Constructivism in International Relations: A Critical Evaluation

Abstract

This article deals with the hot debates on international relations (IR) between neorealists and neoliberalists within the camp of rationalism in the 1980s. From those academic controversies arose not only the critical theory but also the constructivist school of world politics. In fact, the so-called constructivism in IR theory evolves and develops out of the polemics with the critical theory. It can be regarded as the extension and enlargement of the critical theory. The constructive emphasis on ideational factors in IR provokes the critiques of the adequacy of its interpretation of world affairs. However, in a rapidly changing global society IR are not only constituted by material interests but also shaped by human ideas and views. Indeed, we live in an age of information and communication. Our world is constituted by various material and ideational forces that make the pluralist and intersubjective outlook meaningful. Finally, the treatise discusses the strength as well as the deficiencies of the modem and postmodern constructivism and reevaluates their contribution to the further development of IR theories.