Constructivism &

Foreign Policy
Norms, Ideas & Identity,
NOT Rationality
Classic question by Alexander Wendt

“500 British nuclear weapons

are less threatening to the
United States than 5 North
Korean nuclear weapons.”
Why?
 (Wendt, 1995, 73)
Constructivism: Philosophy
 Against the concept of utility-maximizing, self-
regarding homo oeconomicus (Human behavior is
dictated by interest. Ideas, values & norms can only play
a role as instruments for asserting & justifying given
interests).
 Constructivist emphasizes the independent
influence of ideas, values & norms.
 Homo sociologicus or role player (Actors’ action
are guided by norms, i.e., by intersubjectively shared,
value-based expectations of appropriate behavior)
Constructivism: Philosophy (2)

 Constructivist view: actors take decisions

“on the basis of norms & rules on the
background of subjective factors,
historical-cultural experience &
institutional involvement”.
Constructivism: Philosophy (3)
 When faced with various alternative courses of
action, homo economicus considers the
anticipated consequences of his action in
order to choose the alternative which will
maximize his [ 5 ] self-regarding utility;
 Homo sociologicus, on the other hand, bases
his action on a "logic of appropriateness",
which takes socially shared, value-based
expectations of behavior as its point of
reference.
Constructivism: Philosophy (4)
 The logic of appropriateness states that
"behaviors (beliefs as well as actions) are
intentional but not willful. They involve fulfilling
the obligations of a role in a situation, and so of
trying to determine the imperatives of holding a
position. [...] Within a logic of appropriateness,
a sane person is one who is ‘in touch with
identity’ in the sense of maintaining consistency
between behavior and a conception of self in
a social role" (March/Olsen 1989: 160f)
Constructivism: Philosophy (5)

Constructivist theory of behavior:

Social norms (defined as
intersubjectively shared, value-based
expectations of appropriate behavior)
serve as independent variables for
explanations of human behavior.
Constructivism & International Relations
 Asreality is not only conditioned, but also
constructed & constituted through social
phenomena, the most important aspect of
world politics is social, not material.
 The arena of international affairs is a “world of
our making” (Onuf, 1979)
Constructivism & IR (2)

 As a reaction to the over-determination of structure

in rationalist theories, Constructivist introduced the
possibility of agency & have emphasized the
process of interaction.
 Itis not that actors are free to choose their
circumstances, but rather they make choices, not
prior to the interaction (as rational choice
advocates would have it), but upon it or even in
the process of interacting with others.
Constructivism & IR (3)

 ForConstructivists, agents do not act in respect to

the rationalistic logic of consequence (“what
happens to me if I act in a certain way?”), but
according to the so-called logic of
appropriateness: “How should I act in this situation?
 Wendt: “people act toward objects, including other
actors, on the basis of the meanings that the objects
have for them. States act differently toward enemies
than they do toward friends because enemies are
threatening & friends are not.”
Constructivism & IR (4)

 Therefore identities not only matter, but they are

essential in grasping the interests & behaviors of
actors on the international scene. For
Constructivists, identity is an inter-subjective notion.
Its formation entails developing a collective sense
of not only who one is, but also how it differs from
others.
 Ted Hoff: “in telling you who you are, identities strongly
imply a particular set of interests or preferences with
respect to choices of action in particular domains & with
respect to particular actors”.
Constructivism & IR (5)

 And since this notion of self is to a large

extent formed during or upon interacting
with the “other”, identities cannot be fixed,
but relative and relational, always in the
process of being formed & reformed.
 Hence, the possibility of Change.
 (TheRealist: Change is impossible. Human nature stay
the same)
Constructivist Foreign Policy:
Three Schools
1. Norm-based Constructivism
2. Idea-based Constructivism
3. Identity-based Constructivism
Norm-based Constructivism
(Finnemore, 1996)

 FP is influenced by international & domestic norms.

 International norms emanate from international
institutions. E.g., expectations of neighboring states.
 Domestic norms: notions of acceptable behavior within
domestic polity, emanating from domestic societal
norms.
 The “Logic of appropriateness”.
Norm-based Constructivism (2)

 How do societal norms influence FP? A widely held

societal norm might exert its influence through
public opinion & electoral pressure.
 Norms can also influence policy when they have
been institutionalized in laws.
 Politicalparty agendas are also instrumental in
observing societal norms because norms would
require a convergence in policy or opinion across
party lines.
Idea-based Constructivism
(Goldstein & Keohane, 1993)

 Ideas as explanatory variable in FP DecMaking

 ideas act as constraints “narrowing the range of
possible actions for policy makers.”
 In the face of uncertainty about the rationally
correct choice or decision to make to maximize an
interest, policy makers use causal or principled
ideas to clarify optimal responses to uncertain
conditions.
Idea-based Constructivism (2)

 When uncertainty renders rational-choice

policymaking ineffective, policymakers use
principled ideas to clarify decision-making
responses, NOT acting from a normative
basis or relying on a ‘logic of
appropriateness,’.
Idea-based Constructivism (3)

 E.g., in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the

discipline of economics offered few concrete
solutions to the problems facing central bankers
and fiscal policy makers.
 The absence of scientific consensus regarding the
causes and solutions for the fiscal crisis created
confusion for policymakers, and in this confusion
policymakers resorted to their individual beliefs to
guide policy making.
Idea-based Constructivism (4)

 This explains the dramatically different responses

taken by the European Central Bank and the
United States Federal Reserve to similar economic
conditions.
 Critique: The notion that individual belief systems
influence foreign policy at the national level
ignores the commonality of shared norms
underlying dominant ideas or knowledge.
Identity-based Constructivism
(Wendt, 1992)

 Theanarchical world described by realism did not

match reality, where worldviews depend on
socialization processes.
 Socialization
shapes state identity which, in turn,
determines state interest.
 “The post-war era had slowly transformed the German
domestic identity into a transnational or European identity,
such that “German leaders across the political
spectrum...continued to back deeper economic and
political integration enthusiastically.”
References
 Berger, T.U. (1996) “Norms, Identity, and National Security in Germany and Japan.
in P. J Katzenstein (ed) The Culture of National Security. Norms and Identity in
World Politics. New York. Columbia University Press.
 Boekle, H, Rittberger, V & Wagner, W., “Norms and Foreign Policy: Constructivist
Foreign Policy Theory.” (Center for International Relations/Peace and Conflict
Studies, Institute for Political Science, University of Tübingen
 Finnemore, M. (1996). “Norms, Culture, and World Politics: Insights from Sociology’s
Institutionalism.” International Organization. V 50: 2. 325-47.
 Flockhart, T. (2012).”Constructivism and Foreign Policy”. Steve Smith, et.al., Foreign
Policy (Oxford U.P.)
 Goldstein, J & R. Keohane (1993). "Ideas and Foreign Policy. An Analytical
Framework." Ideas and foreign policy: beliefs, institutions, and political change.
Ithaca: Cornell UP.
 Hurd, Ian. “Constructivism”, in Smit, Nidal & Reus. Handbook of International
Relations.