Alexander Wendt
contemporarySocial Constructivismb. 1958
Alexander Wendt (born 1958) is an American political scientist and international relations theorist best known for founding social constructivism in IR theory. His work challenges rationalist and materialist assumptions by arguing that the identities and interests of states are socially constructed through interaction. He has more recently extended his theoretical reach into quantum approaches to social science and arguments for a world state.
Notable Achievements
1
Authored the landmark 1992 article 'Anarchy is What States Make of It', establishing constructivism as a major IR paradigm
2
Published 'Social Theory of International Politics' (1999), the canonical constructivist challenge to Waltzian neorealism
3
Argued for the inevitability of a world state as a teleological endpoint of the international system
4
Introduced quantum theoretical frameworks to social science in 'Quantum Mind and Social Science' (2015)
5
Developed the concept that state identities and interests are constituted through social interaction, not given by anarchy