Wolves in the Woods : The Rogue State Concept from a Constructivist Perspective

Since the late 1980s, the rogue state concept has emerged as a central motive underlying US security policy and has been under intense debate by policy-makers and academics. This well-written dissertation breaks new ground in this discussion by approaching the rogue state concept from a moderate constructivist perspective. In addition to analyzing how US decision-makers have come to see a group of states as aggressive, risk-prone, or even irrational outsiders to the contemporary international system, Wolves in the Woods also devotes considerable attention to the threat perceptions of states that have been stigmatized with the rogue state label. Dissertation.