Perhaps this is simply a matter of what questions are being asked. 4. New York: Columbia University Press. Legro (1996) provided insight on a traditional security issue by delineating how normative ideas embedded in organizational culture at the domestic level could explain puzzling (for traditional international relations theories) variation in war fighting decisions in World War II. New York: Columbia University Press. 1999). However, when defined as ideas or expectations about appropriate behavior for actors with a given identity (Finnemore and Sikkink 1998:891), it became an ideal conceptual tool for operationalizing processes of social construction. 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. What if behavior was due to factors other than norms or ideas? General norms must be operationalized or translated into specific actions for specific situations. In the context of the global war on terror, US efforts to extract intelligence from suspected terrorists led to the use of enhanced interrogation techniques which was widely seen to have abrogated or contested the global prohibition on the use of torture (Steele 2008a; see also Birdsall (2016) who argues that it worked to strengthen the anti-torture norm). 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. Studies of compliance and contestation must grapple with this fundamental characteristic of social norms in a more explicit way moving forward. 1516). In this section you learn about: Realism, liberalism, constructivism, feminism and neo-Marxism as ways of explaining international relations. Norms, identity, and national security in Germany and Japan. In R. Abrahamsen & A. Leander (Eds. Contrastingly, neorealist prescriptions of power see it as hard, material, military power (such as large military forces or superior weapons) and are concerned with its distribution in the international system. ), Routledge handbook of private security studies (pp. International Politics, 53(2), 176197. Moreover, military alliances are increasingly not just about physical security but about binding together states with shared interests, identities, and norms. European Security, 27(3), 374392. 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. This chapter will concentrate on some of the main elements that have relevance for military studies. Bruner (1990) and Piaget (1972) are considered the chief theorists among the cognitive constructivists, while Vygotsky (1978) is the major theorist among the social constructivists. One set of norm dynamics may be implied when one seeks to understand how an actor outside a normative community interacts with norms when it is the target of socialization. Searle, J. R. (1995). 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). (1992). This had some success. 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. In his study of how the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and its constituent states interacted with global norms, Acharya (2004:251) demonstrates that localization does not extinguish the cognitive prior of the norm-takers but leads to its mutual inflection with external norms. International norms are adapted to local circumstances by actors with the ability to observe and manipulate ideas from the external normative context in so doing they alter the substance of the international norm to build congruence. Bjrkdahl, A. 2. Steele, B. Hegemony, entrepreneurial leadership, domestic context, framing, moral argument, and epistemic community actions figured prominently in these works as the impetus for emergence (Ikenberry and Kupchan 1990; Haas 1992; Finnemore and Sikkink 1998; Keck and Sikkink 1998; Risse 2000). Millennium, 33(3), 495521. Special issue. International Security, 23(1), 171200. The dominant focus of traditional theories on state and distribution of . Foreign Policy, 134, 5059. (2021). Fierke, K. M., & Jrgensen, K. E. Norm emergence studies were concerned with how ideas come to achieve normative status (e.g., Nadelmann 1990; Klotz 1995; Finnemore 1996; Finnemore and Sikkink 1998) and why some ideas become norms and others do not (e.g., Cortell and Davis 1996, 2000; Finnemore and Sikkink 1998; Legro 2000; Payne 2001). Tannenwald, N. (2018). However, some scholars found the mode of action where actors consciously reason about what is appropriate to be a problematic foundation for constructivist thought. The translation requires interpretation a subjective understanding of the intersubjective context to decide on a behavior. Klotz (1995), for instance, chronicled how the anti-apartheid norm shaped the expectations and actions of the US towards South Africa in the 1980s. Assuming that actors reason through social norms means beginning analysis with the understanding that the very way that actors view and understand the world is shaped by social norms. The work of Cortell and Davis (2005) and Acharya (2004) are relevant examples of this type of compliance research. Seizing the middle ground: Constructivism in world politics. The link was not copied. Tannenwald, N. (2017). Springer, Cham. The development of and debate over logics of behavior is the foundation of the reasoning about normsreasoning through norms spectrum. As we have seen in chapter 4, various factors can influence a country's interpretation of a convention. While this is obviously a false dichotomy and constructivist studies do not treat norms as exclusively internal or external to actors, the distinction matters for how scholars approach compliance and contestation. It examines the socialization process as more one of contestation between different normative systems and has broadened the scope of analysis to include attempts at socializing both powerful and weaker actors. Abstract. The analytic focus is shifting to the targets of socialization and the dynamic and agentic process whereby actors interact with their normative context. Empirical norms studies have both drawn on these debates and fueled them with empirical data supporting different claims. London: Routledge. Germany and Japan, for example, had antimilitaristic strategic cultures after the Second World War which impacted their military engagement and organization (Berger 1996; Hagstrm and Gustafsson 2015). Constructivists also emphasize how domestic norms and values play a role in how states and their militaries approach conflict or understand the causes of conflict. On the contrary, discursive interventions contribute to challenging the meaning of norms and subsequently actors are likely to reverse previously supported political positions. The current norm contestation literature explores processes through which actors come to understand shared norms differently, contest each others understandings, and how the contestation alters/reifies the norms that constitute a community of norm acceptors together (Hoffmann 2005; Van Kersbergen and Verbeek 2007; Chwieroth 2008; Sandholtz 2008). Second, at a broader level, the current norms literature is wrestling with the relationship between intersubjective and subjective reality. Hoffmann (2005) employs insights from the study of complex adaptation to understand how states that all accepted the norm of universal participation in climate governance came to have different subjective understandings of that norm. Whose progress, which morals? The culture of national security. Just as liberalism was a response to realism, economic structuralism is a response to liberalism. Shannon (2000:294) makes a sophisticated argument along these lines, claiming that due to the fuzzy nature of norms and situations, and due to the imperfect interpretation of such norms by human agency, oftentimes norms are what states (meaning state leaders) make of them. Such an interpretation of constructivist thought moves him to make a familiar argument about the split between norm-based and interest-based behavioral impulses (Shannon 2000:298302; Van Kersbergen and Verbeek 2007). Schmidt, B. Their embrace of the constructivist paradigm and its application as a natural teaching and learning response to the specific needs of ELLs is a unique and remarkable contribution to the theoretical and research-based literature on this topic." Violation of the Geneva Conventions constitutes a war crime. Instead, attempts at synthesis of constructivism and rationalism are now en vogue (e.g., Fearon and Wendt 2001; Schimmelfennig 2001, 2005; Checkel and Zurn 2005; Kornprobst 2007; Culpepper 2008; Kelley 2008). What does it derive its name from (it's fundamental proposition)? Prominent in the initial empirical norms research in this vein were studies that examined how given norms in a particular community diffused to actors outside the community (e.g., Risse-Kappen 1994; Keck and Sikkink 1998; Risse, Ropp, and Sikkink 1999; Checkel 2001; Johnston 2001). As states interact with other actors in the international system, their ideas and identity can change over time, which can produce a more dynamic understanding of international relations. These works argue that norms do not provide fully specified rules for every situation, and especially not for novel situations. 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. In both cases, compliance with an international norm behaving in a way that matches the behavioral strictures of the norm is expressly theorized and variation in compliance is explained not by pitting constructivist and rationalist/materialist variables, but by examining processes by which domestic actors interpret and manipulate international and local norms. The causes of the Iraq war. There is significant overlap with the socialization literature here as the mechanisms by which an idea becomes a norm are not all that different from the mechanisms by which an actor outside a normative community is brought within. Table of Contents; Introduction to Social Constructivism: Rise of Social Constructivism in IR: Constructivism as social theory: Constructivist theories of International Relations: 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. Rationalist critiques relate to constructivist methodology and epistemological claims. Finally, the third theory of international relations, known as Constructivism, focuses on ideas, shared beliefs and identity as the main drivers of success. International Theory, 4(3), 449468. Social Constructivism or Constructivism is a theory in International Relations which holds that developments in international relations are being constructed through social processes in accordance with ideational factors such as identity, norms, rules, etc. 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. This is a different way to think about and imagine the international realm beyond the narrow confines of rationalist power prescriptions. Project MUSE promotes the creation and dissemination of essential humanities and social science resources through collaboration with libraries, publishers, and scholars . Critics too began to understand social norms as static and specific and this facilitated an erroneous notion that evidence of norm-breaking behavior somehow invalidated or falsified constructivist theorizing. Acharya (2004) goes further in that he allows for the substance of international norms to be molded to fit local contexts localization. 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. Likewise, culture plays a significant role in international security. Chapter 4 Constructivism and Interpretive Theory CCRAIGPARSONS [A constructivist argument claims tear people do one thing and not anurher due co the presence of certain social construct ideas, belies, noms, idenies, or some other iterpreuire fer through which people perceive the wood. Wiener (2004:198) warns us that studying norms as causes for behavior leaves situations of conflicting or changing meanings of norms analytically underestimated. Certainly norms exhibit stability, as they are recognizable by the common expectations that they structure but, paradoxically, norms are also in a constant state of dynamism and flux. 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). In addition to considering how the two types of norm dynamics are related, the current norms literature brings traditional open questions in constructivism into sharp relief. CrossRef In contrast to these other approaches, constructivism is a social theory (or family of social theories) or theory of process (Adler 1997, 2003; Checkel 1998; Wendt 1999; Hoffmann 2009), which means it necessarily lacks a priori commitments on key elements of international relations theories the identity, nature, interests, and behavior of important actors and the structure of world politics. Writing in the 1950s, Karl Deutsch differentiated between amalgamated and pluralistic security communities, with the former referring to a security community with a shared government, and the latter involving an integrated yet separated political structure. While constructivists know that social norms are always being reconstituted in the dynamic interplay of agents and social structures known as mutual constitution, social norms do elicit common behavioral expectations such that they are recognizable as relatively stable shared ideas. Assessing the effects and effectiveness of the Geneva Conventions. In this regard Social Constructivism ushers itself in, in the discipline of International Relations as a new alternative to the traditional theories that have hitherto monopolized the way political scientists have been viewing the inter - and intrastate events. But for constructivists, it is social structure that is important (Farrell 2002, p. 52). People who share an identification are then assumed to share unique traits and attributes. In A. M. Sookermany (Ed. Norms and identity in world politics. What agents want and who they are may be constituted by social structures, but there is never a complete sublimation of agents they retain an ability to reason about constitutive social structures and make relatively independent behavioral choices. Instead social norms are generic rules that allow agents to behave and get along in a wide range of situations. Neumann, I. An alternative set of norm dynamics may be implicated when one seeks to understand change in norms themselves. (1996). International Relations is in Social Studies, thus this study field tries to theorize a model that could explain everything that is going on between countries. The strategic cultures of states are not the same: they are guided by perceptions, beliefs, ideas and norms that determine how states view the international system and how they use military force and priorities (Neumann and Heikka 2005, p. 6). - Checkel (1998) argues that "without more sustained attention . Erskine, T. (2012). London: Routledge. Ideas about whether actors reason about norms or through norms can be linked to underlying behavioral logics that constructivists have devised and developed since the inception of the approach. Yet, the analytic choices made had consequences for how norms were understood and these initial conditions significantly shaped both constructivist analysis and the kind of critiques of norms research that subsequently emerged. Farrell, T. (2002). (pp. Two have become particularly prominent compliance with the strictures of social norms and change in norms themselves. 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. Social theory of international politics. The seminal volume edited by Risse, Ropp, and Sikkink (1999) was the fountainhead for much of this research as it provided an explicit mechanism for how a particular set of human rights norms diffused beyond the community that originally endorsed them. At the core of social constructivism is the idea that international politics and indeed human relations are socially constructed rather than given. Its core ideas are based around three ontological positions relating to identity, ideas, and mutual constitution. In addition, norms-oriented research and the constructivist literature writ large has begun to concern itself more with research questions that fall out from constructivist thought independently without as much reference to competing approaches (Checkel 2004). Despite their position of material weakness, the Melians argued that freedom and justice are more important. Your current browser may not support copying via this button. Security institutions as agents of socialization? Rasmussen, M. V. (2005). Some constructivists stress reflection and consider that agents are able to reason about the various pulls on their possible behavior (either solely normative/ideational pulls or those in addition to material/strategic pulls). New York: Oxford University Press. ), Handbook of military sciences (pp. (1999). (2016). Alexander Wendt's Social Theory of International Politics has been predicted to gain a status similar to that which Kenneth Waltz's Theory of International Politics is thought to have enjoyed in the 1980s. The goal was to show how a target behavior can be accounted by considering the ideational context, how ideas and norms constitute interests, or how social norms influence actors understandings of the material world. Conventional constructivists like Wendt see similarities between constructivism and rationalist perspectives and methodologies. This means that the absence of a central power over states produces a world of perpetual insecurity, or Hobbesian state of nature (see Realist International Relations Theory and The Military by Schmidt in this volume), with conflict and violence a constant possibility. Actors (usually powerful ones, like leaders and influential citizens) continually shape - and sometimes reshape - the very nature of international relations through their actions and interactions. The traditional theories (Idealism and Realism) had diverted all focus to state and Power. Considering other factors to explain why states behave the way they do. 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). The first wave of empirical constructivist studies tended to freeze norms. Power is influenced by norms, ideas, and practices; in a constructivist reading, power depends on how it is used and what it means in the interaction of states. More recent constructivist norms scholarship has revisited this perspective on social norms, positing a different set of normative dynamics more focused on contestation over social norms. Abstract Social constructivism is not among the most popular theoretical approaches used in forecasting in International Relations. On the contrary, the two parts of the norms literature described above tend to find themselves on different ends of the reasoning about normsreasoning through norms spectrum. Moreover, the Geneva Convention is an example of both a regulative and a constitutive norm, in that it not only proscribes state behavior but established a new international normative order, creating expectations for international behavior. But Wendt also identified a Lockean culture that demonstrated some restraint in warfare and a Kantian culture that was guided more by cooperation (Wendt 1999). Katzenstein, P. J. ), Handbook of military sciences (pp. Agius, C. (2006). 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. Critical constructivists prefer to examine state identity in terms of its wider story (Fierke and Jrgensen 2001). (3) Normative emergence how an idea reaches intersubjective status in a community. Koschut, S. (2014). Moreover, social constructivism emphasizes social relations in global politics, and sees security and international politics as determined by ideas as well as material factors. Wendt, A. 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