Constructivism in International Relations the Politics of Reality
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Constructivism in International Relations The politics of reality Maja Zehfuss University of Warwick 25579CCB 42:58 84 ,2:581:B:C.2:/2CBD4CCC9 ,2:58,CB7DB22:22CCambridge Books9CCB Online 42:58© Cambridge 84CB University 9CCB5: Press, 8 2009 ,0 PUBLISHED BY THE PRESS SYNDICATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011-4211, USA 477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia Ruiz de Alarcón 13, 28014 Madrid, Spain Dock House, The Waterfront, Cape Town 8001, South Africa http://www.cambridge.org© Maja Zehfuss 2004 First published in printed format 2002 ISBN 978-0-511-49179-5 OCeISBN ISBN 0-521-81544-4 hardback ISBN 0-521-89466-2 paperback 25579CCB 42:58 84 ,2:581:B:C.2:/2CBD4CCC9 ,2:58,CB7DB22:22CCambridge Books9CCB Online 42:58© Cambridge 84CB University 9CCB5: Press, 8 2009 ,0 Constructivism in International Relations Maja Zehfuss’ book offers a fundamental critique of constructivism, fo- cusing 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 assump- tions. 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 inter- national 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. MAJA ZEHFUSS is Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Warwick. She has contributed articles to Zeitschrift fur¨ Internationale Beziehungen and the European Journal of International Relations. 25579CCB 42:58 84 ,2:581:B:C.2:/2CBD4CCC9 ,2:58,CB7DB22:22CCambridge Books9CCB Online 42:58© Cambridge 84CB University 9CCB5: Press, 8 2009 ,0 25579CCB 42:58 84 ,2:581:B:C.2:/2CBD4CCC9 ,2:58,CB7DB22:22CCambridge Books9CCB Online 42:58© Cambridge 84CB University 9CCB5: Press, 8 2009 ,0 CAMBRIDGE STUDIES IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: 83 Constructivism in International Relations Editorial Board Steve Smith (Managing editor) Thomas Biersteker Chris Brown Phil Cerny Alex Danchev Joseph Grieco A. J. R. Groom Richard Higgott G. John Ikenberry Caroline Kennedy-Pipe Steve Lamy Michael Nicholson Ngaire † Woods Cambridge Studies in International Relations is a joint initiative of Cambridge University Press and the British International Studies Association (BISA). The series will include a wide range of material, from undergraduate textbooks and surveys to research-based mono- graphs and collaborative volumes. The aim of the series is to publish the best new scholarship in International Studies from Europe, North America, and the rest of the world. 25579CCB 42:58 84 ,2:581:B:C.2:/2CBD4CCC9 ,2:58,CB7DB22:22CCambridge Books9CCB Online 42:58© Cambridge 84CB University 9CCB5: Press, 8 2009 ,0 CAMBRIDGE STUDIES IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 83 Maja Zehfuss Constructivism in International Relations The politics of reality 82 Paul K. Huth and Todd Allee The democratic peace and territorial conflict in the twentieth century 81 Neta C. Crawford Argument and change in world politics Ethics, decolonization, and humanitarian intervention 80 Douglas Lemke Regions of war and peace 79 Richard Shapcott Justice, community and dialogue in international relations 78 Philip E. Steinberg The social construction of the ocean 77 Christine Sylvester Feminist international relations 76 Kenneth A. Schultz Democracy and coercive diplomacy 75 David Patrick Houghton US foreign policy and the Iran hostage crisis 74 Cecilia Albin Justice and fairness in international negotiation 73 Martin Shaw Theory of the global state Globality as an unfinished revolution Series list continues after index 25579CCB 42:58 84 ,2:581:B:C.2:/2CBD4CCC9 ,2:58,CB7DB22:22CCambridge Books9CCB Online 42:58© Cambridge 84CB University 9CCB5: Press, 8 2009 ,0 For Gertrud Wagner 25579CCB 42:58 84 ,2:581:B:C.2:/2CBD4CCC9 ,2:58,CB7DB22:22CCambridge Books9CCB Online 42:58© Cambridge 84CB University 9CCB5: Press, 8 2009 ,0 25579CCB 42:58 84 ,2:581:B:C.2:/2CBD4CCC9 ,2:58,CB7DB22:22CCambridge Books9CCB Online 42:58© Cambridge 84CB University 9CCB5: Press, 8 2009 ,0 Contents Acknowledgements page xi List of abbreviations xiii 1 Introduction 1 Constructivism in International Relations 2 Three constructivisms 10 German military involvement abroad 23 Plan of the book 33 2 Identity change? Wendt’s constructivism and German military involvement abroad 38 The identity move 39 Collective identity 56 Collective identity reconsidered 63 The identity of identity 84 3 Intersubjectivity and the normative: Kratochwil’s constructivism and German military involvement abroad 94 The significance of the normative 95 Norms as the basis of intersubjectivity 118 The politics of intersubjectivity and the normative 135 4 Words and world: Onuf’s constructivism and German military involvement abroad 151 Words making the world 153 The normative effects of speech acts 171 Speech acts: success and failure 178 The politics of words and worlds 186 ix 25579CCB 42:58 84 ,2:581:B:C.2:/2CBD4CCC9 ,2:58,CB7DB22:22CCambridge Books9CCB Online 42:58© Cambridge 84CB University 9CCB5: Press, 8 2009 ,0 Contents 5 The politics of ‘reality’: Derrida’s subversions, constructivism and German military involvement abroad 196 The impossibility of pure presence and the politics of the ‘real’ 197 The ‘reality’ of international politics 207 Everyday ‘reality’ 222 ‘Reality’ as raw material 236 The politics of constructivism 245 6 The politics of constructivism 250 Responsibility in international relations 254 Constructivism, reality, International Relations 259 Bibliograph y 264 Index 281 x 25579CCB 42:58 84 ,2:581:B:C.2:/2CBD4CCC9 ,2:58,CB7DB22:22CCambridge Books9CCB Online 42:58© Cambridge 84CB University 9CCB5: Press, 8 2009 ,0 Acknowledgements The urge to write about the politics of reality stems to some extent from experiences before and beyond IR. In this sense I owe a hidden debt especially to the Germain family, Andrzej Sulima, Cornelius G¨orres and Mischa Wagenknecht. The book has profited from discussions too numerous to recall, espe- cially with those involved in the Aberystwyth Post International Group and CRIPT (Contemporary Research in International Political Theory). The Department of International Politics in Aberystwyth provided a congenial and supportive atmosphere during my time there and my thanks go to everyone who contributed to making it so. I would like to thank those who have read, in part or in whole, various versions of this book or of work towards it and who have offered inci- sive comments: Ian Clark, Stuart Elden, Daniela Kroslak, Debbie Lisle, Richard Little, Nick Wheeler and an anonymous reader for Cambridge University Press. Friedrich Kratochwil, Nicholas Onuf and Alexander Wendt have all commented on my work and, although they obviously disagree with my argument to a greater or lesser extent, supported this project in various ways. I am particularly grateful to Nick Onuf for his detailed comments on the entire manuscript. Special thanks are due to Roger Tooze for inspiration on chapter 2 and to Horst Zehfuß for re- search support. I would also like to thank John Haslam at CUP for his support and Karen Anderson Howes for her work at the copy-editing stage. She impressed me with both her eye for detail and her respect for my text. My greatest debt is to Jenny Edkins and Steve Smith. Their intellectual generosity, challenging queries and continuing support have not only made this a better book; their spirit and humour have also made me enjoy writing it. xi 25579CCB 42:58 84 ,2:581:B:C.2:/2CBD4CCC9 ,2:58,CB7DB22:22CCambridge Books9CCB Online 42:58© Cambridge 84CB University 9CCB5: Press, 8 2009 ,0 Acknowledgements The research for this book was supported by the University of Wales, Aberystwyth and the Economic and Social Research Council. It was completed whilst at the University of Warwick. My thanks go to all these institutions. Material especially from chapters 2 and 3 has previously been pub- lished as ‘Constructivism and Identity: A Dangerous Liaison’, European Journal of International Relations 7 (2001), 315–48, and is reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Ltd ( C Sage Publications and ECPR). ⃝ Earlier versions of my introductions to constructivisms and the argu- ment about Wendt and language have appeared as ‘Sprachlosigkeit schr¨ankt ein. Zur Bedeutung von Sprache in konstruktivistischen Theorien’, Zeitschrift fur¨ Internationale Beziehungen 5 (1998), 109–37, and ‘Constructivisms in International Relations: Wendt, Onuf, and Kratochwil’, in Karin M. Fierke and Knud Erik Jørgensen (eds.), Constructing International Relations: The Next Generation (Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 2001), pp. 54–75. I gratefully acknowledge permission from Nomos Verlagsgesellschaftand M. E. Sharpe to reprint this material here. Finally, the book could not have been written without the support of Edith, Horst and Ulrich Zehfuß. Gertrud