Constructivism rejects a purely materialist view of international relations that focuses only on how the distribution of power shapes state behavior. Instead, constructivists argue that social factors like shared ideas, norms, and perceptions play an equally important role in shaping the international system and state interests and identities. The international system is not a fixed structure defined by material forces, but rather is socially constructed and can change as shared understandings between states change. For example, the end of the Cold War showed how states can redefine their interests and identities, transforming anarchy from a culture of "enemies" to "friends" through altered social interactions and understandings between them.

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2. introduction
“the focus of social constructivism … is on human awareness
or consciousness and its place in world affairs. much IR-theory,
and especially neorealism is materialist; it focuses on how the
distribution of material power … defines balances of power
between states and explains the behaviour of states.
constructivists reject such a one-sided material focus. .
They argue that the most important aspect of international
relations is social, not material.”
does this make any sense? before we discuss
this, let’s consider what else the author tells us
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3. introduction
“The international system is not something ‘out there’ like the
solar system. It does not exist on its own. It exists only as an
intersubjective awareness among people; in that sense the
system is constituted by ideas, not by material forces.
It [the international system] is a human invention or creation not of
a physical or material kind but of a purely intellectual and ideational
kind. It is a set of ideas, a body of thought, a system of norms,
which has been arranged by certain people at a particular time
and place.”
does the author make more or less sense now?
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4. introduction
key point. constructivists are not arguing that “reality” is an illusion;
rather, they are arguing that the reality that surrounds us is not merely
a product of purely objective (or material) forces, but is essentially a
product of our shared perceptions, values, ideas, and understanding
moreover, constructivists argue that there is a
mutually constitutive or interactive relationship
between structures and actors (and with the
reality this interaction creates): this is referred
to as structuration (a concept coined by
anthony giddens)
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5. introduction
consider these examples …
states and the interstate system: both are artificial or
human-made constructs (that is they are decidedly not the
product of God or nature): if states and the interstate system are
made by men and women, moreover, then they can be changed
and developed in new ways
later, we will discuss two other examples:
anarchy and the security dilemma
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7. the bigger picture: constructivism as social theory
basic points (and some repetition)
social theory tells us that the social world (that is, the world
defined by politics, economic, history, culture, institutions, and so
on) is not defined by nature, but by human beings
it tells us that, as a world defined by human beings, it is inherently
a world based on human consciousness: of thoughts and
beliefs, of ideas and concepts, of languages and discourses, of
norms and practices, of perceptions and misperceptions …
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8. the bigger picture: constructivism as social theory
basic points
at the same time, social theory tells us the social world is in part
constructed of physical entities, but it is the ideas and beliefs
concerning those entities that are most important
in other words, physical elements are secondary to the
intellectual element which infuses it with meaning, plans it,
organizes it and guides it
agree? disagree? understand?
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9. the bigger picture: constructivism as social theory
example. we all know that
this is a gun, but what does this
physical entity represent or mean?
does it represent: danger or safety?
repression or freedom? fun or destruction?
power or impotency? order or chaos?
key point. as a physical object, a gun’s
“meaning” is dependent on our interpretation

10. the bigger picture: constructivism as social theory
basic points
constructivism as social theory rests on an ideational view
“The core ideational element upon which constructivists focus is
intersubjective beliefs (and ideas, conceptions and assumptions)
that are widely shared among people. Ideas must be widely
shared to matter; nonetheless they can be held by different
groups, such as organizations, policymakers, social groups or
society).”
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11. the bigger picture: constructivism as social theory
basic points: four types of ideas
1 ideologies: a systemic set of doctrines or beliefs
2 normative (or principled) beliefs: beliefs about right and
wrong; values and standards of behavior or conduct
3 causal beliefs: beliefs are about cause-effect relationships
(often expressed in theories)
4 policy prescriptions: specific programmatic ideas that facilitate
policymaking by specifying how to solve a particular problem
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12. the bigger picture: constructivism as social theory
additional points
constructivists are not naïve: they understand the the “current
reality” has real, often deadly consequences, and that threats
and dangers cannot simply be ignored or dealt with through
wishful thinking
socially constructed realities, in short, are powerful
structures that have real consequences—constructivists also
understand that, once created, social structures can be
extraordinarily difficult to change
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13. constructivist theories of international relations
constructivism as a social theory operates at a high level of
abstraction: it tells something about international relations, but it is
not concerned with IR specifically
constructivist theories of international relations, by contrast,
focus specifically on how a constructivist framework can be used
to better understand or explain the substance of iR
one of the most well known IR constructivists in
alexander wendt
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15. constructivist theories of international relations
basic point. anarchy is a social construction.
it is not inherently dangerous, unstable, or
scary; instead, it becomes so only when
states interpret it as such
however, it is not just interpretation that
matters, but also interaction with others
that “create and instantiate one structure
of identities and interests rather than another;
structure has no existence or causal
power apart from process”

16. constructivist theories of international relations

17. constructivist theories of international relations
in concrete terms, “if the United States and
the Soviet Union decide that they are no
longer enemies, ‘the cold war is over.’”
of course, this is largely what happened:
the soviet union decided the united states
was no longer a vital threat. and, once
the soviets did this, the US no longer felt
(as) threatened by the former soviet union.
the relationship underwent and major
transformation, which preceded any changes
in the structure of the international system!

18. constructivist theories of international relations
more formally, wendt argued that there are at least three different
types or cultures of anarchies, each of which can be internalized
by different actors to different degrees (see chart on following slide,
reproduced from reading)
key point. the fundamental nature of international
relations—the significance of anarchy, in
particular—is determined by the prevailing
interpretation and the degree of internalization

19. era of european
imperialism union
post-1945
interstate
system (among
lib. democracies)
pre-1945
interstate
system
state of nature social contract idealism
“anarchy of “anarchy of
enemies”; friends”; lots
self-help of help from
“friends”

20. constructivist theories of international relations
a constructivist video break
the following video—an excerpt from
canadian bacon—helps illustrate the
ideas of social constructivism,

21. check coursesite for video
http:instructional1.calstatela.edu/tclim
excerpt from canadian bacon (1995)
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