Wendt makes a beeline for the realists and liberals, who put a lot of emphasis on the idea that world systems are created through the material realities upon which they are constructed, but Wrendt instead suggests that world systems are constructed on the basis of social interactions and relationships. While keeping in mind that the essence of metaphysics and IR rests on the belief that the coexistence of ideas is healthy as it drives the states and systems to constructively engage and interact with each other, it is of no doubt that constructivism serves to be a more pragmatic approach amongst a plethora of theories that have attempted to understand International Relations.
The concept of constructivism borrows from the anthropological idea of agency and reciprocity which ultimately explains the relationships between states as being more interactive rather than being "autonomous from the social system in which they are embedded". The first chapter presents this idea of interdependence between and within States which further helps to elucidate the fact that international relations and the foreign policy stance of a State is always contingent on the domestic temperature.
Wendt really hits the nail on the head when he says that social constructivism is used to explain the underlying cause and definition of most of the things - take culture for example, it is one of the most contested terms in anthropology, not because it is an ambiguous term but because it has been misused to the extent that no one knows what it essentially incorporates. Similarly, the security dilemma is a term touched upon by Wrendt using a constructivist approach which tends to makes more sense compared to other theories. He attempts to explain the security dilemma by stating, the security dilemmas are "social structures composed of intersubjective understandings in which states are so distrustful that they make the worst case assumptions about each other's intentions". Interpreting Wrendt's idea, it would be safe to suggest that he has further deconstructed the security dilemma and has highlighted a principle-agent problem within the state system as opposed to other theorists who uphold the security dilemma as the main reason for conflict. Looking at historical events through a strictly constructivist approach, it all makes much more sense. The constructivisit's will say the events during the Cold War period, during WW1 and II can be said to be a consequence of misjudgment and mismanagement because the security dilemma was misinterpreted.
To conclude it would be fitting to add John Ikenbury's review of Wendt's work which he credits as being a precise identification of "the great gulf between realism, liberalism and idealism. Wendt develops a language that will allow them to talk to one another"
The concept of constructivism borrows from the anthropological idea of agency and reciprocity which ultimately explains the relationships between states as being more interactive rather than being "autonomous from the social system in which they are embedded". The first chapter presents this idea of interdependence between and within States which further helps to elucidate the fact that international relations and the foreign policy stance of a State is always contingent on the domestic temperature.
Wendt really hits the nail on the head when he says that social constructivism is used to explain the underlying cause and definition of most of the things - take culture for example, it is one of the most contested terms in anthropology, not because it is an ambiguous term but because it has been misused to the extent that no one knows what it essentially incorporates. Similarly, the security dilemma is a term touched upon by Wrendt using a constructivist approach which tends to makes more sense compared to other theories. He attempts to explain the security dilemma by stating, the security dilemmas are "social structures composed of intersubjective understandings in which states are so distrustful that they make the worst case assumptions about each other's intentions". Interpreting Wrendt's idea, it would be safe to suggest that he has further deconstructed the security dilemma and has highlighted a principle-agent problem within the state system as opposed to other theorists who uphold the security dilemma as the main reason for conflict. Looking at historical events through a strictly constructivist approach, it all makes much more sense. The constructivisit's will say the events during the Cold War period, during WW1 and II can be said to be a consequence of misjudgment and mismanagement because the security dilemma was misinterpreted.
To conclude it would be fitting to add John Ikenbury's review of Wendt's work which he credits as being a precise identification of "the great gulf between realism, liberalism and idealism. Wendt develops a language that will allow them to talk to one another"
Befitting end quote!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rida and your post does a good job of highlighting Wendt's contribution to IR theory.
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