Alexander Wendt

Alexander Wendt
Born (1958-06-12) 12 June 1958
Mainz, Germany
Residence United States
Citizenship German
Fields International Relations
Institutions Ohio State University, University of Chicago, Dartmouth College, Yale University
Alma mater University of Minnesota, Macalester College
Doctoral advisor Raymond Duvall
Doctoral students Erik Ringmar
Known for Constructivism (international relations)
Influences Anthony Giddens, Roy Bhaskar

Alexander Wendt (born 12 June 1958 in Mainz, West Germany) is a political scientist who is one of the core social constructivist scholars in the field of international relations. Wendt and scholars such as Nicholas Onuf, Peter J. Katzenstein, Emanuel Adler, Michael Barnett, Kathryn Sikkink, John Ruggie, Martha Finnemore, and others have, within a relatively short period, established constructivism as one of the major schools of thought in the field. A 2006 survey of American and Canadian International Relations scholars ranks Wendt as first among scholars who have "been doing the most interesting work in international relations in recent years."[1] A 2011 survey of International Relations scholars worldwide ranked Wendt first in terms of having "produced the best work in the field of IR in the past 20 years".[2]

Biography

Alexander Wendt was born in 1958 in Mainz in West Germany, attended high school in St. Paul Minnesota and studied political science and philosophy at Macalester College before receiving his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Minnesota in 1989, studying under Raymond "Bud" Duvall. Wendt taught at Yale University from 1989 to 1997, at Dartmouth College from 1997 to 1999, at the University of Chicago from 1999 to 2004, and is currently the Ralph D. Mershon Professor of International Security at the Ohio State University. He is married to Jennifer Mitzen, also a member of the Ohio State political science faculty. He is currently working on two projects: arguing for the inevitability of a world state, and investigating the possible implications of quantum mechanics for social science. He is a famously passionate fan of the metal group Metallica, and continued to wear leather jackets well into his 40s.

Social Theory of International Politics

Wendt's most widely cited work to date is Social Theory of International Politics (Cambridge University Press, 1999), which builds on and goes beyond his 1992 article "Anarchy is What States Make of It". Social Theory of International Politics places itself as a response to Kenneth Waltz's 1979 work, Theory of International Politics, the canonical text of the neorealist school.

Quantum Mind and Social Science

Wendt's 2015 book Quantum Mind and Social Science (Cambridge University Press, 2015) examines the crossroads between quantum physics and social science. He advocates for panpsychism and quantum consciousness from a non-specialist perspective. The book has received lackluster reviews. Mathias Albert in International Affairs explains the book as weakest in its attempts to link quantum physics to social science and behind the times in addressing the agent-structure problem, in addition to only marginally relating to international relations.[3] The reviews within the book include Colin Wight's "Do I agree with it? No." and Jerome Busemeyer's "Some of these ideas may ultimately not be supported".[4] However, all of these reviews praise the book for its daring originality and grand theorizing and recommend the book for providing new, interesting work within the field.

Works by Wendt

Books

Articles

Chapters in edited volumes

As editor

Wendt is coeditor of the journal International Theory.

Notes

  1. Susan Peterson et al. "." College of William and Mary, Williamsburg. February 2007.
  2. "TRIP AROUND THE WORLD: Teaching, Research, and Policy Views of International Relations Faculty in 20 Countries" (PDF).
  3. Albert, Mathias (July 2015). "Quantum mind and social science: unifying physical and social ontology. By Alexander Wendt". International Affairs. 91 (4): 872–874. doi:10.1111/1468-2346.12348.
  4. Wendt, Alexander (2015). Quantum Mind and Social Science (1st ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1107442924.

References

External links

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