Constructivist theory of international Relations

[Tanvir Ahmed Chowdhury]

Constructivism thinks that the international order is contingent upon how states perceive one another.  What is important is if states perceive one another as threats or as potential allies.  This determines how peaceful the international system can be. Constructivist theory has, unlike Realism and Liberalism, people at the heart of its definition of power and takes into account that people make up the states and institutions that work within the anarchy of the world. Constructivists view individual people and the ideas that they believe in are what gives these things meaning. They argue that power does not reside in the state or institutions, but rather in ideas that people use and collectively come to believe in.