"In international relations (IR), constructivism is a social theory that asserts that significant aspects of international relations are shaped by ideational factors."
The idea that culture, norms, and ideas shape international relations and are key to understanding state behavior.
Epistemology: The study of how we acquire knowledge and the nature of knowledge.
Ontology: The study of the nature of reality and existence.
Social Construction: The idea that reality is not objective and fixed, but rather constructed through social processes, including language, culture, and power.
Agency: The capacity of individuals and groups to shape and influence their own lives and the world around them.
Power: The ability to influence or control the behavior of others, often through coercion or the threat of force.
State: A political entity with sovereignty over a defined territory and population.
Anarchy: The absence of a centralized authority or world government in international relations.
International Society: A community of states characterized by shared norms, values, and interests.
Hegemony: Dominance over others, especially in terms of economics or military power.
Security: Protection from harm or threat, including military, economic, and political threats.
Norms: Shared standards of behavior that shape how states interact with each other.
Identity: The sense of self and belonging that individuals and groups derive from shared characteristics, such as nationality, ethnicity, or religion.
Socialization: The process by which individuals and groups learn and internalize norms, values, and beliefs.
Constructivist foreign policy: Government actions based on the belief that international relations are shaped by social processes and norms, rather than material interests.
Discourse: The language, ideas, and symbols through which political actors construct meaning and understanding of the world around them.
Agency-structure debate: The tension between the ability of individuals and groups to shape their own lives and the constraints imposed by social structures and institutions.
Contested norms: The idea that norms are not universally accepted but rather subject to challenge and debate.
Social constructs of power: The idea that power is not a fixed commodity but rather shaped by social processes and relationships.
Non-state actors: Individuals and groups that operate outside of formal state structures, and can have a significant impact on world politics.
Critical security studies: A field of research that challenges traditional security discourse and seeks to examine the ways in which security is constructed and understood.
Structural Constructivism: This form of constructivist theory argues that structures of social interaction shape the behavior of actors in international politics.
Ontological Constructivism: This approach focuses on the fundamental nature of the reality that actors construct in their interactions with each other in international relations. It emphasizes the role of language and discourse in shaping reality.
Normative Constructivism: This approach argues that the norms and values that actors hold shape their behavior in international politics. It emphasizes the role of moral and ethical beliefs in shaping international relations.
Post-Structural / Critical Constructivism: This approach draws on critical theory to argue that power relations shape the way that actors construct their understanding of international relations. It emphasizes the role of power in shaping international politics.
Social Constructivism: This form of constructivist theory emphasizes the role of shared social constructions of reality in shaping international politics. It challenges the rationalist assumption that individual actors have self-interested preferences that they seek to advance in the international arena. Instead, it argues that individuals and groups are socially constructed in relation to each other.
Cognitive Constructivism: This approach focuses on how actors’ perceptions and beliefs shape their behavior in international politics. It argues that individual cognition is an essential determinant of international behavior.
Discursive Constructivism: This form of constructivism emphasizes the role of language and discourse in shaping international politics. It argues that actors’ language choices and the narratives they construct shape the way others perceive their interests and behavior.
"Constructivists see identities and interests of actors as socially constructed and changeable; identities are not static and cannot be exogenously assumed."
"Constructivists see identities and interests of actors as socially constructed and changeable; identities are not static and cannot be exogenously assumed."
"Constructivist analyses can only provide substantive explanations or predictions once the relevant actors and their interests have been identified, as well as the content of social structures."
"Constructivist analyses also see power as the ability to structure and constitute the nature of social relations among actors."
"The main theories competing with constructivism are variants of realism, liberalism, and rational choice."
"Significant aspects of international relations are shaped by ideational factors."
"These collectively held beliefs construct the interests and identities of actors."
"Identities are not static and cannot be exogenously assumed."
"Constructivism does not make broad and specific predictions about international relations; it is an approach to studying international politics, not a substantive theory of international politics."
"Constructivist analyses also see power as the ability to structure and constitute the nature of social relations among actors."
"The most important ideational factors are those that are collectively held."
"Constructivist analyses can only provide substantive explanations or predictions once the relevant actors and their interests have been identified, as well as the content of social structures."
"Constructivist analyses also see power as the ability to structure and constitute the nature of social relations among actors."
"Materialism (the notion that the physical world determines political behavior on its own)."
"Constructivist analyses also see power as the ability to structure and constitute the nature of social relations among actors."
"It is an approach to studying international politics, not a substantive theory of international politics."
"The notion that individual units can be studied apart from the broader systems that they are embedded in."
"Constructivist analyses can only provide substantive explanations or predictions once the relevant actors and their interests have been identified, as well as the content of social structures."
"Constructivist analyses also see power as the ability to structure and constitute the nature of social relations among actors."