Constructivism in the Islamic approach to International Relations

This chapter employs constructivism’s main components, collective identity, common interest, shared knowledge and practice, in understanding International Relations reality from an Islamic perspective. It does so by highlighting how Alexander Wendt’s and Emmanuel Adler’s theoretical foundations surgically built an Islamic episteme in world politics. It analyses how Sayyid Qutb’s and Ahmet Davutoğlu’s political Islamic thoughts and operational concepts of “al hakimiyya” and “alternative paradigms” provide, unlike previous attempts of theorization, an Islamic IR theory that interacts with the existing body of Western theories. They both provided a different understanding of Muslims’ worldview, particularly on its ontological foundations and concrete application to international affairs.