Constructivism

GETTING STARTED GUIDE

Group 1, Class 18 Theories

26 September 2023 of IR 18
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Overview ...........................................................................................................................................................................4
Rules ...........................................................................................................................................................................5
Agents ........................................................................................................................................................................6
Society ........................................................................................................................................................................7
Agent-Structure Problem .................................................................................................................................8
Anarchy ......................................................................................................................................................................9
Rules Make Agents, Agents Make Rules...........................................................................................................10
Rules Form Institutions, Institutions Form Societies .................................................................................12
Rules Yield Rule ...........................................................................................................................................................13
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................14
Theories
References ................................................................................................................................15 of IR 18
Constructivism, a perspective in social
science that places significant importance
on how social interactions mold human
behavior and shape societies.

Theories
of IR 18
OVERVIEW

Constructivism recognizes that everything

around us, like societies, as a construct of
our collective human knowledge. In a way,
we construct society, and society shapes us.
It’s a two way relationship. To link ourselves
to society, we use rules.
Theories
of IR 18
OVERVIEW // RULES

A rule, in this context, is a statement that

prescribes what individuals should do,
setting a standard for conduct in specific
situations. Failing to comply to one results in
consequences. How one interacts with rules
creates “practices”.
Theories
of IR 18
OVERVIEW // AGENTS

Rules also determine who can actively

participate in a society, referred to as
"agents." No individual can be an agent for all
situations; instead, society enables
participation through its rules.

Theories
of IR 18
OVERVIEW // SOCIETY

Any stable pattern of rules, institutions, and

unintended consequences gives rise to a
societal structure, recognizable to observers.
Agents, who are also observers, perceive these
structures and may respond to them, leading
to potential changes and unforeseen
consequences. Theories
of IR 18
OVERVIEW // THE AGENT-STRUCTURE PROBLEM

On one hand, structures are perceived and

constructed by the agents. However,
structures can also influence the agents. So
do structures really exist? Or is it just a
figment of the thoughts of scholars?

Theories
of IR 18
OVERVIEW // ANARCHY

In IR, exists the concept of anarchy, where

rules indirectly guide interactions between
states, and no single state or institution holds
authority over others. Anarchy does not imply
the absence of rules but suggests that
unintended consequences play a significant
role in governing behaviors. Theories
of IR 18
RULES MAKE AGENTS, AGENTS MAKE RULES

Rules allow people to become agents through

opportunities to act upon the world. These
acts have material and social consequences,
some of them intended and some not.
Through these acts, agents make the material
world a social reality for themselves as
human beings. Theories
of IR 18
RULES MAKE AGENTS, AGENTS MAKE RULES

The changes that agents make in the world

around them whenever they construct their
reality through interaction with the rules will
eventually evolve to a situation where those
same agents need to make rules to make sure
those changes don’t go the wrong way.
Theories
of IR 18
RULES FORM INSTITUTIONS, INSTITUTIONS FORM SOCIETIES

All of the rules that get created along the way

by agents forms institutions where the agents
interact with and enforce those rules as a
group. Through the interconnected and self
reinforcing nature of the rules within these
institutions, a stable social structure and
society can form. Theories
of IR 18
RULES YIELD RULES

Rules never stand alone, as explained before,

their nature is interconnected and they
reinforce other rules. Along with reinforcing
itself and other rules through interactions,
these rules will grow and it will create more
rules, say what happens if it’s broken or if it’s
executed properly. Theories
of IR 18
Simply put, humans construct the world
around us. The world that we constructed,
further constructs us as individuals through
rules. These rules, create more rules, which
will then create an institution that we call
society.

Theories
of IR 18
CONTRIBUTING MEMBERS

Caren Gilbert E.M. (14050122120010)

Ganendra Zhalifunnas H.O. (14050122120028)
Hizkia Abednego P. (14050122130038)
Abisha Zaki Ar-Rafi (14050122130066)
Kevin Darmawan (14050122130069)
Azyan Ahsan (14050122130071)

REFERENCING

Nicholas Onuf, “Constructivism: A User’s Manual,” in

Vendulka Kubálková, Nicholas Onuf and Paul Kowert
(eds.), International Relations in A Constructed World Theories
of IR 18
(New York: M.E. Sharpe, 1998).
Enjoy your new
paradigm!
ASK US ANYTHING...

Further reading material:

Onuf, Nicholas Greenwood. 1989. World of Our Making: Rules and Rule in Social Theory and
International Relations. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press.
---. 1997. "A Constructivist Manifesto." In Constituting International Political Economy, ed. Kurt Theories
Burch and Robert A. Denemark, 7-17. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner. of IR 18