Constructivism in international relations : the politics of reality
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Constructivism in international relations : the politics of reality
（Cambridge studies in international relations, 83）
Cambridge University Press, 2002
- : hbk
- : pbk
Available at 48 libraries
Note
Bibliography: p. 264-280
Includes index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Maja Zehfuss' book offers a fundamental critique of constructivism, focusing on the work of Wendt, Onuf and Kratochwil. Using Germany's shift towards participation in international military operations as an illustration, she demonstrates why each version of constructivism fails in its own project and comes apart on the basis of its own assumptions. Inspired by Derridean thought, this book highlights the political consequences of constructivist representations of reality. Each critique concludes that constructivist notions of key concepts are impossible, and that this is not merely a question of theoretical inconsistency, but of politics. The book is premised on the notion that the 'empirical' and the 'theoretical' are less separate than is acknowledged in international relations, and must be read as intertwined. Zehfuss examines the scholars' role in international relations, worrying that, by looking to constructivism as the future, they will be severely curtailing their ability to act responsibly in this area.
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgements
- List of abbreviations
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Identity change? Wendt's constructivism and German military involvement abroad
- 3. Intersubjectivity and the normative: Kratochwil's constructivism and German military involvement abroad
- 4. Words and world: Onuf's constructivism and German military involvement abroad
- 5. The politics of 'reality': Derrida's subversions, constructivism and German military involvement abroad
- 6. The politics of constructivism
- Bibliography
- Index.
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