Constructivism in International Relations: A Social Perspective

Constructivism in International Relations

One of the main assumptions of Western philosophy is the difference between nature and culture. The concept of nature is an important discovery of philosophy. Pre-philosophical societies did not make this distinction. Post-modernism doubts there is a radical distinction between nature and culture: they think this difference is not all that clear. International relations are accordingly not solely based on a natural reality (state of anarchy) but also on a social reality. Constructivism claims that tradition and culture result in the development of social phenomena. They believe international relations to be social and cultural. We do not obey any natural law but rather our own construction of ideas.

Main Ideas of Constructivism

• Actors and structures are mutually dependent. Actors are not determined by structure as realists would have thought.
• Anarchy does not necessarily lead to a particular behavior (self-help); it is indeterminate and flexible.
• Identities are important: states act according to their identity, like individuals. Identity is what determines state interests. States and individuals build their own identity and then remain loyal to them, making them predictable: this gives order and cohesion to International Relations; you can expect states to act in a certain way. Realism as a theory of international relations had been determining the identity of states for a long time; in some way, it is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Realism provoked states to form a power-maximizing identity.
• There is not only material power but also discursive power (credibility, having a narrative accepted by others).

Alexander Wendt stated: "Interests presuppose identities because an actor cannot know what it wants until it knows who it is."

For constructivism, international relations are a world of our making. They believe liberals and realists to have been dealing with the logic of consequences. For them, this logic is not the only one that determines state acts, since International Relations is socially constructed, they are also determined by the logic of appropriateness. Countries are somewhat inhibited by this logic; by what people think is appropriate or not.