International relations has been a significant concern to many researchers in the past years. Given that many countries of the world get into an agreement and honor them, the focus has been to find out what forces states to honor treaties given that there is no any international jurisdiction regarding treaties. Many researchers have come up with theories in an attempt explain what makes states honor agreements. The three main arguments that have been developed to describe this idea are the realism, liberalism and constructivism theory. Each of these approaches has their point of view on why states honor agreements. Controversies and criticism have emerged on how each approach handles its arguments. In this discussion, we focus on constructivism theory.
Constructivism theory is the claim that crucial aspects of international relations are historically and socially constructed, rather than unpredictable outcomes of human nature or significant feature if the world politics. Constructivism's approach to the elements of threat, conflict, and security in international politics emanated from their critical emphasis on the social aspects of international politics ( Baylis et al., 2017) . It defined them as socially constructed elements in the process of identity creation under the influence of the norms and universal values of society. Over the years and mainly after the Cold War, constructivism was considered as a significant critique of the other theories in international politics by tackling issues such as power balance, peaceful democracy and the re-introduction of the elements of collective security, security society and human rights to the field of security studies of international politics. This theory traces its origin to the pioneering work of Richard K. Ashley in 1992. Due to rising criticism of the realism theory, scholars hinted coming with more realistic explanations of the international relations.
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According to constructivism theory, the relationship of states with the other objects and actors are socially constructed ( Jackson & Sorensen, 2015 ). Countries tend to act towards objects and states by the meaning those objects have on them. In a socially constructed world, states tend to operate on objects and other states depending on the sense constituted by them. This theory gives objects a different idea from the realism theory. As opposed to realism which view objects regarding material resources, constructivism views it as socially constructed meaning to the state. According to Orsi (2016), state will get into agreements that socially are meaningful to them and subsequently will abide by it. The objects are not fixed and may change over time as the meaningfulness of ideas may change over time. The theory argues that the thoughts that dictate international politics are not only mere beliefs of individuals but are subjective ideas that are shared among people and institutions. When states share a common notion that they both perceive to have a meaningful impact on them, they will get into agreements and will abide by it as long as the socially recognized idea remains relevant. The structures of human association are dictated by shared beliefs rather than material forces. Material forces such as bombs and nuclear do not determine the relationships of the states.
In their theory, constructivism theorists talk about the construction of state interests. International relations are determined by the national interests of the states ( Abdelal et al., 2015 ). Each state has goals when getting to an agreement. The interests act at base ideas about the needs of the states. Countries come together and hold interest that structure their decision making. Ones the states have formed national interests that are shared by all of them, they can make agreements and based on their shared interest, they will abide by it. The main issue of constructivism theory on an interest that distinguish it from other arguments is that the formation of these interests is influential to the social nature and ideas rather than material objects.
According to Adler (2013), actors require identities that are stable with specific roles and expectations about collective meanings. Social constitutions determine the way actors interact with other states and the social environment. Interests are not just out somewhere waiting to be discovered; constructing them through social interactions is essential. The interests and identities of the state are the determinants of how the country behaves towards an agreement. The basis for the state to get into a treaty and honor it relies on the fact that they have a common interest that is socially constructed. Every country will want to achieve its interest thus making it abide by the agreement. The interests must have a common meaning to the actor for the deal to hold.
The interactions between states are influenced by the effects their interaction create. The political constitutions of the states play a significant role in developing the institutions and norms that determine the international relations. These social systems influence the state actions to abide by the treaties. Social organization redefines the actors and the process of agreement, prompting the agreement in which both parties have shared social interests. The state institutions and the actor plays a crucial role in determining the international relationships. Nations always want to be seen to respect the constitution and the rule of law. They will regularly try to defend every action they take to build an international relationship. When agreeing with the states, the state institutions will always make the nation to abide the agreement and develop social relationships ( Abdelal, Blyth & Parsons, 2015). However, as realism theorists argue that this interaction is determined by the material objects that a state possesses, constructivism theorists view it in a completely different view. The international relations is entirely a socially generated matter, and the social institutions of the state play a significant role in holding this common social interest goal and decision making.
Constructivism theory gives a distinct interpretation of the anarchy system in the international relations. Anarchy is a system that is not organized through hierarchical structures of authority and commands. The politics of the world is partly socially generated and may not be anarchic. The theory illustrates that the world politics changes from time to time and the lawless nature of the state can also vary depending on the relationship between the two nations. When two nations that share same social, political interest get into an agreement, the nature of the relationship is determined by the socially constructed ideas. Constructivist scholars such as Adler (2013) argue that under the constructed anarchy, there is a hierarchy in continuation. They hold that hierarchy in the international dimension is a relationship between actors whereby one is entailed rule, and the other must be in control, and this interaction is considered as right and legitimate by all. Adler (2013) believes that anarchy is what the state makes of it. The approach to anarchy relies on the meaning a state attaches to it.
Constructivism also attempts to explain the role of social norms in the international politics. The standards of the state sovereignty significantly influence the global relationships. Norms are the values that a state adheres to while dealing with foreign relations matters. How the country behaves is highly dependent on the kind of rules and values the state has in place. According to Jackson and Sorensen (2015) , constructivism also emphasizes the role of non-state actors in determining the behavior of the country in the international relations. Researchers have mentioned the role of non-state actors such as NGOs in changing the beliefs of the state on various issues relating to the global relations. For example, transnational corporations can reverse the state belief concerning international trade. Non-state actors can influence the state through persuasion or lobbying to meet certain elements of international relations. Some scholars have also mentioned the role of international institutions as actors in the international relations. While other theories see international organizations as pursuing state interests, constructivism argues that international institutions seek to achieve their rights even if they are against state interest. They can influence the behavior of the state in making decisions on global relations matters ( Orsi, 2016) . They can lobby the country to get into a trade agreement with other states and persuade the state to abide by the agreement.
In conclusion, constructivism theory tries to bring out various factors that can influence the state to change its behavior towards international relations. It directs its argument more towards social norms and shared interests rather than on objective material things. It also gives a different view on the meaning of anarchy, noting that it depends on what the state makes of it. While constructivism tends to provide some explanations that were ignored by other theories, it did not come without criticism. This argument shows emphasis on the centrality of the international society and attaches a social meaning to the world politics. It also theorizes the construction of power and makes many assumptions without tangible proofs.
References
Adler, E. (2013). Constructivism in international relations: sources, contributions, and debates. Handbook of international relations , 2 , 112-144.
Jackson, R., & Sorensen, G. (2015). Introduction to international relations: theories and approaches . Oxford university press.
Baylis, J., Owens, P., & Smith, S. (Eds.). (2017). The globalization of world politics: An introduction to international relations . Oxford University Press.
Abdelal, R., Blyth, M., & Parsons, C. (Eds.). (2015). Constructing the international economy . Cornell University Press.
Orsi, D. (2016). Introduction. In Michael Oakeshott's Political Philosophy of International Relations (pp. 1-7). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
