ABSTRACT
This chapter examines three Post-positivist theories of international relations: the English School, Social Constructivism, and Feminism. It explains how Post-positivists see the relationship between how social identity is formed and how identity shapes the way people see the social world. The chapter describes how ideas can become privileged and the idea of an emancipatory commitment. It also describes the English School's idea of an international society and 'traditions of international thought' approach. The chapter explains the distinction Social Constructivists make between "brute facts" and "social facts" and how Social Constructivists say the social world is constructed/ produced. It describes what feminists mean when they talk about the apparent absence of women from international relations. Feminists suggest that most societies, including states, and the relations between them are socially constructed to reflect gendered priorities like hierarchy, and are maintained by methods associated with masculinity.
