Transcript Introducing a New Product

Constructivism in IR Theory
Prepared for Junior Int'l Politics class at NENU, Fall 2015
“Introducing the IR Paradigms: 3”
Assumptions of Constructivism
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Ideas matter in IR as much as or more than material
factors (i.e. military power, money). Threats and other
fundamental concepts are subjects of construction,
perception, and interpretation.
Anarchy is an institution which can be changed, has
changed, and currently “serves some agents more than
others.”
States, like people, exist in societies and are influenced by
the rules, norms, and practices of their peers.
States have “identities,” self-constructed self-images and
identity as an ally or enemy drives interstate behavior.
There is no single “real world,” no single “reality” in
existence, and even if one existed we couldn't KNOW
about it.
Non-normative study of IR is IMPOSSIBLE (reject the
“fact-value distinction” between “is” and “ought”)
More Assumptions,
Prescriptions, Precautions
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Agents and structures (institutions) are “co-constituted”
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Methodology and goals must be more modest
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Philosophy of knowledge (epistemology) and existence
(ontology) greatly restrict the scientific study of IR
Power strongly affects the establishment of “the truth”
Language is not neutral. All texts and “facts” are subject
to various interpretations.
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When we describe “the truth” we also create it.
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We should be very cautious about “scientific”
theories which reify concepts or create
pessimistic “self-fulfilling prophesies”
Examples of Constructivist IR
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“Critical” IR Theory, Incl. Marxism, Post-Structuralism,
Postmodernism
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Feminist IR Theory
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天下
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British School's “World Society” (H. Bull)
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Wallerstein's World-Systems Theory
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Peace Studies
Social Facts VS. Brute Facts:
What Really Exists in the
World?
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John Searle distinguishes between “Social Facts” which
depend on human agreement and “Brute Facts” which
exist outside of human perception and experience.
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Universally accepted “facts” are sometimes
proved false.
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If people disagree about a fact, it ceases to be a
fact and becomes a “disputed fact”
Can you think of examples?
So, Does China Exist?
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How has the concept/construct of China
changed over time in the minds of Chinese
people? In 汉族 people's imagination?
Does everyone agree what China is?
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Who disagrees, and does it
matter?
If there were no humans left on earth,
would China still exist?
Laws & Norms
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“When rules are formal, we typically call them legal rules,
legal norms, or laws.”
“When rules are informal, we often follow English-speaking
sociologists in calling them norms.”
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Onuf (2010, pg. 15)
Realism and Neoliberalism, despite their empirical,
positivist methodologies and assumptions, are
fundamentally dependent on a norm which has evolved
greatly over the past few centuries...
EXAMPLE: The Norm of
Sovereignty over Time
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The concept began as a way for leaders in Early Modern Europe to
separate territories with different religious beliefs (Philpott).
In the age of imperialism, there were sovereign states which colonized
non-sovereign territories on “civilizing missions” justified as “WhiteMans' Burden”
Imperialist, sovereign nation-states competed with each other in
“Spheres of Interest” until WWI
The UN Charter, post-WWII international law codified the norm of
sovereignty and bestowed it upon ALL recognized states.
Krasner divides the concept into int'l recognition, domestic, and
interdependence “faces”
Contemporary liberals and “norm-entrepreneurs” want to make an
exception for states which fail in their “Responsibility to Protect (R2P)”
their people and thereby forfeit sovereignty's protection against
interference in domestic affairs.