Ned Lebow : KCL – Lecture 18: Constructivism

Rooted in interpretivist tradition, constructivism seeks to understand behavior by discovering the reasons people have for acting as they do.

Although focused on individuals, constructivists tend to look for social explanations of behavior. Many find them in constitution, the procedures by which actors achieve their roles and the rules they are expected to follow when performing them. Other constructivists turn to identity – individual and national -- which they argue is responsible for the framing of many political decisions. Constructivism assumes that meaningful behavior requires intersubjectivity – people must understand what others say and do as they are intended to.

Constructivists aspire to build theory, but theory that is policy relevant and the basis for explanatory narratives and forecasts.