Relational Constructivism

Jackson brings up a crucial point when he talks about the issue of legitimation, and the fact that it is usually overlooked in both the realist and liberal analyses when it comes to international relations. Legitimation refers to the process whereby an act, process, or ideology becomes legitimate by its attachment to norms and values within a given society. It is the process of making something acceptable and normative to a group or audience. Jackson refers to the Kosovo bombing of Albanian refugees and the impact and reactions of many different states and international organizations as to the repercussions of the bombing. He refers to relational constructivism as a “war of words,” which I tend to agree with, considering the large amount of public pronouncements and speeches that were given about the legitimacy of the bombing.

Constructivism seems to be contingent on convention, human perception, and social experience. Jackson states, “…A relational constructivist approach enables analysts to focus on how questions of authority and legitimacy are negotiated in practice.” While the words of leaders are extremely important in swaying the bias of a state, I still feel that the old saying is truer, that actions speak louder than words. Sometimes it seems that today the only thing that those in charge do is talk. It even seems that way when we look at the other “isms” that we already went over; they continually talk of a need for world peace, but yet they really don’t put forth an idea for action toward such a future.