Book Review – 1: What is Constructivism According to Frederich Kratochwil?

Abstract

Author: Friedrich KRATOCHWIL Praxis: On Acting and Knowing Cambridge University Press, 2018, 552 p. ISBN: 978-1-108-47125-1

As a scholarly book, Praxis has an extensively long narrative. Yet, this lengthy narrative has a strong gravitational pull. It does not leave the reader with centuries old abstract jargons and ideas but takes the time to elaborate what the author means by these concepts. Kratochwil is one of the first well-known constructivists who linked International Relations to the concept of Constructivism. If there was a central question in the book, the intention must be to work out an answer to the question “what is Constructivism?” To achieve this Kratochwil time and again displays the habit to descend from a highly abstract narrative to an intellectual frame that is extensive yet eloquently put. He does not mind to compare his work to a composer who is about to compose his masterpiece, or a painter who paints his masterpiece. He does this in an allegoric fashion and enjoys to let the reader know that this book should be read from top to bottom if one wishes to make sense out of it. PRAXIS is a scholarly book that addresses theoretical as well as practical questions using rather impenetrable philosophical texts such as Kant, Bentham, Foucault, Hume and Aristotle. Kratochwil does indeed write masterfully with a witty undertone that time and again sneers realists and caters the reader some entertainment (Reus-Smit, 2019, p. 178).