The Rise Of India And China Through The Neo-realist And The Constructivist Theories

Core Tenets of Neo-Realism and Constructivism

Neo-realism places its focus on predicting the behaviors of states on preconceived notions and indicators, that focus on a world with no governing authority above the state. This means that the behavior of the state is in reaction to an anarchist world in which each state is focused on self, the ability to protect self, and the ability to pursue its interest, despite their infringement of interest on another state. This theory focuses on explaining the “why” behind state behaviors.

Constructivism is a social theory rather than a substantive theory of international politics. It focuses on the human consciousness and suggests a commitment to idealism and holism, which according to Wendt (1992) represent the core of constructivism. Constructivism takes an approach to social science that sees actors as having malleable or changeable identities and interests, then examines how processes of interaction affect self-perception and the perception of worthwhile goals. Constructivism focuses on how interests and identities can change as a result of school interactions between states within the international system. The constructivist approach is not designed to make predictions; it just explains things after they have already occurred.

The Post American World and Hard Power Caveat

In his book, “The Post American World”, author Fareed Zakaria (a self-proclaimed neo-realist) highlights the importance of the United States exercise of power in a world that has seen a rise in power, influence, and economies of Russia, Brazil, India, and China (BRIC). He asserts America as a collective, will still be the most powerful country, however “the rise of the rest” will challenge the existing paradigms of state behavior as the United States will exercise less power in the multi-polar world (Zakaria, 2008).

This provides the “caveat” to the topics and conclusions reached in this essay. The United States has exercised hard power throughout the world consistently for two decades. This has affected the balance of power, regulative rules, social contracts, self-help behaviors of states, political communities, etc., all of which are pillars in the neorealism and constructivism theories. This means that the rise of India and China in a world of anarchy are held at the risk of great impact, based upon the actions and behaviors of the United States.

Neo-realism and the Post American World

From the neo-realist vantage point, the world will only change if two areas become contentious. These areas are (1) the perceptions of power amongst the emerging nations and (2) the exercises of leadership to gain and maintain the state. Economic growth between China and India will happen in the same sphere of influence. As China seeks to gain strong footholds throughout Asia, India seeks to do the same. Both nations export people as a commodity to help spread their affluence and influence globally. The realism model will state that this is cause for concern, as both nations seek to become the partner of choice for neighboring nations, thus there is a competitive atmosphere amongst the nations to procure resources to support the national interest.

How each nation perceives the ambitions of the other is critical to the predictions of behaviors. If China’s national interest in the South China Sea infringes on India’s ability to provide self-help, there will be a conflict of sorts between the nations. Additionally, the leadership styles of President Xi Jinping (China) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi (India) are critical to neorealism predictions. While the composition of governance differs in both countries, the relationship towards addressing individual self-help and survival concerns of each nation are interpreted through the exchange between the heads of state. The ability to articulate national interest without confrontation is predicated on the ability of each head of state to convey domestic forces driving international behavior.

Prediction

The rise of economies in India and China are largely independent of the United States. Each state will focus on maximizing gains in a domestic capacity and seek to become the partner of choice globally. The leadership of both nations will take different approaches to court economic growth. China will seek to govern more tightly against outside interference and influence, while India will embrace greater democratization and external influence. The desires for the state will be priority number one for each nation due to their large populations, but conflict is highly unlikely due to external equalizers such as Russia, United States, Canada, and Australia, who trade heavily with both nations.

Constructivism and the Post American World

Constructivism and culturalism are both concerned with the impact of norms on international security (Farrell, 2002), but whereas neo-realism will seek to make predictions about the world, Constructivism will not. This is why the caveat of hard power must be considered, as it is an external outlier that can and will affect social norms on international security.

Our textbook discusses three norms that are important to the Post American World. These norms are regulative norms, which organize and constrain the behavior of states, constitutive norms, which create new actors, thoughts on approaches to resolving issues, and prescriptive norms, which explain the norm from the perspective of the states that promote it. The norms in constructivism are a part of a life-cycle of acceptance before they become norms. This means that on a principle basis, they are accepted states. These norms are extremely crucial to understating the action of, and possibly predicting the behavior of India and China (Rasheed, 2016).

Prediction

Without major departures from the shared institution and norms, it is highly unlikely that the neo-realism viewpoint of a world in anarchy will be the dominant theory. India and China have many norms that are defined domestically and internationally that will bring them together in a world of minimized United States influence. Climate control and population control are critical issues both countries are working to resolve. This is important because, with their massive populations, it is a norm attributed to survival.

The most important norm in assessing India and China (post the surpass of the United States economy) is trade. From a constructivist institutional viewpoint, the new structures of trade and economic engagement can become a methodological turning point for sustainable and cooperative relationships between China and South Asia (Rasheed, 2016). If trade brings socio-economic opportunities for societal progress, public demand will increase towards changing policy preferences that accommodate healthy trade engagements between states while reducing the role of ‘hegemonic leadership’ in international relations (Rasheed, 2016).