Session 17 - Social Theory of International Politics

After acknowledging the fact that his work is limited by lack of empirical support and high levels of generality and abstraction, Wendt aims to launch a critique on the existing international politics theories. He then aims to outline the basic tenets of his own social theory while being aware that there is there is narrow scope for constructivist arguments in the international relations realm.

Firstly, Wendt believes while states should be the primary unit of analysis, neo realist approaches are used for problem solving rather than for ‘radical structural change’. However, he argues that there is great room in such theories to explain structural change. Very little of the material covered so far makes space for the possibility of changing the international structure altogether. It was interesting to see how Wendt allowed room for this possibility. Furthermore, he believes that states are the agents in this process of structural change. This is in contrast to other theories which believe that the simple elimination of anarchy from the system might bring about peace. Secondly, Wendt argues that he will take a systemic approach in his social theory but does not believe that a systemic approach equates to the exclusion of unit levels factors of analysis.

Wendt goes on to discuss the relative importance of ideas and material structures. Unlike other theorists who, generally, completely dismiss principles of opposing theories, Wendt does not exclude the importance of material forces from his analysis. He believes that ideas are equally, if not more, important as material forces in explaining state behaviour and relations. Next, he explains the relationship between agents and structures. His analogy of professors and students was a good way of conceptualizing this particular principle. Wendt argues that structures shape identities which in turn shape interests. Unlike neo liberalism and neo realism, which were only concerned with how states pursue interests and not so much with how the interests came about, social constructivism explains the origins of these interests and how they influence behaviour. This adds another interesting dimension to the understanding of international politics.

Overall, Wendt’s first chapter was not a particularly enjoyable read. In my opinion, his ideas seemed too abstract and the lack of examples to explain his beliefs left me wanting a more concrete analysis of social theory.