POSC 2501 Key Terms Class 10

Constructivism

A social theory that focuses on the role of intersubjective meaning, identities, and practices in international relations. views the international system as socially constructed in that its rules and meanings come from shared understandings rather than objective realities. 

Materialism

Material forces (military power, economic resources, geography, technology) are the most important cause of social phenomena rather than ideas or norms. Material capabilities shape state behavior and the structure of the international system.

Intersubjectivity

the process and product of sharing experiences, knowledge, understanding, and expectations with others. the meaning things take on because we share a common understanding of them with others. Money has value because both parties to a transaction agree it is valuable

Legitimacy

Something that must be recognized by others, it acts as a constraint on state behavior, states act to appear legitimate 

Agent-structure problem

Are the actions of agents determined by the structures they are a part of, or are the structures the product of those actions 

Agency

The ability to act independently and without predetermination; to have free-will and the power to produce outcomes

Agent

Those who possess agency 

Structure

The organizing principles of a society which shape behavior

Reflexivity

The process by which an agent’s thinking changes the thing that is being thought about. A circular relation between cause and effect. Low reflexivity: structure matters more than agency. High reflexivity: agency matters more than structure 

Reification

When socially constructed things are treated as concrete, inherent truths. Treating somehting abstract as a physical thing. (happiness as a material thing)

Holism

The idea that things are more than the sum of their parts. In constructivism, holism is the idea that structures cannot be decomposed into individual units and their interactions; structures not only constrain actors but construct them 

Normativity

deriving from a standard or norm. is about the “ought” alues and principles uiding wht actors should do in world politcis

Norms

knowlesge. rules, and beliefs that pattern social behavior; “standards of appropriate behavior”

Normative Structure

The patterns of norms that constrain behavior, construct categories of meaning, and constitute identities and interests 

Normative Argument

arguments that something should be the case, not just that it is

Practices

Socially meaningful patterns of action which, being performed more or less competently, produce and reproduce background knowledge and discourse

Material Power

military and economic power

Discursive power

The power to influence things through the shaping of norms and ideas in discourse

Power of practice

The ability to produce intersubjective meanings within a social structure via practices

Critical theory

“Frankfurt school” critical approaches don’t just criticize, they seke to reveal what is obscured by dominant narratives and ways of understanding. Seek to uncover power structures 

Mirror theory

Conceptions of self and interest tend to “mirror” the practices of others over time. This self is a reflection of an actor’s socialization. two actors: ego and alter 

Predation

In anarchy, the presence of a singular “predatory” state may lead to a self-help system. If ego is predatory, alter must respond in king. 

Balance of threat

The idea that instead of balancing against power, states will balance against perceived threats. perceptions matter.