I.7 Theoretical Framework
I.7.2 Cultural Relativism
1.7.3 Constructivism
In international relations, the version of constructivism are varied, but the core idea of the constructivism remain the same which is the relationship between structure and agents on how they relate and reconstruct each other. In the book “The Globalization of World Politics”, Michael Barnett stated that,
“Although there are various versions of Constructivism, they share a common concern with how ideas define the international structure; how this structure shapes the identities, interests, and foreign policies of states, and how state and non- state actors reproduce that structure-and at times transform it.“
(Baylis, Smith, & Owens, 2011)
In addition, Robert Jackson and Sorensen, George stated in their publications “Introduction to International Relations Theories and Approaches” that,
“According to constructivist philosophy, the social world is not a given: it is not something ‘out there’ that exists independent of the thoughts and ideas of the people involved in it. It is not an external reality whose laws can be discovered by scientific research and explained by scientific theory as positivists and behaviouralists argue. The social and political world is not part of nature. There are no natural laws of society or economics or politics. History is not an evolving external process that is independent of human thought and ideas. Everything involved in the social world of men and women is made by them.”
(Jackson & Sørensen, 2006)
Michael Barnett also refers to John Gerard Ruggiein the book
“The Globalization of World Politics” about “Constructivism is about human consciousness and its role in international life” (Baylis, Smith,
& Owens, 2011). This focus on human awareness proposes a commitment to idealism and holism, it constitutes the constructivism’s core (Baylis, Smith, & Owens, 2011).
“Idealism observes that the meaning and construction of material reality is dependent on ideas and interpretation.”
(Baylis, Smith, & Owens, 2011)
20 In relation to human rights, based on idealism,
"the human rights do not exist by on its own in which it does not objectively exist on this earth waiting to be discovered by states, instead there has been processing and observation on how states discuss and debate what is actually human rights, what is its meaning, until what extent we call something like human rights, what is the function of human rights and how states should respond to human rights." (Baylis, Smith, & Owens, 2011)
Some forms of holism and structuralism has been accepted by Constructivism, in which,
“The world is irreducibly social and cannot be separated to the properties of already existing actors, the emphasis on holism recognize that agents have some autonomy and their interaction help to construct, reproduce and transform those structures.”
(Baylis, Smith, & Owens, 2011)
The core observation of constructivism which is called the Social Construction of Reality has been brought by Michael Barnett which accepted both idealism and holism in analyzing issues (Baylis, Smith, & Owens, 2011). There are two elements within the social construction of reality, are as follows:
1) "The underline on the socially constructed nature of actors and their identities and interest." (Baylis, Smith, & Owens, 2011) This element emphasizes that actors do not exist naturally instead they are nurture, constructed and shaped by their cultural environment.
“what makes an Arab state an Arab state is not the Fact that the populations speak Arabic but rather that there are rules associated with Arabism that shape the Arab state’s identity, interests, and foreign policies that are deemed legitimate and illegitimate.” (Baylis, Smith, & Owens, 2011)
Indeed, it will same also with what makes a South Africa state a South Africa state is not the fact that the population are speaking in Afrikaans language but instead there are rules associated with South Africa that shape South Africa’s state identity, interests and
21 foreign policy that are deemed legitimate and illegitimate (Baylis, Smith, & Owens, 2011).
2) It underlines on how a knowledge shapes the process of the individuals in constructing and interpreting their world. In addition, Barnett further discusses the process of reality which stated that
“Reality does not exist out there waiting to be discovered; instead, historically – produced and culturally – bound knowledge enables individuals to construct and give meaning to reality.” (Baylis, Smith, & Owens, 2011)
In addition to the Michael Barnett’s idea that this has constructed the reality frequently which comes to us as an objective reality which has a relation to the Social Facts’ concept (Baylis, Smith,
& Owens, 2011). In this world, there are things which their existences are depending on the human agreement and not. For instance, the things which do not depend on the human agreement are the things in which categorize as nature (e.g. stones, trees, coal, animals, and etc), those things will remain to exist.
Meanwhile, social facts are something that their existences depend on the human agreement and are taken for granted (Baylis, Smith, & Owens, 2011). "Social facts include money, refugees, terrorism, sovereignty, and human rights." (Baylis, Smith, & Owens, 2011).. “Their existence will only be there as long as the human agreement exists, and their existence shapes how we categorize the world and what we do.” (Baylis, Smith, & Owens, 2011)
In the book “The Globalization of World Politics”, Michael Barnett also stated that what is viewed as legitimate actions has shape the social construction of reality (Baylis, Smith, & Owens, 2011).
In the case of SOAC in South Africa, other actors in the international system will see South Africa’s action as illegitimate action that violates the international common standards which should be obeyed, and as result, indeed it will raise the costs to South Africa if they would like to keep doing the SOAC which has been commented by other actors in international system.
22
“To understand the origins of these concepts requires attention to the interplay between existing ideas and institution, the political intentions by leaders who had concealed motives and morally minded actors who were attempting to advance humanity.” (Baylis, Smith, & Owens, 2011)
In the book “The Globalization of World Politics”, Michael Barnett also stated that constructivist will examine how actors make their activities meaningful. Barnett refers to Max Weber’s idea that,
“we are cultural beings with the capacity and the will to take a deliberate attitude towards the world and lend it significance.”
(Barnett, 2011).
“Constructivists attempt to recover the meanings that actors give to their practices and the objects that they construct. These derive not from private beliefs but rather from culture. In contrast to the rationalist presumption that culture, at most, constrains action, Constructivists argue that culture informs the meanings that people give to their action. Sometimes Constructivists have presumed that such meanings derive from hardened culture. But because culture is fractured and because society is comprised of different interpretations of what is meaningful activity, scholars need to consider these cultural fault – lines and treat the fixing of meanings as an accomplishment that is at the essence of politics.” (Barnett, 2011)
Michael Barnet emphasizes that the main state’s behavior construction was derived from the concept of the idea. In addition, He explains through the concept of cultural fault-lines. The cultural fault- lines could exist because of the norms and values which created by the practices (Barnett, 2011).
The theory of Social Constructivism will suit the thesis on the topic of SOAC by South Africa. As in this thesis has mentioned in the previous part, the case of SOAC keeps increasing and doing by the South African, hence the theory of social constructivism will give a better understanding of why South African have another perspective on seeing SOAC by keep doing this crime while the government has comprehensive legal legislation in order to protect human rights.
23 I.7.4 State's Responsibility to International Human Rights Law