Realist Constructivism and Realist-Constructivisms

Abstract

“Realist Constructivism” (Barkin 2003) endeavored to make the case that classical realist theory and constructivist approaches to the study of international relations are not implacably opposed, as has been claimed by self-described realist and constructivist scholars of international relations theory. As such, the goal of the article was to create a set of permissive conditions for a realist constructivism (unhyphenated, understood as a general approach rather than as a specific theory)—that is, a footnote that future students of international relations could use rather than have to make the case themselves that the two are not incompatible. In creating a set of permissive conditions, my hope was that a variety of specific realist-constructivisms (hyphenated, understood as more specific theories of international relations within the general approach of realist constructivism) could be created, each suitable to particular research questions and each contributing to a broader conversation on realist constructivism in the study of international relations. This Forum constitutes the beginning of such a conversation. The four theoretical formulations in this Forum suggest at least two axes on which specific realist-constructivisms might differ: (1) how to understand power, and (2) how to deal with the relationships among power, idealism, and liberalism. These questions provide two fruitful areas for a discussion of the potentialities and limits of realist constructivism in general. Power as a concept is involved in this conversation in two ways. The first is the status of power in a realist constructivism. Three of the four essays in this Forum argue that power cannot be transcended in international relations. The outlier, Richard Ned Lebow's essay, suggests that power is central to the study of international relations, but it is only one necessary focus among many. But even among the three essays that argue that power cannot be transcended, disagreement exists about the …