Social constructionism defines a nation as a social construct created by social life. In this view, a nation is an essential social construct not to be taken for granted by people as it portrays their unique characteristics. The first step entails developing a critical stance of comprehensive understanding of their surroundings and themselves. People understand their surroundings from their unique observations, allowing them to challenge different perceptions based on what they see and not what they are told. For instance, different religious beliefs are passed down through generations.
Other nations hold contrasting religious ideologies that may conflict with the views of people from a foreign country. Another example is the perception of gender as a generalization of males and females in many nations. In other countries, there are different categories for people to identify with. This view may be strange and unwelcome in other nations based on a cultural specification of gender.
Therefore, the next phase of nation-building is cultural and historical specificity, which highlights people’s unique attitudes and behavior. Different countries have different perceptions of their surroundings based on shared culturally specific ideas. For example, in the United States, a child is someone under 21 years old, while in other countries, a child is any individual below 18 years old. The third step is the role of social processes in sustaining knowledge. Social constructionism argues that knowledge is a construct of daily interaction between people over time.
The fourth step is that knowledge and social action are interconnected to present specific social constructions from different social dealings. For instance, the view of a drunkard individual as a victim of addiction in the USA and UK might be different in other countries where they are entirely liable for their actions, warranting punishment.