Tim Ch 11 Constructivism

The Single Most Important Question

Where do state interests and identities come from?

Rationalists (Realists & Neoliberals)

  • Interests are given.

  • States already know what they want.

  • IR explains how states pursue interests.

Constructivists

  • Interests are not given.

  • Interests are socially constructed.

  • Identities shape interests.

  • Interests shape behavior.

Core Formula

Identity → Interests → Behavior

Where Constructivism Fits

Rationalism

Constructivism

Critical Theory

Fixed interests

Interests socially constructed

Knowledge and power intertwined

Material structures matter

Material + social structures matter

Questions all categories

Cost-benefit logic

Norms and identity matter

Deconstruction of concepts

Professor's Definition

Shared ideas, norms, and identities constitute actors and their interests.

Rationalist Assumptions

1. Actors are Atomistic

Meaning:

  • Pre-social

  • Interests exist before interaction

Constructivist response:

Interests are formed through interaction.

2. Actors are Self-Interested

States prioritize:

  • Survival

  • Security

  • Gains

3. Actors are Rational

Behavior based on:

Cost-Benefit Analysis

States ask:

What gives me the best outcome?

Constructivist Critique

⭐ Rationalism has no theory of where interests come from.

Constructivism fills this gap.

Claim 1: Interests Are Socially Constructed

States do not enter international politics with fixed interests.

Interests emerge from:

  • Culture

  • Values

  • Social interaction

  • Norms

Professor's Friendship Example

Friendship is not automatic.

You become friends by interacting.

States develop similar relationships.

Exam Phrase

Interests are made and remade through social interaction.

Japan Example

Puzzle:

Why doesn't Japan build nuclear weapons?

Realist expectation:

  • Wealthy

  • Advanced

  • Security threats

Should seek nukes.

Constructivist answer:

  • Anti-militarist identity

  • Anti-nuclear identity

  • Article 9 constitution

Lesson

Identity shaped interests.

Costa Rica Example

Costa Rica abolished its military.

Why?

Constructivist answer:

It developed a national identity centered around peace.

Claim 2: Ideas Give Material Power Meaning

Constructivists do not deny material reality.

They argue:

Material power only matters through shared meaning.

British vs North Korean Nukes

Question

Why does the U.S. worry more about:

  • 5 North Korean nuclear weapons

than

  • 500 British nuclear weapons?

Constructivist Answer

Because:

Britain = Friend

North Korea = Enemy

Famous Exam Quote

The meaning, not the missile count, drives the response.

Coal and Steel Example

Before WWII:

  • Source of rivalry between France and Germany

After 1951:

  • European Coal and Steel Community

Same resources.

Different meaning.

Result:

  • Cooperation instead of conflict

Claim 2B: Structures Constitute Identities

Social structures shape who actors are.

Examples:

Student

A student has expected roles:

  • Attend class

  • Complete work

  • Cite sources

Sovereign State

Statehood depends on recognition.

Recognition is social.

Kosovo & Taiwan

Both possess:

  • Territory

  • Government

Yet recognition remains contested.

Constructivist Lesson

Whether a state counts as sovereign is a social question.

India and Britain Example

Before 1947:

  • Colonizer

  • Colony

After 1947:

  • Two sovereign states

Identity changed.

Behavior changed.

Identity Changes Interests

This was one of the professor's major phrases.

Identities change interests and behavior.

Claim 3: Norms Shape Interests

Norm Definition

Shared expectations about appropriate behavior.

Logic of Appropriateness

Instead of asking:

What benefits me?

Actors ask:

What is the right thing to do?

Traffic Light Example

Logic of Consequences

You stop because:

  • You'll get a ticket.

Logic of Appropriateness

You stop because:

  • Good drivers stop.

Even when nobody is watching.

Three Ways Norms Work

Remember:

I.C.C.

1. Imagination

Norms define:

  • What is possible

  • What is right

  • What is legitimate

Kosovo Example

Two competing norms:

  • Sovereignty

  • Human Rights

Human rights became the stronger norm.

Result:

  • Intervention became thinkable.

2. Communication

States justify actions through norms.

Iraq War

Justifications:

  • WMDs

  • Democracy

  • Freedom

Not:

  • "We're strong enough."

Lesson

States need legitimacy.

3. Constraint

Norms limit behavior.

Chemical Weapons

States deny using them.

Why?

Because acknowledging use means admitting norm violation.

Nuclear Weapons

Even major powers avoid normalizing nuclear use.

Norms constrain action.

Realist Critique

Ideas are excuses.

Power is what really matters.

Constructivist Response

Ideas:

  • Enable actions

  • Constrain actions

  • Shape legitimacy

Without ideas, behavior cannot be fully explained.

Claim 4: Agents and Structures Co-Constitute

Question:

Which comes first?

  • Actors?

  • Structures?

Constructivist answer:

Both.

Mutual Constitution

Structures shape actors.

Actors shape structures.

Formula

Norm → Behavior → Stronger Norm → More Behavior

ASEAN Example

Norm:

  • Noninterference

The more ASEAN members follow it:

✅ Stronger norm

The stronger the norm:

✅ More compliance

Wendt: Anarchy Is What States Make of It

Most important constructivist claim.

Realists:

Anarchy causes self-help.

Wendt:

Self-help is not built into anarchy.

Three Cultures of Anarchy

Hobbesian Culture

Relationship

Enemy

Features

  • Conflict

  • Fear

  • Relative gains

Examples

  • India vs Pakistan

  • US vs Iran

Lockean Culture

Relationship

Rival

Features

  • Sovereignty respected

  • Occasional conflict

Example

  • US and Brazil

Kantian Culture

Relationship

Friend

Features

  • Mutual aid

  • Nonviolence

  • Collective security

Examples

  • US and UK

  • European Union

Easy Exam Chart

Culture

Relationship

Hobbesian

Enemy

Lockean

Rival

Kantian

Friend

Wendt's Biggest Claim

Realists focus on:

Distribution of Power

Constructivists focus on:

Distribution of Knowledge

Meaning:

  • Shared understandings

  • Norms

  • Values

  • Identities

Why the Cold War Ended

Constructivist explanation:

Gorbachev's New Thinking

Changed Soviet identity toward the West.

Result:

  • Arms control

  • Cooperation

  • End of Cold War

Finnemore

Second major scholar after Wendt.

Main Question

Where do interests come from?

Central Claim

International norms constitute state interests.

International Organizations as Teachers

Neoliberal View

Institutions help states achieve interests.

Constructivist View

Institutions teach states what their interests should be.

UNESCO Example

Promoted idea:

Modern states should have science bureaucracies.

States copied the model.

Red Cross Example

Promoted humanitarian rules of war.

Influenced:

  • Geneva Conventions

  • Laws of armed conflict

World Bank Example

Redefined development around:

  • Poverty reduction

States adjusted goals accordingly.

WTO Comparison

Neoliberalism

WTO helps states trade.

Constructivism

WTO teaches states to value free trade.

Key Distinction

Neoliberalism explains:

How states get what they want.

Constructivism explains:

Why states want it.

Nuclear Taboo

Scholar:

Nina Tannenwald

Question:

Why no nuclear weapons since 1945?

Realist Answer

Deterrence.

Fear of retaliation.

Constructivist Answer

Nuclear taboo.

Nuclear weapons became viewed as:

  • Illegitimate

  • Morally unacceptable

Evidence

US considered nuclear use:

  • Korean War

  • Vietnam War

Did not use them.

Even against non-nuclear opponents.

Constructivist Logic

Every act of restraint strengthens the taboo.

This is another example of:

Agent ↔ Structure mutual constitution.

Covid-19 Case Study

Constructivists ask:

Not

What was Covid?

But

How was Covid understood?

War Frame

Covid framed as war.

Examples:

  • Trump: "wartime president"

  • Macron: "we are at war"

War frame encourages:

  • Emergency powers

  • Border closures

  • Sacrifice

  • National mobilization

Solidarity Frame

Alternative framing:

Covid as:

  • Shared global threat

Encourages:

  • WHO cooperation

  • Vaccine sharing

  • International coordination

Exam Lesson

Different meanings create different policies.

Constructivist Implications

1. Logic of Appropriateness

Question becomes:

What is appropriate for someone like me?

Ottawa Treaty Example

Many states banned landmines.

Not because they lacked military value.

Because they became viewed as inappropriate.

2. History Matters

Historical experiences shape identities.

Examples:

  • Japan

  • Germany

Post-1945 experiences influence current behavior.

3. Ideas Can Change the World

Example:

Abolition of Slavery

Norms changed.

New ideas emerged.

Eventually:

Ideas became laws and practices.

Criticisms & Internal Debates

Conventional Constructivism

Associated with:

  • Alexander Wendt

Characteristics:

  • States treated as actors

  • Scientific methods

  • Causal explanations

Critical Constructivism

Associated with:

  • Karin Fierke

Characteristics:

  • Language

  • Meaning

  • Practice

  • Speech acts

Three Internal Debates

Epistemology

Can reality be socially constructed but studied scientifically?

Ontology

Are states given actors or socially constructed?

Change

Where do new norms come from?

Why do some norms win?

Professor's Final Four Takeaways

  1. Interests and identities are constructed through social interaction.

  2. Ideas, norms, and values are structures too.

  3. Anarchy is what states make of it.

  4. Constructivism bridges rationalism and critical theory.

If You Remember Only One Definition

Constructivism argues that international politics is shaped by socially constructed identities, norms, ideas, and shared meanings that create state interests, define appropriate behavior, and make different forms of international order possible.