Friedrich Kratochwil

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Friedrich V. Kratochwil is a prominent scholar in the field of International Relations (IR), known for his contributions to constructivism and his focus on norms, rules, and the processes of social construction in international politics. His work emphasizes the role of language, meaning, and social practices in shaping international relations, offering a counterpoint to traditional rationalist and materialist perspectives in IR.

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History

Kratochwil was born in Lundenburg (former Czechoslovakia). After graduating in 1963 from the humanistic Maximiliansgymnasium in Munich, he studied philosophy, history and political science at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität. He received in 1969 his university degree (M.A.) in International Relations from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. In 1976, he received his doctorate (Ph.D.) from Princeton University in political science with a focus on international relations.

Kratochwil taught at American universities in Princeton, Columbia, Pennsylvania and at the European University Institute in Florence. Until 2003, Friedrich Kratochwil was Professor of International Politics at the Geschwister Scholl Institute of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich.

One of his famous books is Rules, Norms and Decisions (1989), introducing constructivism to the discipline, a landmark study in the discipline of international relations.

He has been the editor of the European Journal of International Relations and member of the editorial boards of several journals, including the Journal of International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, International Studies Quarterly, International Organization, World Politics, and member of the editorial advisory board of Millennium: Journal of International Studies.

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