NUPI skole

Chapter

Published:

The Construction of Status in Security Politics: Rules, Comparisons and Second-Guessing Collective Beliefs

Written by

Paul Beaumont
Senior Research Fellow

Ed.

Summary:

Tapping into international relations status’ research’s extended lineage, this chapter makes the case for a thick constructivist account of international status dynamics that makes the construction of rules and comparisons central to analysis. Drawing upon the work of Robert Gilpin and Nicholas Onuf, the chapter’s approach enables the exploration of how the rules governing status competitions emerge, why some rules become agreed upon and others contested, and the consequences of these processes of rule formation. While this framework requires a gestalt switch for conventional status research, this chapter argues that it is possible to do so while remaining consistent with status research’s core definition of status. The value of the framework is illustrated via a case study of how the rules of the nuclear status competition emerged and solidified over the course of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks between the Soviet Union and United States (1969–79).

Themes

  • Security policy

Written by

Paul Beaumont
Senior Research Fellow

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