Constructivism in International Relations -- Three constructivisms -- Wendt's constructivism -- Kratochwil's constructivism -- Onuf's constructivism -- German military involvement abroad -- Plan of the book -- Identity change? Wendt's constructivism and German military involvement abroad -- The identity move -- Collective identity -- Collective identity reconsidered -- The identity of identity -- Intersubjectivity and the normative: Kratochwil's constructivism and German military involvement abroad -- The significance of the normative -- Norms as the basis of intersubjectivity -- The politics of intersubjectivity and the normative -- Words and world: Onuf's constructivism and German military involvement abroad -- Words making the world -- The normative effects of speech acts -- Speech acts: success and failure -- The politics of words and worlds -- The politics of 'reality': Derrida's subversions, constructivism and German military involvement abroad -- The impossibility of pure presence and the politics of the 'real' -- The 'reality' of international politics -- Everyday 'reality' -- 'Reality' as raw material -- The politics of constructivism -- The politics of constructivism -- Responsibility in international relations -- Constructivism, reality, International Relations
Summary
Maja Zehfuss critiques constructivist theories of international relations. She uses Germany's shift towards using its military abroad to illustrate why constructivism does not work and how it leads to particular analytical outcomes, while foreclosing others. Zehfuss argues that this limits our ability to act responsibly in international relations
Analysis
Relaciones internacionales Filosofía
Constructivismo (Filosofía)
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 264-280) and index
