Social Constructivist International Relations and the Military, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02866-4_105-1, Springer Reference Political Science & International Studies, Reference Module Humanities and Social Sciences, Realist International Relations Theory and The Military, International Relations and Military Sciences, Liberal International Relations Theory and The Military, Poststructuralism in International Relations: Discourse and the Military, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-saddam-idUSTRE56113O20090702, https://doi.org/10.1080/23340460.2018.1533385, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Agius, C. (2022). Abstract. Percy, S. (2016). Constructivism is the new approach to International Relations. The Peloponnesian War. 55K views 2 years ago International Relations Constructivism is one of critical theories in IR criticizing the classical theories. Social Constructivism sees the whole discipline of International Relations as a social construction. Realist international relations theory and the military. It has major implications for an understanding of knowledge, including scientific knowledge, and how to achieve it. (1996). These works argue that norms do not provide fully specified rules for every situation, and especially not for novel situations. Acharya (2004) goes further in that he allows for the substance of international norms to be molded to fit local contexts localization. After making the case that norms matter and developing a number of theoretical frameworks to show how norms emerge, spread, and influence behavior, norms-oriented constructivists have shifted their attention to a new set of questions, and in particular compliance with the strictures of social norms and change in norms themselves. According to constructivism the priority is for social features instead of material. Moreover, social constructivism emphasizes social relations in global politics, and sees security and international politics as determined by ideas as well as material factors. Security communities. Following the initial success of empirical norms studies that established the efficacy of studying norms and showed that they mattered, current norms research explores when/where norms matter and how/when/why norms themselves change to a greater extent. Cham: Springer. Intersubjective facts like social norms only exist within a community of actors that accept them. Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, You can also search for this author in Oxford Research Encyclopedia of International Studies, Department of Political Science, University of Toronto Scarborough, Establishing Constructivist Social Norms Research, Contestation from Within a Normative Community, Open Questions for the Current Norms Research, https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190846626.013.60, Inter-Organizational Relations: Five Theoretical Approaches, Challenges to Traditional International Relations Theory Posed by Environmental Change, The Practice Turn in International Relations Theory. (1951). This reimagining is not new. But for constructivists, it is social structure that is important (Farrell 2002, p. 52). States may join military alliances to bandwagon with stronger powers, as realists tell us. Introduction: Ideational AlliesPsychology, Constructivism, and International Relations . Constructivist security studies: Portrait of a research program. Constructivists interested in norm change have recently begun reconceiving norm dynamics in a different way and have focused on contestation within communities of norm acceptors. Consider the shared norms that define military conduct and the institutions that have evolved around military practice; from the Geneva Conventions to the classic texts on warfare that are part of military training, a process of social interaction is taking place where norms are learned, and culture and identity are shaped. In The New Constructivism in International Relations Theory, David McCourt offers a refreshing take on Constructivism by reviewing old, present, and new concepts in Constructivism and connects them pragmatically with methodological examples.Moreover, this book functions as a handbook on 'how to constructivist' in an era defined and dominated by new advances in computational social science. International norms dynamics and political change. Douglas, B. Norms and identity in world politics. The compliance literature is most often concerned with the actions of actors (Japan in the Cortell and Davis piece or the Southeast Asian nations in Acharyas work) who have yet to accept or internalize international norms (financial liberalization and cooperative security/humanitarian intervention). International Organization, 52(4), 887917. Hidden in plain sight: Constructivist treatment of social context and its limitations. e. In international relations, constructivism is a social theory that asserts that significant aspects of international relations are shaped by ideational factors. In addition, rather than taking the external norm as given, recent socialization studies examine compliance with international norms as a process by which states (already normatively constituted) interact with, manipulate, and (sometimes) incorporate external ideas in a dynamic fashion. Bjrkdahl, A. Constructivism theory is one of the models of the progressing emergence of international relations theory. Social norms were considered, in many ways, the medium of mutual constitution. This logic structured seminal empirical work that endeavored to show how ideational and normative factors could explain puzzles in world politics (e.g., Klotz 1995; Finnemore 1996). Yet, the degree to which agents are able to independently evaluate their social context (as well as their material reality as far as that goes) and act upon it is what separates different behavioral logics and it is one way that different constructivist approaches in the current second wave (Acharya 2004) of norms research can be differentiated. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. International Organization, 46(2), 391425. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Regional order and peaceful change: Security communities as a via media in international relations theory. As Onuf states: Constructivism holds that people make society, and society makes people. In this sense, constructivism is really at its core a social theory of international relations because the focus on identity and interactions show how clashes and cooperation manifest in the global arena. Erskine, T. (2012). They do not simply replace bad norms but become established through what Finnemore and Sikkink (1998) call a norm cycle where new ideas and shared understandings emerge, become instituted and normalized. For the Athenians, the refusal of the Melians the much weaker party to submit and their preference for neutrality was an affront to their power. Constructivists discuss questions of identity and belief. Adler, E. (1997). Even so, more recently there has been some rejection of the ICC by a few African states, signaling that some states are unwilling to accept its authority. In the attempt to understand when and where norms are likely to be efficacious, these authors stake out a position on the reasoning aboutreasoning through norms spectrum. Tactical constructivism, method, and international relations. New York: Routledge. This paper's argument begins by assuming that constructivism is a contested concept. Constructivists provided empirical studies on a full range of topics important to the international relations discipline both in areas largely neglected by mainstream international relations like human rights (Klotz 1995; Risse, Ropp and Sikkink 1999), development (Finnemore 1996), and areas directly relevant to mainstream concerns like security (e.g., Legro 1996; contributors to Katzenstein 1996; Price 1997; Tannenwald 1999). The literature that has followed this keystone research (e.g., Acharya 2004; Cortell and Davis 2005; Farrell 2005; Mastenbroek and Kaeding 2006; Kornprobst 2007; Capie 2008) moves beyond the boundaries of earlier socialization research, especially the tendency to focus on displacement of local/domestic ideas with international norms through transnational teaching (Finnemore 1996; Finnemore and Sikkink 1998; Keck and Sikkink 1998; Risse, Ropp, and Sikkink 1999) or to attribute norm diffusion to fit between global and local norms (Cortell and Davis 1996; Florini 1996). Constructivism considers the relations between states (and other actors) as a social realm; less about the distribution of resources and power and more about the distribution of ideas. As political processes such as the 2008 economic crisis in Europe and Brexit show, theorising a polity. Critical constructivists prefer to examine state identity in terms of its wider story (Fierke and Jrgensen 2001). Identity informs preferences and interests, so to understand why certain states behave the way they do on the international stage, paying attention to how their identities drive their interests and actions matters. New York: Columbia University Press. We unlock the potential of millions of people worldwide. Reviewing the complementary identity-oriented approaches is beyond the scope of this essay, but its neglect here in no way reflects the importance of this crucial aspect of constructivist theorizing (on identity see, e.g., Hall 1999; Hopf 2002). Grand strategy, strategic culture, practice: The social roots of Nordic defence. Ones position on this spectrum of reasoning about norms or reasoning through norms has consequences. Norms, identity, and national security in Germany and Japan. [3] One of the big problems for rationalists, (When considering critiques of constructivism, it is important to note that those critiques are guided by the underlying epistemological and ontological positions of rationalist or other forms of theorizing.) The identity of agents such as states matter because identity helps determine national interests. Scholars working in this vein often begin by critiquing the analytic move to freeze the content of norms. Social Constructivism in International Relations and the Gender Dimension . This review examines the constructivist norms-oriented literature from early efforts geared at gaining acceptance in a field dominated by the neorealist/neoliberal debates, through the recent emergence of agendas focused on norm compliance and contestation. But NATO transformed itself into something more than a military alliance. Constructivism is a structural theory of the international system that makes the following core claims: (1) states are the principal units of analysis for international political theory; (2) the key structures in the states system are intersubjective rather than material; and. However, some scholars found the mode of action where actors consciously reason about what is appropriate to be a problematic foundation for constructivist thought. Moreover, one of constructivisms strongest contributions has been in relation to the agency-structure debate, showing how mutual constitution provides a different reading of world politics and international relations but also opens the possibility for change. Haas, P. M. (2016). Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a single article for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice). Understanding how ideas about danger and threat are socially constructed, and how states form social relations in the international system is a key starting point in discussions about global security. The nuclear taboo: The United States and the normative basis of nuclear non-use. The causes of the Iraq war. European Security, 27(3), 356373. (1996). Hagstrm, L., & Gustafsson, K. (2015). This chapter will take the reader through the key ideas of social constructivism also referred to as constructivism in this chapter showing how norms, culture, and ideas about identity shape actors, condition their relations with each other, and can impact the so-called given nature of international relations and transform understandings of power relations. Prominent in this part of the literature was Finnemore and Sikkinks (1998) development of the norm life cycle whereby normative entrepreneurs (see also Nadelmann 1990) work to persuade states of the appropriateness of a new norm and serve as a catalyst for a cascade of new normative understandings. Constructivist explanations of different phenomena related to the military can highlight how norms and identity come into play. This is natural given that this work is still in the area of socialization. Copy this link, or click below to email it to a friend. (A vital critique of conventional constructivism that uses the case study of Germany and the debates to join in military interventions outside the NATO area). The Risse, Ropp, and Sikkink volume developed the spiral model that explained socialization of recalcitrant Southern states into universal human rights norms by referring to the linkages between and actions of transnational human rights activists, domestic human rights activists in the target state, and powerful Western state sponsors. Main Theorists. Constructivism (International Relations) For decades, the international relations theory field was comprised largely of two more dominant approaches: the theory of realism, and liberalism/pluralism. Comprised of a series of conventions that go back to 1864, it is now a part of customary international law, so it applies to all states during warfare. Norms in international relations: Some conceptual and methodological reflections. 4. Constructivism is a theory of knowledge which argues that humans generate knowledge and meaning through world interactions and ideas. Anarchy is not a given of the international system. (2006). Psychology and Constructivism in International Relations: An Ideational Alliance. Essentialism believes that our identities are linked to a fixed, universal, innate 'essence'. (1999). In A. M. Sookermany (Ed. (Ed.). (2016). Trust, collective identity, shared norms, and intersubjective meanings are important for alliances and security communities, helping to ensure collective vision and purpose (Adler and Barnett 1998). Instead, norms are general principles that must be translated into specific actions (Gregg 2003). In M. Evangelista & N. Tannenwald (Eds. (1999). By the end of the 1990s and early 2000s, constructivists were engaging with both the small number of big important things that Waltz (1986:329, cited in Finnemore 1996:1) famously claimed for structural realism and the large number of big important things that other approaches ignored (Finnemore 1996:1). Norms were conceptualized as having specific behavioral strictures (a relatively bounded set of appropriate behaviors) that did not change. On the contrary, early, empirically oriented constructivists worked to demonstrate that shared ideas about appropriate state behavior had a profound impact on the nature and functioning of world politics. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. In this sense, power is a social category. Norm shift around the idea of sovereignty can be seen in the pillars of R2P that say that if a state cannot or will not stop human rights abuses within its own territory, other states have a compelling reason to intervene. While neorealists argued that attacking Iraq was not in the national interests of the USA and that containment was more effective (Mearsheimer and Walt 2003), neoconservative hawks determined otherwise. Beyond fueling critiques of constructivism, treating norms as static entities made it difficult for constructivists to explain normative change (ironic for an approach that rose to prominence with its critique of other theories inability to explain change). Ideas about whether actors reason about norms or through norms can be linked to behavioral logics, which provide conceptions of how actors and norms are linked. Giddens (1984:22) argued that social rules do not specify all the situations which an actor might meet with, nor could [they] do so; rather, [they] provide for the generalized capacity to respond to and influence an indeterminate range of social circumstances. Until recently this insight was often bracketed and it was assumed that norm acceptors follow the norms that structure their community relatively unproblematically. Jacobsen (2003:60) recognizes the need to theorize this relationship observing that, constructivists of all stripes seem to agree that it is vital to theorize links between subjective experience and social/institutional structures. The two versions of norm dynamics discussed above posit different conceptions of the intersubjective/subjective relationship, but neither has developed the final answer to this open question. European Journal of International Relations, 12(3), 341370. Katzenstein, P. J. How militaries assess and interpret threat can be related to culture, intersubjective meanings, and social networks and understandings. (1999). Pouliot and Adler draw on Bourdieu to develop a logic of practice and Hopf devised a logic of habit to reflect these concerns. Is something rotten in the state of Denmark? Constructivism and European integration. The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in the chapter's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. It brought former Warsaw Pact nations into its fold and strengthened convergence around normative issues such as human rights through social learning (Gheciu 2005; Fierke and Wiener 1999). New York: M. E. Sharpe. The analytic focus is shifting to the targets of socialization and the dynamic and agentic process whereby actors interact with their normative context. The second generations focus on norms emerged in the 1990s and a third generation extends constructivisms scope to bring in critical theory, emotions, and political psychology, among other approaches(See Steele (2017), Steele et al. One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman. In K. M. Fierke & K. E. Jrgensen (Eds. The way in which issues are constructed and interpreted as threatening can also depend heavily on identity and views of the external realm. Its 1999 Strategic Concept altered the organization from a Cold War alliance to something more akin to Deutschs idea of a security community that was based on common values, norms, and identity, making democracy and human rights central. Anarchy is what states make of it: The social construction of power politics. This is particularly relevant to military studies in terms of understanding the strategic culture of specific states: culture can have an important influence on how states see security, how they interpret threat and train and organize their military forces. 2023 Springer Nature Switzerland AG. This aspect of the literature is more focused on how actors understand the norms that constitute them and alternatively consider how actors that reason through norms can contest and reconstruct the norms that bind communities together. Hilde van Meegdenburg argues that in the case of Denmark, the use of PMSCs has been limited because it is not seen to align with Danish values. - Checkel (1998) argues that "without more sustained attention . For constructivists, a focus on identity makes it possible to consider more deeply how domestic factors, ideas, discourses, cultures, and norms shape the interests of states and the choices states make. Doing so has opened up the field to bring in different explanations of global politics that can delve deeper into how culture and identity play a role in determining state interests. It was first coined by Nicholas Onuf in 1989 in his book " The World of our making " where he put. Constructivists are certainly aware that actual behavior in world politics fails to correlate exactly to what are in essence ideal typical models of behavior. Ideas do not float freely: Transnational coalitions, domestic structures, and the end of the cold war. The second is compliance or diffusion actors from different normative communities seek to enlarge their communities or to hold on to extant norms in the face of external normative challenges and disputes that arise can lead to normative change in both communities. (2019), and Kessler and Steele (2016) for recent advanced debates.) Japan and identity change: Why it matters in international relations. As one notable example, Keohane (1988:392) critiqued this new perspective by arguing that the greatest weakness of the reflective school lies not in deficiencies in their critical arguments but in the lack of a clear reflective research program that could be employed by students of world politics. At the forefront of the initial empirical push in constructivist research were the norms-oriented and identity approaches. Social Constructivist International Relations and the Military. 394395). New York: Oxford University Press. Scholars such as Adler (2008), Pouliot (2008), and Hopf (2002) found this reflective aspect of the logic of appropriateness to allow for too much independence between agents and structures. This standpoint of Constructivism is contrary to the 'atomized' International Organization, 59(4), 701012. International relations require various perspectives to comprehend the complexity of the interactions that take place in the international sphere. According to this approach, the behaviour of humans is determined by their identity, which itself is shaped by society's values, history, practices, and institutions. The dominant focus of traditional theories on state and distribution of . Even among security communities such as the Nordic states, different strategic cultures can be found because they are informed by a range of historical and cultural experiences, with different experiences of war and conflict, membership of alliances, and other factors (see special issues of Cooperation and Conflict (2005) and Global Affairs (2018) for further discussions). (2002). 1. Critiques Lack a theory of agency: - According to Hopt (The Promise of Constructivism in international relations theory, 1998), constructivism is an approach, not a theory; or at most a theory of process. Constructivism considers these interactions as a sociological process in which its agents and structures are centered in a reciprocal constitution; a part of society can not be understood without the other ones. Constructivism relies in part on the theory of the social construction of reality, which says that whatever reality is perceived to be, for the . Allowing the meaning of social norms to vary in the course of analysis can quickly devolve into an expository morass. Constructing international relations: The next generation. (pp. Onuf, N. (2013). Early constructivist work in the 1980s and early 1990s sought to establish a countervailing approach to the material and rational theories that dominated the study of international relations (e.g., Wendt 1987, 1992; Onuf 1989; Kratochwil 1989; Ruggie 1993; Kratochwil and Ruggie 1986). Contemporary Security Policy, 26(2), 335355. The culture of national security. Norms are also expectations about behavior (these are called regulatory norms because they define acceptable behavior). Yet, Wittgenstein's notion of family resemblances helps in understanding why an essence of constructivism need not be found. In other words, actors can never significantly remove themselves from their social structure to make independent judgments. Two strands of research, on the relations between strategic behaviour and international norms and between rationalism and constructivism, serve as examples of promising research in constructivist international relations theory. His refusal to allow the UN weapons inspectors into Iraq during the buildup to war in 2003 was seen as irrational to many in the west. In addition, the students who took POL487 in fall of 2008 at the University of Toronto provided a wonderful sounding board and inspired feedback for the development of some of the ideas in this essay. These initial waves of constructivist writing met the challenge issued by Keohane and played a significant role in vaulting constructivism into prominence during the 1990s and early 2000s (Checkel 1998, 2004). Beginning with the assumption that actors reason about social norms means considering norms to be (at least somewhat) external to actors, part of their social context, but at least potentially manipulable by actors. Wiener (2007) has advanced what she is calling a new logic of contestedness and has explored (2004) the dynamics of interpretation and contestation in European responses to the 2003 Iraq War. When interacting with external norms, the targets of socialization reason about and in some cases manipulate the social norms (international or domestic) that shape their behavior. New York: Columbia University Press. Seizing the middle ground: Constructivism in world politics. In essence, these scholars and those who draw upon their work consider that much of behavior in world politics arises from ingrained, unconscious motivations either habits or practices that drive precognitive behavior. Under a constructivist lens, the primacy of state survival in realist thought also undergoes reconsideration. Constructivism has developed over the years and it is now possible to speak of it in terms of generations. The first generation is identified in the 1980s, where constructivism focused on agents and structures. March and Olsen introduced the discipline to the notion of behavioral logics in delineating the logic of consequences and the logic of appropriateness, framing their discussion in terms of a rationalist-sociological debate (March and Olsen 1998). Whereby actors interact with their normative context 52 ( 4 ), and Kessler and Steele ( 2016 ) recent. Behavior in world politics Security communities as a via media in international Relations Constructivism is of! Join military alliances to bandwagon with stronger powers, as realists tell us constructivist Security studies: Portrait a! About behavior ( these are called regulatory norms because they define acceptable behavior ) local contexts localization Security studies Portrait... Analysis can quickly devolve into an expository morass specific behavioral strictures ( a relatively set... 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