| Building on the premises of constructivist international relations theory, this dissertation analyzes the affect social variables have on international cooperation. Through a case study of seven crisis events within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), this research demonstrates how normative structures influence policy preferences. The central argument of this study is that international cooperation is rooted in a social-ideational context---that is a "system of knowledge"---that affects how political elites define and pursue political interests, and emphasizes the independent influence of social variables. More specifically, I argue that international cooperation is part of a larger discursive process of identity construction, rather than material-based strategic calculation, and may be expected to occur when consensus develops regarding elements of identity and an agreement upon appropriate behavior is reached. I further content that the process of defining a community's identity constitutes a discourse that ultimately shapes actors' conceptions of "self" and "other" as well as their understandings of the appropriate ways of relating to each other. This claim is based on the assumption that actors require an identity---which shapes preferences, goals, and interests---to act.; This study finds that material-based explanations of international cooperation are inadequate in a number of cases, and only partly explain others. In order to understand cooperation more thoroughly, endogenous pressures must be considered in addition to exogenous ones. Therefore, analysis in this study focuses on the interaction between the national and the international (that is, Atlantic community) structures. A tension often emerges between the state level and the international level as a result of conflict between two different discourses based upon differing perceptions of identity. Domestic structures, including normative and material, are constituted by and reinforce a particular state-level identity, that is, a specific set of collective beliefs and self-understandings of the public as well as political elites in relation to others. Similarly, international structures reflect the international community's shared identity characteristics and function to constrain antithetical actions and enable legitimate ones.; This study concludes that cooperation within NATO has failed or succeeded as part of a larger process of identity discourse, and is based upon certain principles of conduct, rather than particular material interests of members or the strategic security "exigencies" of a specific situation. |
