Constructivism

When did constructivism emerge?

After the Cold War in 1990’s

What are the main ideas?

• ideas, the way states think, and values matter to understand how states act

• not the anarchic system

What are the 2 biggest nuclear threats until 2022?

North Korea & Iran

How do constructivists explain this? (the 2 biggest nuclear threats)

“The British are friends and the North Koreans are not” (Wendt 1995) 

Who are AUKUS and what unifies them?

Australia, UK, US

Unified by anglosphere = strategic alliances and imperial legacies

State a quote about these anglophone alliances

“Out best friends in the world speak english” Farage

What is the history of constructivism?

due to the failure of mainstream theories to explain post Cold War developments 

What does constructivism criticise?

the foundational assumptions of IR:

• materialism

• rationalism 

• nature of the state

• sovereignty 

• anarchy

• democracy 

• self-determination 

What do constructivists believe instead?

That each concept means what we make of it

What are the origins of constructivist thinking?

philosophy and sociology

Who is a constructivist thinker?

Weber

What did Weber believe in

‘Verstehen’ or interpretive thinking

= there is no objective understanding of a concept since it’ filtered by our consciousness 

What other constructivist concepts is there and by who

Structure-agent debate = system structure shapes states behaviour 

Foucault, Derrida, Giddens 

List the 3 core assumptions of Constructivism

1. IR are socially constructure

2. Ideas matter 

3. Co-constitution 

1. What is mean by IR being a social construct 

• Objects, concepts and events don’t have fixed or objective meanings 

• Material/ brute facts vs. social/ relational facts 

= Material/ brute —> fire can burn you

= Social/ relational —> states are sovereign

• Intersubjective meanings = result of cooperation (shared ideas)

• States national interests and not explicit or fixed but PERCIEVED & CONSTRUCTED

• Meanings then shape actions 

Give examples of a socially constructed ideas

• borders 

• money

• flags

• face masks

• weapons 

• hats 

—> have material & social attributes

2. Explain what is meant by the assumption that ideas matter

• Criticism of the materialist obsession of mainstream theories 

• Materialist structures don’t tell us much

• Power is not only material but also discursive

  • Power of ideas, norms, culture, language 

• Elites ideas are embedded in institutions

• National identity constructions 

Give some examples of ideas matter

• Gorbatchev’s ‘New Thinking’ in USSR at the end of the Cold War

• Democratic Peace Theory - academics ideas becoming widely accepted

What is a long-running conflict about this?

Macedonia - trivial with a lot at stake (EU & NATO membership)

3. Explain co-constitution

• “The world is what you believe it is”

• Agents don’t exist in isolation from their structure

• States/ civil society/ individuals can create and change social realty/ structure = actions & practice 

• Structure influences states

• States reproduce structure = social identyt

• Change is possible 

What is co-determination/ co-constitution

• Agents are the products of the structure they create

• States can reproduce or transform the structure

• The structure influences states by constraining them or giving options for action

What do constructivists believe IR concepts are

social inventions

1. “Anarchy is what states make of it” Wendt 1992

2. Sovereignty as an uncontested norm?

3. Nuclear taboo

What is meant by “anarchy is what states make of it”

• Self-fulfilling prophecy 

• Concepts are not structural but result of practice 

• Friends and enemies 

Is sovereignty an uncontested norm?

• Other norms (self-determination, HR…)

• State vs. nation

What is the nuclear taboo

• concept by Tannenwald 1999

• it is not just deterrence 

• Normative basis of nuclear non-use = demonstrative effect 

• Considered but not used in Korea & Vietnam

What are norms?

a collective expectation for the proper behaviour of actors

What do constructivists believe about norms

• anarchy, war, peace, sovereignty is what a state makes of it

• Believe in the diffusion of ideas and internalisation of norms 

Where do norms come from?

Norm life cycle model (Finnemore & Sikkink 1998)

Stage 1

Norm emergence - norm entrepreneurs arise when something has changed and promotes norms 

Tipping point

When many states adopt the norm

Stage 2

Norm cascade - socialization, emulation = “do the right thing”

Logic of consequences vs. logic of appropriateness

Stage 3

Internalisation - conformity becomes so neutral there is little pressure behind it

Give some examples of the Norm Life Cycle

1. Slavery outlawed

2. Woman suffrage

3. Ban on landmines

How do constructivist explain threat and response

Believe that threats are not objective or inherent

How do constructivists see ‘War on Terror’

• as a social construct

• identity is relational

How was identity percieved following 9/11

That identity was mutually constituted around a stark difference 

= ‘you are either with us or you are with the terrorists"‘ (Bush)

What 2 things are constructed through specific discourses?

Identities and meanings of actions

What 2 fields of practice get confused after coining the concept of ‘War on Terror’

1. War being a rule bound practice pf states 

2. Terrorism associated with non-state actors + treated as crime

Define Securitisation

naming a threat as a priority justified a suspension of normal rules of politics 

allows elites to take extraordinary measures (torture, wars…)

What are the 3 debates between constructivists?

1. State-centric or not? 

= Intersubjective perceptions at state level

2. What questions to ask & study?

= Why do states go to war/ cooperate?

= Structure vs. agency

= Causality vs. co-constitution/ determination

= Explanatory vs. critical approaches

3. Strategic behaviour & norms

= Intrinsic role & influence of ideas

= Or instrumental role of ideas