Constructivism Overview

Constructivism Overview

• Constructivism's key principles need to be understood to see how they have evolved over time.
• Constructivism challenges previous theories that explain behaviours and interests as shaped by tangible factors like military power and wealth accumulation.
• Diverse social norms and historic experiences are argued to be the factors that drive states to develop interests and notions of security.

Core Tenets of Constructivism

• States' actions and policies are rooted in how leaders, bureaucracies, and entire societies interpret information.
• Power, anarchy and security do not have universal meanings across all states.
• Beliefs, perceptions, and lessons are collective perceptions and are shared between decision-makers and powerful societal groups.

Social Construction of Meaning

• Fear, honor, and self-interest can provoke conflict between cities; Thucydides highlights the importance of these factors in conflicts.
• Fear has a long-lasting impact on how international interactions transpire, and what interests states have
• Honour is tied to identities and values.
• "Pearl Harbor Syndrome" can affect state interests and international interactions.

Ideas, Norms and Identities

• Constructivism states that global actors shape international relations by changing ideas, norms and identities.
• Ideas define identities which then shape interests and ultimately produce behaviour.
• Norms are defined as share ideas that become the basis for regulating social conduct and behaviour within a society.

Anarchy and State Relations

• Alexander Wendt stated in 1992 that “Anarchy is what states make of it."
• A student's critique of realism summarizes constructivism by writing "Hobbes sees monsters of his own making."

International Environments: Three Models

• The international environment can be seen as a battlefield with enemies (Hobbesian model).
• States may choose to compromise and observe the "rules of the game" (Lockean model).
• Some states follow fundamental norms of ethics to preserve international peace (Kantian model).

Key Assumptions by Type of International Environment

• Hobbesian Environment: States are enemies and engage in zero-sum power politics where self-interest and security are primary, like Stalin's focus on Soviet domination.
• Lockean Environment: States are competitors that use force, compromise, and mutual restraint to build security through international treaties, similar to how Churchill sought power balancing.
• Kantian Environment: States are partners that prioritize cooperation, nonviolence, and collective security, as Roosevelt aimed to build lasting institutions for peace.

Impact of History

• Experiences like foreign occupation, colonization, powerful ideologies, and experiments with democracy shape countries.
• Historical context is crucial for constructivist analysis.

Core Assumptions of Constructivism

• Analytic Unit: Values, ideas, and norms drive international relations.
• Issues: Ideas shape identities, which then shape interests, and ultimately drive behavior.
• View of the Individual: Individuals construct collective reality.
• View of the State: The social domain includes the community, nation, state, or the whole world.
• View of the International System: An international society of states exists despite anarchy.
• Beliefs About Change: Actors can make change because behavior is guided by social constructs.
• Major Theorists: The English School.

The English School

• The English School emerged in the late 1950s in the UK, expanded to Australia and Canada.
• Key figures include Martin Wight (Power Politics, 1946) and Hedley Bull (The Anarchical Society, 1977).
• The English School argues for a 'society of states' at the international level, despite anarchy.
• The behaviour of the states is a factor in the calculations of others and have dialogue and consent common rules.
• Ideas, not material capabilities, shape international politics that deserve analysis and critique.

Explore the key principles of Constructivism and its evolution. This approach challenges traditional theories by emphasizing the role of social norms and historic experiences in shaping states' interests and security notions. Understand how beliefs and perceptions influence state actions.