Twenty Years of Constructivism in International Relations. From Meta-Theoretical Debate to the Development of Empirical Research. A Perspective without a Foreign Policy Frame

Abstract

After two decades of constructivists studies in International Relations, there still remain some misunderstandings concerning this approach, which has become ever more relevant in the discipline. In this article we discuss three features which contributed to the confusion and initial skepticism towards this perspective. First, we address the prevalence of meta-theoretic language in the first constructivists writings connected with the discipline’s debate between rationalism and reflectivism. Secondly, we draw upon empirical research to illustrate the diversity within constructivism, as a second trait which fostered perplexity, while we also exemplify the way in which this perspective studies ideas, identity and agency. Finally, we argue that constructivism differs from other theories in that it lacks a prescriptive dimension as regards foreign policy, another feature of this theory’s specificity.