The Social Self in International Relations: Identity, Power and the Symbolic Interactionist Roots of Constructivism
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The Social Self in International Relations : Identity, Power and the Symbolic Interactionist Roots of Constructivism. / Adler-Nissen, Rebecca.
I: European Review of International Studies, Bind 3, Nr. 3, 2016, s. 27–39.Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › fagfællebedømt
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TY - JOUR
T1 - The Social Self in International Relations
T2 - Identity, Power and the Symbolic Interactionist Roots of Constructivism
AU - Adler-Nissen, Rebecca
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - This article argues that symbolic interactionist sources of the first generation of constructivists in IR theory are worth recovering because of their ability to address what constructivists have always wanted to understand – the social construction of world politics. Symbolic interactionism is more or less implicit in key claims of canonical works of the first generation of constructivism in International Relations (IR) theory. However, constructivism lost some of its potential to address everyday experiences and performances of world politics when it turned to norm diffusion and socialisation. The second generation of constructivists generated rich insights on the construction of national identities and on patterns of foreign policy, but did not fully exploit constructivism’s analytical potentials. Contrary to what most IR scholars have come to believe, symbolic interactionists saw the self as a deeply social – not a psychological or biological – phenomenon. Symbolic interactionism is interested in how inherently incomplete and fragile selves are constructed and deconstructed through processes of inclusion, exclusion and shaming. Today, third generation constructivists are returning to the sociology of Erving Go man and Harold Gar nkel and other symbolic interactionists to address problems of identity, power and deviance in international politics.
AB - This article argues that symbolic interactionist sources of the first generation of constructivists in IR theory are worth recovering because of their ability to address what constructivists have always wanted to understand – the social construction of world politics. Symbolic interactionism is more or less implicit in key claims of canonical works of the first generation of constructivism in International Relations (IR) theory. However, constructivism lost some of its potential to address everyday experiences and performances of world politics when it turned to norm diffusion and socialisation. The second generation of constructivists generated rich insights on the construction of national identities and on patterns of foreign policy, but did not fully exploit constructivism’s analytical potentials. Contrary to what most IR scholars have come to believe, symbolic interactionists saw the self as a deeply social – not a psychological or biological – phenomenon. Symbolic interactionism is interested in how inherently incomplete and fragile selves are constructed and deconstructed through processes of inclusion, exclusion and shaming. Today, third generation constructivists are returning to the sociology of Erving Go man and Harold Gar nkel and other symbolic interactionists to address problems of identity, power and deviance in international politics.
KW - Faculty of Social Sciences
KW - Goffman
KW - Wendt
KW - Constructivism
KW - International Relations Theory
KW - Symbolic Interactionism
KW - Identity
KW - Power
KW - Practice Theory
KW - Garfinkel
KW - Mead
KW - Self
KW - social self
KW - Social constructivism
KW - Goffman
KW - Constructivism
KW - Internatioanl Relations Theory
KW - Social Self
KW - Identity
KW - Power
KW - Self
KW - Garfinkel
KW - Mead
KW - Social constructivism
KW - Practice Theory
KW - Wendt
KW - Symbolic Interactionism
KW - international relations discipline
M3 - Journal article
VL - 3
SP - 27
EP - 39
JO - European Review of International Studies
JF - European Review of International Studies
SN - 2196-6923
IS - 3
ER -
ID: 173123399