⋆
]]
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IPC3701: International Political Theory
May/June 2026 Portfolio Examination
⋆ ⋄ ⋆ ⋄ ⋆ ⋄ ⋆ ⋄ ⋆
[ International Relations / Political Theory [
_ Exam Revision Guide
IPC3701
Module Code:
International Political Theory
Module Name:
May/June 2026 Portfolio Exam
Paper / Exam:
2026
Year:
100 (Answer any 2 of 8 questions)
Total Marks:
Use this guide to revise thoroughly. Focus on understanding, not memorisation.
Exam Revision Notes | IPC3701 | 2026
,IPC3701 | Exam Revision International Political Theory
Question 1 [50] marks
Question: There is an ongoing debate about whether Constructivism should be classified
as a theory or a metatheory. Critically evaluate this distinction, with reference to how
each classification affects Constructivism’s explanatory scope and its relationship to other
IR theories.
Answer:
Introduction
Constructivism occupies an ambiguous but influential position in International Relations
(IR). Since Alexander Wendt’s landmark 1992 article “Anarchy is what states make of it,”
scholars have debated whether Constructivism is a substantive theory that explains spe-
cific outcomes, or a metatheory that provides philosophical and ontological foundations
for how we approach social inquiry in IR.
Key Concept
Core Constructivist Premises:
• The international system is socially constructed, not given by nature.
• Ideational factors (norms, identities, ideas) shape state behaviour alongside
material interests.
• The identities of actors are not fixed; they are constituted through social
interaction.
• Structures and agents are mutually constituted (neither is prior to the other).
Constructivism as a Theory
When treated as a substantive theory, Constructivism generates testable propositions
about international politics. It explains specific phenomena such as:
• Why states comply with international norms even when it is materially costly (e.g.,
human rights regimes).
• How state identity shapes foreign policy priorities (e.g., Germany’s post-World War
II pacifist identity).
• Why anarchy produces different outcomes in different contexts (Wendt’s three
cultures of anarchy: Hobbesian, Lockean, and Kantian).
Page 2 of 28
, IPC3701 | Exam Revision International Political Theory
As a theory, Constructivism has narrower explanatory scope: it focuses on specific
causal and constitutive relationships between ideas, norms, identity, and state behaviour.
It can be tested against observable outcomes in specific cases.
¥ Example
Case: The Ottawa Treaty (1997) The international campaign to ban land-
mines succeeded not because of shifts in material power, but because a transna-
tional network of NGOs and norm entrepreneurs reframed landmines as a hu-
manitarian crisis. This is a classic Constructivist explanation, demonstrating how
norm socialisation changed state behaviour.
Constructivism as a Metatheory
When classified as a metatheory, Constructivism is concerned with ontological and
epistemological questions about what exists in the social world and how we can know it,
rather than with specific causal claims. As a metatheory, it:
• Challenges the positivist assumptions of Realism and Liberalism (that material
facts are objectively given).
• Asserts that all social facts are inter-subjectively constituted through shared
meanings.
• Provides a philosophical platform from which Critical Theory, Feminism, and Post-
structuralism also operate.
• Does not itself generate falsifiable predictions, but shapes how scholars frame ques-
tions.
This broader classification gives Constructivism a wider scope but reduces its distinctive-
ness as an explanatory tool.
The Critical Evaluation: Which Classification is More Defensible?
Relationship to Other IR Theories
• Against Realism: Realism treats anarchy as a structural given. Constructivism in-
sists anarchy is a socially constructed meaning system. As a theory, Constructivism
challenges Realism directly; as a metatheory, it undermines Realism’s positivist
foundations.
• Against Liberalism: Liberalism accepts inter-state cooperation but grounds it
in rational self-interest. Constructivism shows that cooperation is also enabled by
Page 3 of 28
]]
⋆
IPC3701: International Political Theory
May/June 2026 Portfolio Examination
⋆ ⋄ ⋆ ⋄ ⋆ ⋄ ⋆ ⋄ ⋆
[ International Relations / Political Theory [
_ Exam Revision Guide
IPC3701
Module Code:
International Political Theory
Module Name:
May/June 2026 Portfolio Exam
Paper / Exam:
2026
Year:
100 (Answer any 2 of 8 questions)
Total Marks:
Use this guide to revise thoroughly. Focus on understanding, not memorisation.
Exam Revision Notes | IPC3701 | 2026
,IPC3701 | Exam Revision International Political Theory
Question 1 [50] marks
Question: There is an ongoing debate about whether Constructivism should be classified
as a theory or a metatheory. Critically evaluate this distinction, with reference to how
each classification affects Constructivism’s explanatory scope and its relationship to other
IR theories.
Answer:
Introduction
Constructivism occupies an ambiguous but influential position in International Relations
(IR). Since Alexander Wendt’s landmark 1992 article “Anarchy is what states make of it,”
scholars have debated whether Constructivism is a substantive theory that explains spe-
cific outcomes, or a metatheory that provides philosophical and ontological foundations
for how we approach social inquiry in IR.
Key Concept
Core Constructivist Premises:
• The international system is socially constructed, not given by nature.
• Ideational factors (norms, identities, ideas) shape state behaviour alongside
material interests.
• The identities of actors are not fixed; they are constituted through social
interaction.
• Structures and agents are mutually constituted (neither is prior to the other).
Constructivism as a Theory
When treated as a substantive theory, Constructivism generates testable propositions
about international politics. It explains specific phenomena such as:
• Why states comply with international norms even when it is materially costly (e.g.,
human rights regimes).
• How state identity shapes foreign policy priorities (e.g., Germany’s post-World War
II pacifist identity).
• Why anarchy produces different outcomes in different contexts (Wendt’s three
cultures of anarchy: Hobbesian, Lockean, and Kantian).
Page 2 of 28
, IPC3701 | Exam Revision International Political Theory
As a theory, Constructivism has narrower explanatory scope: it focuses on specific
causal and constitutive relationships between ideas, norms, identity, and state behaviour.
It can be tested against observable outcomes in specific cases.
¥ Example
Case: The Ottawa Treaty (1997) The international campaign to ban land-
mines succeeded not because of shifts in material power, but because a transna-
tional network of NGOs and norm entrepreneurs reframed landmines as a hu-
manitarian crisis. This is a classic Constructivist explanation, demonstrating how
norm socialisation changed state behaviour.
Constructivism as a Metatheory
When classified as a metatheory, Constructivism is concerned with ontological and
epistemological questions about what exists in the social world and how we can know it,
rather than with specific causal claims. As a metatheory, it:
• Challenges the positivist assumptions of Realism and Liberalism (that material
facts are objectively given).
• Asserts that all social facts are inter-subjectively constituted through shared
meanings.
• Provides a philosophical platform from which Critical Theory, Feminism, and Post-
structuralism also operate.
• Does not itself generate falsifiable predictions, but shapes how scholars frame ques-
tions.
This broader classification gives Constructivism a wider scope but reduces its distinctive-
ness as an explanatory tool.
The Critical Evaluation: Which Classification is More Defensible?
Relationship to Other IR Theories
• Against Realism: Realism treats anarchy as a structural given. Constructivism in-
sists anarchy is a socially constructed meaning system. As a theory, Constructivism
challenges Realism directly; as a metatheory, it undermines Realism’s positivist
foundations.
• Against Liberalism: Liberalism accepts inter-state cooperation but grounds it
in rational self-interest. Constructivism shows that cooperation is also enabled by
Page 3 of 28
