ABSTRACT
In this chapter, students will learn about constructivist approaches to security. Constructivism has become an increasingly prominent theoretical approach to International Relations since its emergence in the 1980s. Focussing on the role of ideational factors and the social construction of world politics, it is perhaps best described as a broader social theory, which then informs the study of security. This chapter draws out key contributions of constructivist thought that have been applied to security studies. It introduces students to the idea that the meanings and practices of security are socially constructed, before examining constructivist concerns with ideational factors such as norms and identity. The chapter then outlines what can be gained through understanding security as the product of processes of negotiation and contestation, and the relationship between agents and structures in the international system as mutually constitutive.
