- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- New to this Edition
- Notes on Contributors
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- List of Boxes
- How to use this Book
- Online Resources
- 1. Introduction: What is Security Studies?
- Part 1 Approaches to Security
- 2. Realism
- 3. Liberalism and Liberal Internationalism
- 4. Historical Materialism
- 5. Peace Studies
- 6. Social Constructivism
- 7. Critical Security Studies: A Schismatic History
- 8. Poststructural Insights: Making Subjects and Objects of Security
- 9. Postcolonialism
- 10. Human Security
- 11. Gender and Security
- 12. Securitization
- Part 2 Deepening and Broadening Security
- 13. Military Security
- 14. Regime Security
- 15. Societal Security
- 16. Environmental Security
- 17. Economic Security
- 18. Globalization, Development, and Security
- Part 3 Traditional and Non-Traditional Security
- 19. Coercive Diplomacy: Countering War-Threatening Crises and Armed Conflicts
- 20. Weapons of Mass Destruction
- 21. Terrorism
- 22. Humanitarian Intervention
- 23. Energy Security
- 24. The Weapons Trade
- 25. Health and Security
- 26. Transnational Crime
- 27. Cyber-Security
- 28. After the Return to Theory: The Past, Present, and Future of Security Studies
- Glossary
- References
- Index
(p. 74) 6. Social Constructivism
- Chapter:
- (p. 74) 6. Social Constructivism
- Author(s):
Christine Agius
- DOI:
- 10.1093/hepl/9780198804109.003.0006
This chapter examines the impact of social constructivism on Security Studies as well as its critique of the assumed orthodoxy of rationalist approaches to security and the international system. In particular, it considers the manner that social constructivists address the question of how security and security threats are ‘socially constructed’. The chapter first provides an overview of definitions and key concepts relating to constructivism, such as its emphasis on the importance of ideas, identity, and interaction, along with its alternative approach to thinking about security. It then explores Alexander Wendt’s three cultures of anarchy and compares conventional constructivism with critical constructivism. Finally, it analyses rationalist and poststructuralist critiques of constructivism.
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- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- New to this Edition
- Notes on Contributors
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- List of Boxes
- How to use this Book
- Online Resources
- 1. Introduction: What is Security Studies?
- Part 1 Approaches to Security
- 2. Realism
- 3. Liberalism and Liberal Internationalism
- 4. Historical Materialism
- 5. Peace Studies
- 6. Social Constructivism
- 7. Critical Security Studies: A Schismatic History
- 8. Poststructural Insights: Making Subjects and Objects of Security
- 9. Postcolonialism
- 10. Human Security
- 11. Gender and Security
- 12. Securitization
- Part 2 Deepening and Broadening Security
- 13. Military Security
- 14. Regime Security
- 15. Societal Security
- 16. Environmental Security
- 17. Economic Security
- 18. Globalization, Development, and Security
- Part 3 Traditional and Non-Traditional Security
- 19. Coercive Diplomacy: Countering War-Threatening Crises and Armed Conflicts
- 20. Weapons of Mass Destruction
- 21. Terrorism
- 22. Humanitarian Intervention
- 23. Energy Security
- 24. The Weapons Trade
- 25. Health and Security
- 26. Transnational Crime
- 27. Cyber-Security
- 28. After the Return to Theory: The Past, Present, and Future of Security Studies
- Glossary
- References
- Index
