Constructivism and Sociological Institutionalism

Abstract

This chapter demonstrates the close interdisciplinary relationship between constructivist political science and organizational sociology. What is now commonly called the ‘constructivist turn’ in International Relations theory and, subsequently, in studies of European integration, builds on an interest in ‘the social’ among political scientists. This interest follows from the observation that many analyses of institutions tend to be ‘undersocialised in the sense that they pay insufficient attention to the ways in which actors in world politics are socially constructed’ (Wendt, 1999, 3–4). This has produced a new focus on the input of social facts (Ruggie, 1998) and the influence of social practices (Wendt, 1987; Koslowski and Kratochwil, 1994), and has facilitated an enhanced understanding of the social construction of European integration (Christiansen et al., 2001). As I argue in this chapter, this focus on the social represents a conceptual innovation of paradigmatic reach in political science, and offers an important tool for analysis of European integration.