Rules, Agency, and International Structuration

Abstract

This article advances a unified explanation of intersubjective rules, international agents, and historical structures. It also ties in national identity narratives and international practices. It shows that rules, suitably defined, instantiate and assemble themselves to form national‐autobiographical narratives that become the identities of states, motivating their actions and practices. Agents here do not follow rules, rather self‐activating rules constitute agents. Rules are distributed across states and other agents, some shared widely and others held narrowly. A rule can gain or lose credibility among the agents it constitutes. Rules depend on the operation of other agents’ rules for their credibility. An international historical structure is a collection of rules distributed among different states that operate to vindicate each other. The rules, shared and divided across agents, motivate practices that vindicate the rules. This process of structuration gives rise to enduring social networks of agents connected by interdependent practices. This process also yields the historical dynamics of the rise, fall, and succession of structures. Structures rise, unevenly, as new rules and practices join into the reproduction process and some old ones drop out. Structures break down when some rules are discredited, leading to a disruption of established practices, causing the discredit of yet more rules. Agents can be transformed radically. This model has strong empirical reference as the rules define categories, norms, and causal beliefs visible in discourse. The case of US‐Russian relations is used for illustration.

Red Lines and Grey Zones: Transactional Analysis of the Russo-Ukrainian New Generation Warfare

“…To apply transactional analysis to states, we must understand the 'script mechanisms' in place that define their national identity. According to Campos posits a cultural scripting mechanism that parallels Banerjee (2015) in the instantiation of rules over a chronological period of time. This culmination of linear rules and norms becomes a 'script' (TA) or 'identity' (IR) that impacts the communication of overt/covert messages with individual, family, social, cultural group and state level interactions.…”

“…Through the process of 'instantiation' of rules over a chronological period of time, Banerjee (2015) showcases the formation of agents, practices and structures. Instantiation of shared rules lead to the creation of an autobiographical narrative that eventually guides action through a well-defined identity narrative.…”

“…Constructivist literature posits that identity is fluid and since identity defines interests, interests shift based on variations in identity. Adding to the theory of fluid identities, constructivist literature showcases that shared rules, when instantiated over a chronological, linear timeline, result in autobiographical narratives that become action-guiding factors (Banerjee, 2015). Applying the hypothesis to American-Russian relations, Banerjee's (2015) "To the extent that personality influences behavior, political culture may in part be a product of citizens' nominally apolitical psychological dispositions.…”

“…Adding to the theory of fluid identities, constructivist literature showcases that shared rules, when instantiated over a chronological, linear timeline, result in autobiographical narratives that become action-guiding factors (Banerjee, 2015). Applying the hypothesis to American-Russian relations, Banerjee's (2015) "To the extent that personality influences behavior, political culture may in part be a product of citizens' nominally apolitical psychological dispositions. Conversely, if enculturation and selective migration occur, then political culture and its corresponding processes may produce effects well beyond the political realm.…”

“…According to Banerjee (2015) intersubjective rules, international agents, and historical structures impact identity narrative and international practices. As the paper outlines, "rules suitably defined, instantiate and assemble themselves to form national-autobiographical narratives that become the identities of states, motivating their actions and practices."…”