Constructivism in international relations : the politics of reality / Maja Zehfuss.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Zehfuss, Maja, author.

Series:

Cambridge studies in international relations ; 83.

Cambridge studies in international relations ; 83

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

International relations--Philosophy.

International relations.

Constructivism (Philosophy).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiv, 289 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2002.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

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.

Contents:

Constructivism in International Relations

Three constructivisms

German military involvement abroad

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

Responsibility in international relations

Constructivism, reality, International Relations.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references (p. 264-280) and index.

ISBN:

1-107-12599-5

1-280-43422-8

0-511-17745-3

0-511-04258-2

0-511-14778-3

0-511-33008-1

0-511-49179-4

0-511-04578-6

OCLC:

475917136