CIAO DATE: 11/03

The State of International Relations Research and Perspectives in Germany

Gunther Hellmann, editor
August 2003

Constructivism, Rationalism and Theories of International Relations by Thomas Risse

Abstract

The controversy between rational choice and constructivist approaches is useful and relevant, as long as it contributes to the development of substantive theories of international politics and to theory-guided empirical research. The essay discusses, first, the constructivist challenge to conventional theories of International Relations based upon the rational choice paradigm. Second, I summarize the current state of the art of constructivist research concentrating on so-called „moderate” constructivism. This part emphasizes especially contributions from the German-speaking International Relations community. Third, the article focuses on the controversy with rationalist approaches to international relations. The aim is to explore concrete examples of theoretical bridge-building between rational choice and moderate social constructivism.