Session 17 - Constructivism: The real deal?

In his book “Social Theory of International Politics”, Alexander Wendt introduced a new theory into the realm of International Relations, which was dominated by the two theories of Realism and Liberalism. This theory of Wendt provides a new angle to the study of International Relations. Wendt’s theory gives a new form of constructivism blended with societal norms. This theory asserts that it is the society which shapes the International Relations between the states even if the impact is not directly evident. This theory mainly focuses upon the sharing of ideas between the states. The main idea behind this theory is that the states act according to the ideas that they may or may not share rather than basing their actions upon the materialistic ideology that Realism advocates. Another important feature of this theory is the holistic approach that it takes while explaining the interaction between the states. This top-down approach gives the idea that the states act collectively rather than unitary actors on the international stage. Although this theory criticizes the Realist and Liberal approaches, it does not outright consider them dysfunctional. It recognizes the role that these two theories have to play in explaining the ever-changing and dynamic International Relations. Alexander Wendt also provides us with a map on which we can plot the different theories used to describe any event that occurs in international arena. The two axes of this map are the four sociologies divided into two pairs, with one pair on each axis. These pairs, material-ideational and individualistic-holistic, encompass all the approaches taken towards explaining the international events within the social theory of Wendt. Wendt does not take an extremist position which makes his theory applicable on a wide variety of events, and thus much more adaptable.