.. because the self, in this logic, becomes social though acquiring and fulfilling an institutional identity" (Dunne, Kurki, and Smith 181).

6.) What does it mean to say that identities and interests are mutually constituted?

One of the central premises postulated by the constructivist theory of international relations is based on the concept of mutual constitution, a term describing a coexistent social relationship between states in which agency, or the element of independent choice, is partially dependent on the decisions of one another (Dunne, Kurki, and Smith 182). The identity of any actor necessarily determines their interests, with nations based on capitalist economies prioritizing the exploitation of natural resources for material gain, and socialist states vesting authority in a central government structure to mitigate scarcity through forcibly equalized distribution. This is not to say that the interests of a state are irrelevant to the international relations process, but simply to...
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