ABSTRACT
Social constructivism is one of the youngest ‘major’ theories in International Relations. As we will see, its main attraction as well as its main difficulty is that it tries to occupy the ‘middle ground’ in International Relations. Its proponents thus accept the influence of both structures and agency, and focus on how they influence each other. Social constructivists attempt to find a practical answer to the postmodern challenge to scientific knowledge in order to be able to conduct empirical research. In addition, they are interested in the interplay of interests and ideas, as well as in the impact of norms, culture and institutions on international politics. Typical themes addressed by social constructivist work are, therefore, the construction of national interests, the spread of human rights, the impact of international organisations on state identities (and vice versa), or the development of different forms of international society.
