144 CHAPTER FivE ■ The STaTe
case is real sovereignty pos si ble, because the state is continually reacting to external
and internal cap i tal ist pressures.
In the radical perspective, a state’s policy toward primary commodities reflects the
interests of the owner cap i tal ist class aligned with the bourgeoisie (in the instrumental
Marxist view) and reflects the structure of the international cap i tal ist system (in
structural Marxist thinking). Both views would more than likely see the negotiat-
ing pro cess as exploitative, where the weak (poor and dependent groups or states)
are exploited for the advancement of strong cap i tal ists or cap i tal ist states. According to
radical thinking, the international petroleum companies are the cap i tal ists, aligned with
hegemonic states. They are able to negotiate favorable prices, often to the detriment of
weaker oil- producing states, such as Mexico. Radicals may explain U.S. and Eu ro pean
military intervention in the Middle East in terms of protecting vital petroleum and
natu ral gas resources, the source of power for the international cap i tal ist class.
the constructivist view of the state
Because constructivists see both national interests and national identities as social
constructs, they conceptualize the state very differently from theorists who have other
perspectives. To constructivists, national interests are neither material nor given. They
are ideational and ever- changing and evolving, in response to both domestic factors
and international norms and ideas. States share a variety of goals and values, which
they are socialized into by international and nongovernmental organ izations. Those
norms can change state preferences, which in turn can influence state be hav ior. So,
too, do states have multiple identities, including a shared understanding of national
identity, which also changes, altering state preferences and hence state be hav ior. In
short, the state “makes” the system and the system “makes” the state.^5
The Radical View of The STaTeThe state is:
■ he executing agent of the t
bourgeoisie
■ nfluenced by pressures from the i
cap i tal ist class■ constrained by the structure of
the international cap i tal ist
systemi n focuS