Securing the Practical Turn in Constructivist Theory

Abstract

International Security in Practice: The Politics of NATO-Russia Diplomacy. By Vincent Pouliot. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. 282 pp., $29.99 (ISBN-13: 978-0-521-12203-0). International Security in Practice is an impressive book, and it makes important contributions to a variety of literatures in the field of international relations. Examining the stalled development of a security community between NATO and Russia, Pouliot explores a number of often overlooked concerns that are central to constructivist theorizing, such as the importance of “practice” as a focal point of analysis and the relationship between agent dispositions, social context, and international structure. International Security in Practice should be required reading for Russia/NATO experts and practitioners, scholars working in the security community literature, and for scholars concerned with the development of constructivist IR theory. In International Security in Practice , Pouliot argues that the limited pacification of the NATO-Russia relationship since 1992 is best understood through the examination of the practice of diplomacy. He concludes that diplomacy, as a means of resolving disputes between NATO and Russia, is a normal though not self-evident practice, which is defined as the hallmark of a mature security community. The failure of the NATO-Russia relationship to mature beyond a “non-war community” stems from divergent and often contradictory dispositions held by representatives of these two entities concerning their position in the international system—particularly in the realm of international security. The conclusions concerning NATO and Russia and the maturation of security communities are tightly argued, empirically well supported, and the product of a sophisticated and innovative …