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  3. Constructivism in International Relations
  • Cited by 202
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:
September 2009
Print publication year:
2002
Online ISBN:
9780511491795
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511491795
Series:
Cambridge Studies in International Relations (83)
Subjects:
Politics and International Relations, International Relations and International Organisations
Information

Book 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.

Reviews

'… this book constitutes a good attempt to improve the dialogue between the two approaches in International Relations.'

Source: International Affairs

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