Naturalization of Culture in Institutionalism-Infused Study of International Transformations

Methodological dimensions in the study of institutional transformations in international relations are discussed, allowing to better explain the relationship between discourse, institutions and behavior of states on the world stage. The concept of international society, borrowed from the English school, serves as the basis for the research. In agreement with the theory of organization by A. Bogdanov, international society is treated as an assemblage, consistently interacting with its evolving sociocultural environment. The two components of this combination do not constitute any rigid dichotomy (of material and ideal or of objective and subjective). An original analytical scheme of their relationship is offered, implying the idea of “naturalization” being undergone by institutions as collective representations in the process of constructing international reality. The scheme allows us to distinguish more clearly between factors such as culture or ideology, on the one hand, and the international context of the struggle for the preservation/change of sociocultural norms embodied in institutionalized rules, i.e. social reality, on the other hand. Particular attention is paid to the political significance of the norms of international law. The process of their “naturalization” is illustrated by two cases from international legal practice. They confirm, in particular, the considerable role of the so-called swing states (South Africa, Indonesia) in the current shifts in the international order.