What Is Social Constructivism?

Singapore and its neighbours Malaysia and Indonesia have had many turbulent times despite the short history of Singapore. One such prominent example is Singapore’s merger with Malaysia. This ended up being short-lived and Singapore separated from the peninsula in 1965 due to political and ethnic differences. (Schenk, 2013, 496) This short yet significant merger before Singapore's independence has occasionally casted a shadow over Singapore and Malaysia's bilateral ties. Other examples of events that led to tensions in the region were the konfrantasi by Indonesia between 1963-1966 as well as Singapore's dispute over Pedra Blanca Island in 2010. However, despite all these clashes Singapore has been able to maintain regional peace and stability

Social constructivism states that countries do not fix their identity and state interests; they are instead socially constructed through mutual interactions and communication. (Nishizaki, 2014, 8) This idea was first introduced by Alexander Wendt. He mentioned that events that occur between two states determine their relationship. Since Singapore gained independence, its attempt to develop friendly ties with Malaysia has been successful especially in the recent years with current prime minister of Malaysia, Dato' Sri Najib Tun Razak. Despite the conflict between the two states over the island of Pedra Blanca where a lighthouse is located, both countries managed to reach a common consensus that it belonged to Singapore. This was solved through the International Court of Justice with diplomacy and the help of international organisations. This cooperation at a political level reassured Malaysia that Singapore meant no harm and ensured peace in the region. Therefore, it is evident that due to the good social interactions between the two states, this problem was easily resolvable and led to Malaysia not attacking Singapore. In essence, when politicians feel that international cooperation between states is important for their country's growth; international relations follow the theories of social constructivism and

Both states are fully aware about each other's mutual importance. They are dependent on each other for their own progress and hence, always look for opportunities to enhance their relationship. Malaysia knows that Singaporeans are their largest investor and consumer while, Singapore is aware that without Malaysia fresh water and vegetables will be history. Hence, the complex interdependence politically, socially and economically is definitely the main reason for the lack of invasion. However, together with liberalism, realism also plays a large role in Malaysia's lack of invasion. Singapore has managed to deter potential enemies such as Malaysia from attack via its well-developed and strategic military. This was reaffirmed on October 2014 when the defence minister of Singapore, Ng Eng Hen, introduced a latest invention the aerostat. This aerostat is a helium balloon that uses radar to detect aerial and sea threats from a distance of 200km. By early 2015, it will be above Singapore grounds and will detect potential enemies coming in from air, land or sea (Chow, 2014). The announcement of this latest technology and the use of it in the upcoming year will definitely deter several countries from attacking Singapore as it has the capability to detect terrorist activities. Additionally, CNBC has also declared in its article in 2014 that 'Singapore, one of Asia's