We give objects their meanings and can attach different meanings to different things. In other words the meanings of ideas, objects, and actors are all given by social interaction. Like the nature of the international system, Constructivists see such identities and interests as not objectively grounded in material forces (such as dictates of the human nature that underpins Classical Realism) but the result of ideas and the social construction of such ideas. Now that actors are not simply governed by the imperatives of a self-help system, their identities and interests become important in analyzing how they behave. As Constructivists reject Neorealism's conclusions about the determining effect of anarchy on the behavior of international actors, and move away from Neorealism's underlying materialism, they create the necessary room for the identities and interests of international actors to take a central place in theorizing international relations.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |