Une évaluation du constructivisme comme approche des théories des relations internationales

Exposé Politique & international Relations internationales

Date de publication :

02/10/2009

Langue :

Anglais

Format :

.doc

Nombre de pages :

11 pages

Niveau :

grand public

Consulté :

0 fois

Avis client :

non évalué

Validé par :

le comité Oboulo.com

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Sommaire :

Sommaire

The origins of constructivism
1. The theoretical landscape of international relations
2. Constructivism as the Middle Ground
The theoretical propositions of constructivism
1. The role of international norms and rules
2. The issue of identities and interests
3. The mutual constitution of agents and structures
The constructivist research
1. The empirical contribution of constructivism
2. The research agenda
3. The weaknesses of constructivism

Résumé :

Before the 1980s, the focus of the international relations scholarship was on two main debates, opposing on the one hand the neo-realists to the neo-liberal institutionalists; and on the other rationalism to critical theory. Whereas the former is a debate in which the two mainstream theories, both described as rationalist, accept common assumptions (among which the logic of anarchy and the self-interest of the states, principal actors of international relations); the latter consists on the challenge by critical theory of the core epistemological and ontological beliefs of rationalism. However, in the ongoing of that decade, these debates, especially the first one, seem to languish. It is in that period that appear a certain number of researchers describing themselves as belonging to a "constructivist" approach to international relations. This approach derives from other forms of social sciences, including philosophy, anthropology, sociology or history, which explains the multiplicity of its influences, and the different degrees of assimilation of other sciences . For instance, among the theorists who had the greater influence on constructivism we can refer to Max Weber and his concept of contextualization, Anthony Giddens and the notion of structuration and Jürgen Habermas and his study of intersubjectivity. Nevertheless, and because of these varied influences, not all constructivists adopt the same reasoning.

After presenting these introductory controversies of constructivism as an approach to international relations theory, the question of its evaluation arises. Indeed, what is the relevance of constructivism in today's international relations scholarship? Subsequently, the problem of how to evaluate a theory derives from the first interrogation.