Constructivism, International Law and Peace
By Aneesh Sood
Of all the major schools of thought in international relations, it may be constructivism that can best help our world establish international law and make the world a more peaceful place. This is because at the heart of constructivism is the idea that significant aspects of international relations are socially constructed, taking shape through ongoing social practices and interactions. This idea directly opposes the perspective other schools of thought offer – that IR is controlled by the consequences of human nature and fundamental characteristics of world politics.
The reason that this is so important in terms of world peace is because it allows us to look at international relations with an understanding that things are more flexible than other theories may have us think. By saying that aspects of IR are socially constructed, constructivism suggests that there is nothing natural or inevitable about international politics – in fact, we may have more control over it than we realize. To understand this better, we can look at the example of how money relates to constructivism, offered by writer Alexander Wendt. On its own, money is not much more than bits of paper with ink on it. It has no intrinsic value in and of itself. Instead, it is the collective meaning that we as a society assign to these sheets of paper that give them their value. If we were to one day stop assigning this meaning to money, it would cease to have this value. A constructivist would apply this same kind of logic to international relations.
This is important when thinking about peace and law because it realizes that the identity we assign to something is changeable through how we interact with it, so nothing is set in stone. Identities are critical in IR because they dictate the kind of actions states may take – if a country identifies another country as an enemy, it will be operating on a different course of action than if it identified that country as an ally. By believing that identities are changeable, constructivism offers the possibility that through communication foes can turn into friends and steps towards peace can be taken – countries do not have to remain in conflict due to the rules of “the system” as other schools of IR might believe. Constructivism also lends itself to peace and understanding because it considers the unique backgrounds of global actors. While other theories may look at strictly political and economic factors, constructivism opens the door to examine the differences we have across countries, and how our unique identities shape the actions we take. This heightened awareness of diversity and identity would only help cross-cultural communication and peace.
The theory of constructivism is a much more flexible one than others such as realism. It encourages consideration of the social factors that make us act the way we do, while leaving open the possibility of re-making these factors in order to create a better world. Seeing the world using this kind of theory can only have positive ramifications when it comes to peace.
Aneesh Sood is an Arms Control Fellow at Peace Economy Project.
