Social constructivism in international relations theory

Abstract

The main emphasis of social constructivism is the place of human consciousness or
awareness in world politics. By rejecting the rationalist theory of neorealism and neoliberalism,
emphasizing a sociological perspective in world politics, emphasizing normative and even material
structures, constructivism emphasizes the role of identity in the formation of interests and actions
and the mutual occurrence of factors and structures. Constructivism started with Thomas
Hobbes (1588-1679), one of the leading thinkers of Realism. Val Dusek argues that Thomas
Hobbes and Giambattista Vico, who argue that our knowledge is constructed, are the pioneers of
Constructivism. Both thinkers claim that what we know best is what we do or build. Hobbes says
that mathematics and its political situation are built by arbitrary decisions. Social Constructivism,
especially after the 1980s, has become a common approach in dealing with and examining different
issues in the field of humanities and social sciences. This study focuses on the definition of the
social constructivism approach within the scope of International Relations (IR) theories and the
discussions on this approach. The perspective of social construction is constructivism on change,
interests, identity, cooperation, and international norms are evaluated in terms of the discipline
of IR. The contribution of constructionism to international organizations and regionalization
studies is important. In this context, the article focuses on the effects of social constructionism
in the world in the discipline of IR and the research carried out using this approach. This study
aims to show the unique aspects of constructivism and its place in IR theories, starting from the
common points of the related approaches. In this context, the article first discusses the theoretical
development of the discipline and constructivist approaches. Afterward, the article explains social
constructivism, which is necessary for a clearer understanding of constructivist IR approaches,
within the framework of the basic assumptions that distinguish constructivist approaches from
the mainstream of the discipline