9. Social constructivism

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Barnett
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Social Constructivism ◽  
International Relations Theory ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Key Concepts ◽  
Structure Problem ◽  
Migration Crisis ◽  
Constructivist Approaches ◽  
Agent Structure ◽  
European Migration

This chapter examines constructivist approaches to international relations theory. It explores whether there is a possibility of moral progress in world politics, whether some cultures and countries are more (or less) inherently violent, and whether states are motivated by power or by ideas. The chapter also discusses the rise of constructivism and some key concepts of constructivism, including the agent–structure problem, holism, idealism, individualism, materialism, and rational choice. It concludes with an analysis of constructivist assumptions about global change. Two case studies are presented, one relating to social construction of refugees and the 2015 European migration crisis, and the other to the ‘human rights revolution’ and torture. There is also an Opposing Opinions box that asks whether the laws of war have made war less horrific.

12. Social constructivism

2019 ◽  
pp. 192-206
Author(s):  
Michael Barnett
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Social Constructivism ◽  
International Relations Theory ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Key Concepts ◽  
Structure Problem ◽  
Migration Crisis ◽  
Constructivist Approaches ◽  
Agent Structure ◽  
European Migration

This chapter examines constructivist approaches to international relations theory. It explores whether there is a possibility of moral progress in world politics, whether some cultures and countries are more (or less) inherently violent, and whether states are motivated by power or by ideas. The chapter also discusses the rise of constructivism and some key concepts of constructivism, including the agent–structure problem, holism, idealism, individualism, materialism, and rational choice. It concludes with an analysis of constructivist assumptions about global change. Two case studies are presented, one relating to social construction of refugees and the 2015 European migration crisis, and the other to the ‘human rights revolution’ and torture. There is also an Opposing Opinions box that asks whether the laws of war have made war less horrific.

scholarly journals The Evolution of Social Constructivism in Political Science: Past to Present

SAGE Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 215824401983270
Author(s):  
Hoyoon Jung
Keyword(s):  
International Relation ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Social Constructivism ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Constructivist Approach ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
Constructivist Approaches

This article aims to illuminate how social constructivism has evolved as a mainstream international relation (IR) paradigm within a short period of time. To be specific, I navigated core tenets of constructivism in terms of its ontology, epistemology, and methodology, respectively. I also explored the growing body of constructivist empirical research and ensuing theoretical refinement as well as the strengths and weaknesses of a constructivist approach. Through these discussions, this article argues that constructivist approaches, since its emergence, have hugely contributed to the development of the study of IRs, providing novel insights and distinct ways of understanding of social and international reality with its own added value, by focusing on the role of ideas, identity, and norms in shaping state preferences and world politics.

Social Practices of Rule-Making in World Politics

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Raymond
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
International System ◽  
Social Practices ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Self Defense ◽  
The Social ◽  
Practice Turn ◽  
International Systems ◽  
Constructivist Approaches ◽  
Rule Making

Social Practices of Rule-Making in World Politics identifies a class of social practices of rule-making, interpretation, and application, demonstrating the causal importance of these practices (and the procedural rules that constitute and govern them) in explaining outcomes in world politics. The book utilizes rule-oriented and practice-turn constructivist approaches to argue that procedural rules about rule-making, or secondary rules, shape the way that actors present and evaluate proposals for change in the rules and institutions that structure international systems. The book examines four important international security cases: the social construction of great power management after the Napoleonic Wars; the creation of a rule against the use of force, except in cases of self-defense and collective security, enshrined in the Kellogg-Briand Pact; contestation of the international system by al-Qaeda in the period immediately following the 9/11 attacks; and United Nations efforts to establish norms for state conduct in the cyber domain. The book makes several contributions to International Relations theory. It provides insight into how actors know how and when to engage in specific forms of social construction. It extends the application of practice-turn constructivism to processes of making and interpreting rules. It improves upon existing tools to explain change in the rules and institutions of the international system. Finally, it demonstrates the utility of the book’s approach for the study of global governance, the international system, and for emerging efforts to identify forms and sites of authority and hierarchy in world politics.

scholarly journals Agencia e Estrutura em Sistemas Internacionais: a ontologia do Realismo Científico e suas implicações para uma agenda de pesquisa | Agency and Structure in International Systems: the ontology of Scientific Realism and its implications for a research agenda

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Brancher
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Scientific Realism ◽  
Social Research ◽  
International Relations Theory ◽  
Suggested Approach ◽  
Structure Problem ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
International Systems ◽  
Agent Structure ◽  
Agency And Structure

O artigo se insere no debate acerca do problema agente-estrutura nas Relações Internacionais.Na primeira seção, analisa-se as controvérsias e as lacunas teóricas de três repostas para o problema agente-estrutura que influenciaram o debate teórico nas RI: individualismo, estruturalismo e estruturação. A segunda seção discute a perspectiva ontológica proposta pelo Realismo Científico. Argumenta-se que ela constitui uma heurística profícua para o desenvolvimento de um programa de pesquisa que conceba agentes e estruturas como entidades autônomas e inter-relacionadas temporalmente. Por fim, nas considerações finais, sintetiza-se os argumentos desenvolvidos, aponta-se implicações teóricas da abordagem sugerida e indica-se alternativas para a continuidade da agenda de pesquisa.ABSTRACTThe article is part of the debate on the agent-structure problem in International Relations. It is considered that any social research must develop or incorporate ontological presuppositions about this question, since it logically precedes epistemological and methodological definitions. Specifically to the field of International Relations, the agent-structure problem refers to the definition of the components and the dynamics of operation of International Systems (IS). Thus, in the first section, we analyze the controversies and theoretical gaps of three responses to the agent-structure problem that influenced the theoretical debate in IR: individualism, structuralism and structuring. The second section discusses the ontological perspective proposed by Scientific Realism. It is argued that it constitutes a useful heuristic for the development of a research program that devises agents and structures as autonomous and temporally interrelated entities. Finally, in the final considerations, the arguments developed are summarized, theoretical implications of the suggested approach are indicated, and alternatives are indicated for the continuity of the research agenda.Palavras-chave: Teoria de Relações Internacionais; Agente-Estrutura; Realismo CientíficoKeywords: International Relations Theory; Agent-Structure; Scientific Realism 

Gender and Social Exclusion in European Migration Crisis

2018 ◽  
pp. 658-676
Author(s):  
Marlou Schrover
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Historical Perspective ◽  
The Other ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Refugee Women ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Migration Crisis ◽  
The One ◽  
European Migration

This chapter discusses social exclusion in European migration from a gendered and historical perspective. It discusses how from this perspective the idea of a crisis in migration was repeatedly constructed. Gender is used in this chapter in a dual way: attention is paid to differences between men and women in (refugee) migration, and to differences between men and women as advocates and claim makers for migrant rights. There is a dilemma—recognized mostly for recent decades—that on the one hand refugee women can be used to generate empathy, and thus support. On the other hand, emphasis on women as victims forces them into a victimhood role and leaves them without agency. This dilemma played itself out throughout the twentieth century. It led to saving the victims, but not to solving the problem. It fortified rather than weakened the idea of a crisis.

Ontological Insecurity as an Emergent Phenomenon

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filip Ejdus ◽  
Tijana Rečević
Keyword(s):  
Tipping Point ◽  
Security Studies ◽  
Open Door Policy ◽  
Ontological Security ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Emergent Phenomenon ◽  
Migration Crisis ◽  
Level Of Analysis ◽  
European Migration

Abstract. One of the central debates in Ontological Security Studies (OSS) has been about the level-of-analysis. While some authors focus on individuals, others have scaled up the concept and applied it to collectives such as states as the main ontological security seekers. In this article, we contribute to the level-of-analysis debate in OSS by providing a novel argument in defense of scaling up. By drawing on the literatures on complexity and securitization, we conceptualize ontological security as an emergent phenomenon. It arises from the ground-up and is driven by feedback loops in a non-linear and spontaneous fashion from horizontal micro-interactions and securitizations from below, ultimately reaching a tipping point. We illustrate this argument in a case study of anti-immigrant mobilization in Serbia since the outbreak of the European migration crisis (2015–2020). At the outset of the crisis, state officials interpreted the migration crisis as a manageable and temporary situation, adopted an “open door” policy and even banned far-right extremist demonstrations against migration. Over time, however, ontological insecurity over the migrant threat has gradually emerged from the bottom-up through a cascade of rumors, connective action, and everyday securitizing acts. While it might be too early to conclude that the national tipping point has been reached, this case study clearly shows why ontological insecurity merits to be studied as an emergent phenomenon.

Integration policies and threat perceptions following the European migration crisis: New insights into the policy-threat nexus

2021 ◽  
pp. 002071522110506
Author(s):  
David De Coninck ◽  
Giacomo Solano ◽  
Willem Joris ◽  
Bart Meuleman ◽  
Leen d’Haenens
Keyword(s):  
Integration Policy ◽  
Media Freedom ◽  
Threat Perceptions ◽  
Integration Policies ◽  
Migrant Integration ◽  
Migration Crisis ◽  
Policy Threat ◽  
European Migration ◽  
Do So

The link between integration policies and intergroup attitudes or threat perceptions has received considerable attention. However, no studies so far have been able to explore how this relationship changed following the European migration crisis due to a lack of recent comparative policy data. Using new MIPEX data, this is the first study to examine mechanisms underlying the policy-threat nexus following the European migration crisis, distinguishing between several strands of integration policies, and realistic and symbolic threat. To do so, we combine 2017 Eurobarometer data with 2017 Migrant Integration Policy data, resulting in a sample of 28,080 respondents nested in 28 countries. The analyses also control for economic conditions, outgroup size, and media freedom. Multilevel analyses indicate that respondents living in countries with more inclusive integration policies in general report lower realistic and symbolic threat. When investigating different policy strands, we find that inclusive policies regarding political participation and access to nationality for immigrants are associated with lower realistic and symbolic threat. We compare our findings to those from prior to the European migration crisis and discuss the potential role of this crisis in the policy-threat nexus.

scholarly journals Factors of Transformation of Political Islam in World Politics: Origins of Violence and Terrorism

2021 ◽  
Vol 102 (3) ◽  
pp. 125-146
Author(s):  
H. R. Jabbarinasir
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Ottoman Empire ◽  
Social Constructivism ◽  
Political Islam ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Social Phenomenon ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The World ◽  
September 11 Attacks ◽  
The Arab Spring

The article studies factors of transformation of political Islam and reasons for its “tightening” in the modern context. On the basis of the ideas of social constructivism, the author traces the main milestones in the evolution of political Islam and the formation of its radical branches that orient towards violence and terrorism. The article examines nine mega-events that ultimately determined the specifics of the modern union of Islam and poli tics — the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the Islamic revolution in Iran, the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the September 11 attacks (2001), the overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime, the “Arab Spring”, and the establishment of political Islam with a “Turkish face”. The author demonstrates that after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Islam began to gradually transform from the social phenomenon into the world-political factor. Initially, this tendency was observed in the intellectual and ideological spheres, but then penetrated practical politics. The article identifies four models of modern political Islam — Shiite, Salafi-jihadist, Takfirist-jihadist and moderate political Islam. According to the author’s conclusion, the attitude towards violence within these models is largely determined by the peculiarities of the formation, geographic ambitions and goals of the respective branches. The Shiite branch of political Islam that has established in Iran justifies violence for solving defensive tasks and appeals mainly to the categories of justice and protection of the oppressed. Salafijihadist and Takfirist groups, in essence, see violence as a key instrument for implementing the commandments of Allah and rebuilding the world on the principles of Sharia. The moderate political Islam (as shown by analyzing the case of Turkey) completely rejects violence, and religion remains largely a social phenomenon, although it is used for political purposes, in particular, to attract the electorate. On the basis of his analysis, the author comes to the conclusion that the idea of violence as an inherent element of political Islam is erroneous, but at the same time he points out risks of the increasing significance of this factor.

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