Reference profile · Thinker
Alexander Wendt
Constructivist international relations theory
Public posture
This profile codes rivalry as socially contingent and gives identity its greatest explanatory weight.
Canonical texts on identity formation and cultures of anarchy in the coded source record.
Position in the field
This profile appears as a reading card. A map position requires all seven Foundation dimensions, linked evidence, and a completed second-person review.
Evidence
Support by dimension
Open a dimension to read the coding note and the cited evidence. Raw coding coefficients stay in the Methods record.
Security rivalry partial
Rivalry is contingent, not inherent in anarchy.
Establishes the contingency of rivalry and the social formation of interests.
Canonical work · Tier 3 · Anarchy is What States Make of It: The Social Construction of Power Politics (International Organization; archive PDF, 1992)
Develops the systemic framework through distinct cultures of anarchy.
Canonical work · Tier 3 · Social Theory of International Politics (Cambridge University Press; archive PDF, 1999)
Institutions and rules partial
Rules matter as part of social structure, though regime design is not the main concern.
Establishes the contingency of rivalry and the social formation of interests.
Canonical work · Tier 3 · Anarchy is What States Make of It: The Social Construction of Power Politics (International Organization; archive PDF, 1992)
Develops the systemic framework through distinct cultures of anarchy.
Canonical work · Tier 3 · Social Theory of International Politics (Cambridge University Press; archive PDF, 1999)
Supports the coding of collective identity and possible transformations of order.
Canonical work · Tier 3 · Collective Identity Formation and the International State (American Political Science Review; Cambridge Core, 1994)
Domestic politics sparse
The main framework is systemic, not domestic.
Develops the systemic framework through distinct cultures of anarchy.
Canonical work · Tier 3 · Social Theory of International Politics (Cambridge University Press; archive PDF, 1999)
Identity and legitimacy strong
Identities and interests are socially produced and reproduced in interaction.
Establishes the contingency of rivalry and the social formation of interests.
Canonical work · Tier 3 · Anarchy is What States Make of It: The Social Construction of Power Politics (International Organization; archive PDF, 1992)
Develops the systemic framework through distinct cultures of anarchy.
Canonical work · Tier 3 · Social Theory of International Politics (Cambridge University Press; archive PDF, 1999)
Supports the coding of collective identity and possible transformations of order.
Canonical work · Tier 3 · Collective Identity Formation and the International State (American Political Science Review; Cambridge Core, 1994)
Restraint and advantage sparse
The score depends on which culture of anarchy is in view.
Establishes the contingency of rivalry and the social formation of interests.
Canonical work · Tier 3 · Anarchy is What States Make of It: The Social Construction of Power Politics (International Organization; archive PDF, 1992)
Develops the systemic framework through distinct cultures of anarchy.
Canonical work · Tier 3 · Social Theory of International Politics (Cambridge University Press; archive PDF, 1999)
Order and justice partial
The work allows movement toward friendship, mutual aid and more solidaristic order forms.
Establishes the contingency of rivalry and the social formation of interests.
Canonical work · Tier 3 · Anarchy is What States Make of It: The Social Construction of Power Politics (International Organization; archive PDF, 1992)
Develops the systemic framework through distinct cultures of anarchy.
Canonical work · Tier 3 · Social Theory of International Politics (Cambridge University Press; archive PDF, 1999)
Supports the coding of collective identity and possible transformations of order.
Canonical work · Tier 3 · Collective Identity Formation and the International State (American Political Science Review; Cambridge Core, 1994)
Sources
Source ledger
- Canonical work · Tier 3Anarchy is What States Make of It: The Social Construction of Power Politics — Alexander WendtInternational Organization; archive PDF, 1992
- Canonical work · Tier 3Social Theory of International Politics — Alexander WendtCambridge University Press; archive PDF, 1999
- Canonical work · Tier 3Collective Identity Formation and the International State — Alexander WendtAmerican Political Science Review; Cambridge Core, 1994
Disputed readings
- The political-economy dimension remains uncoded because the source base is too thin for reliable coding.
- Wendt leaves room for rivalry and enmity as well as friendship.
- The framework is contingent rather than normatively linear.
Revisions
- v112 Jul 2026Imported as a reading-card research draft with one uncoded dimension.
- v213 Jul 2026Published after second-person evidence review against the approved source pack.
See an error in this coding? Send the public source and disputed dimension through the corrections page. Accepted corrections appear under Revisions.
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