Constructivism in unlikely places: how national identity influences Chinese and Russian behavior in areas of core interest and the Sino-Russian relationship

Abstract

While realism provides an explanation for the nature of international relations within an anarchic arena, it sometimes falls short in explaining and predicting state behavior, including the foreign policy behavior of states with leadership of a realist orientation within their areas of core interest. Realism holds power as its key variable, proclaiming that states behave in ways so as to maximize their material capabilities in order to survive in an anarchic international setting. There is an additional variable, however, that must also be considered in order to effectively understand the foreign policy behavior of states with realist-oriented leadership. That variable, emphasized by the constructivist school of international relations, is national self identity. Through the examples of China and Russia, it is the purpose of this work to reinforce the value identity contributes alongside material capability both for explaining and predicting the foreign policy behavior of states with leadership of a realist inclination.