of these critiques run afoul of constructivist logic yet are legitimate given how norms were conceptualized in the initial wave of empirical constructivist work. About us. Cooperation and Conflict, 49(4), 519535. This matters because it suggests that international relations is more dynamic rather than fixed. Roennfeldt, C. F. (2022). From the perspective of those who work on norms, there are very good reasons to focus on static and specific norms when analyzing international relations. 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. Realists have traditionally seen neutral states as weak and small, responding only to the external anarchic realm (Agius 2006). Constructivism relies in part on the theory of the social construction of reality, which says that whatever reality is perceived to be, for the . But for constructivists, it is social structure that is important (Farrell 2002, p. 52). This realization was part of what prompted the serious focus on domestic political/normative contexts in much of this literature. This perspective states that the . The scope of military conduct can also be institutionalized, and constructivism provides a way to understand such processes. Similarly, treating social norms as static independent variables led to calls for constructivists to define the conditions under which normative and nonnormative influences on behavior are likely to be the most important in determining behavior (Legro and Kowert 1996; Risse et al. In addition, taking constructivist thought to its logical conclusion, there is no such thing as nonnormative behavior or pure material self-interest independent of a normative context. You could not be signed in, please check and try again. Second, analytic tractability is necessary and is no trivial accomplishment. (3) state identities and interests are in important part constructed . Steele, B. Initial constructivist studies of social norms generally clustered into three areas. People who share an identification are then assumed to share unique traits and attributes. Social constructivism can also help make sense of security and military phenomena, such as alliances and threat perceptions, or why states go to war. Even so, more recently there has been some rejection of the ICC by a few African states, signaling that some states are unwilling to accept its authority. How militaries assess and interpret threat can be related to culture, intersubjective meanings, and social networks and understandings. 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. ), Handbook of military sciences (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. Treating norms as generic has been at the foundation of the recent shift towards the study of contestation. e. In international relations, constructivism is a social theory that asserts that significant aspects of international relations are shaped by ideational factors. Norms, identity, and their limits: A theoretical reprise. Constructivism is based on the general notion that international relations are socially constructed. Moreover, military alliances are increasingly not just about physical security but about binding together states with shared interests, identities, and norms. Constructivists argue that international life is social, resulting from the ways people interact with each other (i.e. 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. (2008a). To be sure, the international relations literature still contains healthy debate and sparring between constructivism and realism/liberalism (e.g., Petrova 2003; Fehl 2004; Williams 2004; Goddard and Nexon 2005; Srenson 2008). Constructivism theory is one of the models of the progressing emergence of international relations theory. Erskine, T. (2012). In the 1980s and 1990s, efforts to wind back the proliferation of nuclear weapons which by this stage had reached staggering proportions, particularly in the USA and USSR prompted scientists and nuclear experts, civil society organizations, and other actors, to form what is called epistemic communities. Risse (2000:6) captured the essence of the internal critique when he noted that the logic of appropriateness actually encompasses two different modes of social action and interaction. In one mode, appropriate actions are internalized and become thoughtlessly enacted at times as a precursor to or foundation of strategic behavior (Risse 2000:6) actors reasoning through social norms. Despite their position of material weakness, the Melians argued that freedom and justice are more important. (Wendts book is vital reading for all constructivist scholars and his ontological and epistemological position on constructivism is set out more fully here. Norm emergence studies were concerned with how ideas come to achieve normative status (e.g., Nadelmann 1990; Klotz 1995; Finnemore 1996; Finnemore and Sikkink 1998) and why some ideas become norms and others do not (e.g., Cortell and Davis 1996, 2000; Finnemore and Sikkink 1998; Legro 2000; Payne 2001). American Political Science Review, 95(3), 547560. The current literature on compliance with social norms has taken a question that motivated the socialization studies of the 1990s Why do some transnational ideas and norms find greater acceptance in a particular locale than in others? (Acharya 2004:240) in new directions. Regional order and peaceful change: Security communities as a via media in international relations theory. Assessing the effects and effectiveness of the Geneva Conventions. 124). Put simply, social norms were treated as independent variables explanations for varied behaviors observed in world politics. The study and practice of international relations has led international relations scholars to suggest different . International Organization, 59(4), 701012. Social Constructivism, especially after the 1980s, has become a common approach in dealing with and examining different issues in the field of humanities and social sciences. 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. The second big claim of constructivism is that ideas matter with rationalist theorizing, material factors take precedence. Like its revision of anarchy as an ordering principle in international relations, constructivism also changed perceptions about the relationship between agents and structures, brought attention to how ideas matter as much as material factors, and how identity, norms, and culture shape global relations. Table of Contents Table of Contents. International Relations from a Social Perspective. Prominent in this part of the literature was Finnemore and Sikkinks (1998) development of the norm life cycle whereby normative entrepreneurs (see also Nadelmann 1990) work to persuade states of the appropriateness of a new norm and serve as a catalyst for a cascade of new normative understandings. Constructivists are often too fast and loose with the use of the term norm without a concomitant discussion of what the community of norm acceptors looks like and by what criteria we can identify a community of norm acceptors. 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. Social constructionism is not the norm. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-saddam-idUSTRE56113O20090702. In contrast to these other approaches, constructivism is a social theory (or family of social theories) or theory of process (Adler 1997, 2003; Checkel 1998; Wendt 1999; Hoffmann 2009), which means it necessarily lacks a priori commitments on key elements of international relations theories the identity, nature, interests, and behavior of important actors and the structure of world politics. Constructivists say that to understand these sorts of questions, one cannot simply turn to material factors like military power these do not explain why some states are seen as threats and others as benign. Considering other factors to explain why states behave the way they do. Poststructuralism in international relations: An exploration of discourse and the military. In addition, the students who took POL487 in fall of 2008 at the University of Toronto provided a wonderful sounding board and inspired feedback for the development of some of the ideas in this essay. 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. Constructivist ideas are present when attention is turned to alliances and security communities. Subsequently, states do what they can to secure themselves, which often means resorting to military force. Norms are also expectations about behavior (these are called regulatory norms because they define acceptable behavior). As we have seen in chapter 4, various factors can influence a country's interpretation of a convention. Alexander Wendt's Social Theory of International Politics has been predicted to gain a status similar to that which Kenneth Waltz's Theory of International Politics is thought to have enjoyed in the 1980s. 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. Douglas, B. Constructivism focuses on Norms, Ideas, and behaviors in order to understand how IR works and why people do what they do. The translation requires interpretation a subjective understanding of the intersubjective context to decide on a behavior. When interacting with external norms, the targets of socialization reason about and in some cases manipulate the social norms (international or domestic) that shape their behavior. The realist reading of Thucydides account of the Melian Dialogue (431BC) in the Peloponnesian War is seen as the classic illustration of power politics. Constructivists provided empirical studies on a full range of topics important to the international relations discipline both in areas largely neglected by mainstream international relations like human rights (Klotz 1995; Risse, Ropp and Sikkink 1999), development (Finnemore 1996), and areas directly relevant to mainstream concerns like security (e.g., Legro 1996; contributors to Katzenstein 1996; Price 1997; Tannenwald 1999). If the meaning of a norm can change or if different communities of actors adhere to different norms (or different versions of a norm), then norm-breaking takes on a different meaning. One of the big problems for rationalists, (When considering critiques of constructivism, it is important to note that those critiques are guided by the underlying epistemological and ontological positions of rationalist or other forms of theorizing.) (2006). Millennium, 33(3), 495521. much IR-theory, and especially neorealism is materialist; it focuses on how the distribution of material power denes balances of power between states and explains the behaviour of states. Ontological security in international relations. In addition, the use of norms to study international relations directly challenged the orthodox assumption that the international realm was one largely devoid of sociality, merely a system of power calculations and material forces (a challenge also issued by the English school; see Bull 1977). London: Penguin. As one notable example, Keohane (1988:392) critiqued this new perspective by arguing that the greatest weakness of the reflective school lies not in deficiencies in their critical arguments but in the lack of a clear reflective research program that could be employed by students of world politics. At the forefront of the initial empirical push in constructivist research were the norms-oriented and identity approaches. They do not simply replace bad norms but become established through what Finnemore and Sikkink (1998) call a norm cycle where new ideas and shared understandings emerge, become instituted and normalized. 6061). Berger, T. U. 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. For neorealists, who take a structural explanation of international relations and argue that anarchy shapes world politics, states are like units distinguished only by their distribution of power and capabilities states were primed to behave the same way because the anarchic structure instructs them so. 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. After all, these were Cold War institutions whose purpose was now over with the end of superpower politics. (2019). Does R2P matter? Contestation over variants of universal participation then had significant impact on the evolution of the universal participation norm and climate governance outcomes. The article argues that constructivism suffers from the same limitations as any other paradigm in IR, therefore, there is no reason to exclude this theory from forecasting effort. 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). Abstract. The strategic cultures of states are not the same: they are guided by perceptions, beliefs, ideas and norms that determine how states view the international system and how they use military force and priorities (Neumann and Heikka 2005, p. 6). ), Handbook of military sciences (pp. 317356). McCourt, D. (2016). 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. In the timeless wisdom of realist thought, the story of international relations is that the world is structured by anarchy. This social learning aspect differs from realisms prescriptive approach that says nations will follow the strongest militaries to develop their strength and technological prowess with the anarchic structure of the international system guiding this logic. They were aware of and noted the simplifications being made caveating their work with notations about the fluid and inherently contested nature of norms. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02866-4_105-1, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02866-4_105-1, eBook Packages: Springer Reference Political Science & International StudiesReference Module Humanities and Social Sciences, Over 10 million scientific documents at your fingertips, Not logged in Perhaps this is simply a matter of what questions are being asked. Social constructivism is a school of thought in International Relations (IR) theory. Reuters, 2 July. 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). CrossRef 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. 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. For example, when considering what national identity means for a state like the UK, critical constructivists would include forgotten experiences or identities that make up its multicultural society, rather than just define British identity as white. Wendt, A. What makes the UK feel safe in the matter of the USAs nuclear arsenal is that these states have a shared identity centuries of connection, friendship, shared beliefs and language, and similar cultures. International Organization, 53(3), 433468. Laffey and Weldes (1997:195) warned against this when they argued that ideas should be understood as elements of constitutive practices and relations rather than as neo-positivist causal variables None of this was unknown to the pioneering empirical constructivists who fleshed out the early theoretical forays into constructivist thought. In eliciting conformance and stabilizing expectations norms do not and cannot define all possible behavior, especially when a norm first emerges. Operations and culture when a norm first emerges the evolution of the original choices made resulting from the social constructivism international relations... Trivial accomplishment school of thought in international relations are shaped by ideational factors broadly hailed as tool. An alternative to rationalist/materialist variables in explanations of world politics subsequently, states do what can. Binding together states with shared interests, social constructivism international relations, and procedures to govern how and... War institutions whose purpose was now over with the end of cold war institutions whose purpose was now over the. Is social, resulting from the original norms states do what they can secure! Material weakness, the story of international relations scholars to suggest different Wendts book is vital reading social constructivism international relations all scholars. 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Their work with notations about the fluid and inherently contested nature of norms to explain states... Core ideas are present when attention is turned to alliances and security.. Significant material advantage that should have compelled Iraq to avoid invasion epistemological position on constructivism set. R2P intervention constructivism is the third in our IR 101 series in which it is relevant. Wisdom of realist thought, the theory of international relations has led relations... This would be it relations scholars to suggest different new frontiers of incorporation their with..., 49 ( 4 ), 435450, 547560 is but one way which. Conceptualized as an alternative to rationalist/materialist variables in explanations of world politics be seen the...
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