Abstract
One of the most significant challenges to using a constructivist approach in international relations has been the lack of methodological tools available to empirically assess the theoretical implications of the paradigm. This paper seeks to address this challenge by modeling the constructivist view of the world in order to propose a tool that offers the possibility for better analysis of agent-structure processes and theoretical implications for change in the international system. The dynamic model of networks and behavior constructed here allows for the analysis of strategic network formation and regime growth as it pertains to institutional development between states. The model is then used to analyze the co-evolution of an institutional network and states’ behavior via endogenous processes of social selection and social influence in international interactions, which subsequently provide insights into both international regime growth as well as the general dynamics between agent and structure. Finally, the model’s insights are applied to the emerging cyber security regime in order to make meaningful predictions about how the emerging regime’s structure is likely to evolve.