Constructivism
- key in understanding how people make choices is in the social setting they are coming from
- preoccupation with materialism (in previous schools of thought) blinded scholars for importance of culture, ideas, values, and norms (=> provide meanings in everyday social life)
- actors act rationally when they behave according to accepted rules, norms and ideas in social setting they operate
Social setting
- e.g. democracy or totalitarian regime
- established rules and norms that inform people on the social meanings attached to objects and practices
- what is meaningful/important in society and how to behave according to it (elections, traditions, culture, symbols, common past)
Role of social interaction
- Actors acquire their norms and ideas through socialisation and social interaction which is performed in particular social setting
- crucial for reinvention and development of social meanings and actors
- SC doesn’t object material reality but observes its meaning and construction
Ideational structures
= ideas, values, norms, rules
- as important as material ones in shaping identity and interests of political actors
- the building blocks of any given socio-political and cultural environment
- provide the meaning of what is considered acceptable and hence legitimate action
E.g.
- general: principles of democracy, HR discourse in UN/EU, enviro responsibility and sustainability
- context specific: code of conduct in diplomacy, inter- and intra-institutional coordination and coherence in the EU, professional rules of conduct at uni etc
Identity, interest, action
Ideational structures condition actors’ identities -> this informs their interests -> and in turn influence their actions
- actors’ identity, interest and action are products of specific Ideational structures
- malleable - thanks to new ideas, new knowledge, repeated interaction and new social agreements
Mainstream constructivism
- thinker - Alexander Wendt
- world has both materialist and Ideational aspects
- accepts existence of anarchy, security dilemma etc but holds that their meaning arise and evolve out of social interaction and the ideas we exchange
- studies the role of social facts defined by social agreements not material values
- its explanatory theory (wants to describe world as it is)
- bridge between materialist and Ideational logics
- what is seen as legitimate action can yield results at lower material cost
- the more a certain course of action is seen as illegitimate the higher the cost of its implementation
Brute vs social facts
Brute facts
- there is snow on the mountain top
Social facts
- money, terrorism, migration, laws
- assume meaning only if we agree on it
Social constructivism vs materialism
Materialism
- material objects have direct effects on actors and outcomes, they are unaffected by the ideas people bring to them
Constructivism
- effect of material objects can be understood only through the concepts/ideas defining their meaning
- all meanings are socially constructed + are changing and fluid
- eg sovereignty has changed since treaty of Westphalia (now if a state massively violates HR of its citizens - possibility for international humanitarian intervention => limiting sovereignty of “violator” state)
Eg with nuclear weapons
- realism - actors respond directly to material incentives
- constructivism - meaning and interpretation always mediate between material forces and social actors (otherwise we wouldn’t worry about 15 North Korea nuclear weapons over 215 UK’s — based on interpretations of historical knowledge, political rhetoric, behaviour over time and existing interactions)
Security dilemma and war are not forgone conclusions
- interaction may lead to mutual understanding of each side’s interests and underlying identity
- may ease tensions so that potential security dilemma is mitigated and conflict de-escalated
- language is important (one word can change the whole understanding of the whole situation and lead to unnecessary actions)
Concepts of SC
- social setting - what influences the behaviour and structure of the behaviour (not materialistic reasons)
- identity - what shapes interests and therefore shapes action
- rational behaviour - related to social setting - actors need to act according the norms of the setting
2 logics
- materialist - based on cost-benefit, pros and cons, used by realism and liberalism
- ideational - following norms and social structures, used by constructivism
Holism vs idealism
Holism - countries can’t be split apart into other units -> interconnected actors in global politics
Idealism - ideas are social thus everyone can interpret the same thing in different way
3 steps in creating norms
- Norm emergence - it gets recognised
- Norm cascade - norm spreads through population
- Norm of internalisation - international rule becomes legitimate and everyone knows about it (eg feminism, LGBT)
3 types of anarchy according to SC
- Hobbesian = realist - actors are seen as enemies + survival depends on power
- security - increasing military power by balance of power (military alliances) - Lockean = liberal - states are rivals (less competitive), respect sovereignty
- security - engage by negotiation, there is competition but not war - Kantian = liberal - disputes settled amicably, they are friends, in case of a war by third party they respond collectively
- security - diplomacy by negotiation
