Piecing together the democratic peace: the CSCE, norms, and the "Construction'' of security in post-cold war Europe

The theoretical debate on the role of norms in international relations has focused almost exclusively on norms as interests and whether they cause beh avior that would otherwise not occur. The choice by states to reshape the n ormative framework of international relations in Europe as a central orderi ng strategy after the Cold War demonstrates that norms are also a means of agency. In response to the emergence of intrastate conflict as the dominant source of instability, the participating states of the Conference on Secur ity and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) modified norms to permit "constructive intervention'' to strengthen weak states without undermining sovereignty. This modification was made possible by their earlier commitment to anchor s ecurity in democratic structures, demonstrating how norms enable as well as constrain state behavior. European interstate action since the Cold War re presents precisely the kind of unit construction through social interaction foreseen by constructivism.