Constructivist School Research Articles

The war in Ukraine, the Global South and the evolving global order

AbstractThis special section explores how nine key countries from the Global South have responded to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. As the Western attempt to build a global anti‐Russia coalition has largely failed, the focus on countries from the Global South becomes more important but remains under‐researched in the discipline. This introductory article offers the conceptual framework for the following empirical contributions. Based on the rational and constructivist school of thinking, we develop four guiding assumptions. Accordingly, we assume that foreign policy positioning to the war relates to the varied consequences of the conflict, can be related to strategic opportunism, displays pragmatic indifference or is value‐driven. Contributions to this special section offer a detailed empirical analysis according to these four conceptual categories.

Clustering Ideology-threat associations: revisiting the multi-Dimensionality of Political Ideology and Its Effects on International threat Perceptions

ABSTRACT This study explores how the covariance of political ideologies affects international threat perceptions in the Australian, UK, and US contexts. By synthesizing prior research, it develops multidimensional models of political ideologies, revealing four clusters: uni-valence, ambivalence, alienated ambivalence, and indifference. The results indicate that some respondents are active in simultaneously adopting multiple conflicting ideologies (ambivalence and its alienated variant), while others indicate either a lack of feeling towards any ideologies (indifference) or a positive response to a single ideology (uni-valence). More crucially, the findings of this study provide evidence for a non-linear and volumetric relationship between ideology and threat perception. Overall, threat perception is highest among respondents with a univalent, populist ideology, lowest in the ambivalent group, and somewhere between these two in the indifferent and alienated ambivalent groups. The study contributes to: 1) the multi-dimensionality school of ideology studies, by adopting new methods for incorporating multi-perspective elements, 2) the constructivist school of threat perception in international relations, by demonstrating a more complex relationship between ideology and threat perception, and 3) attitudinal theory in political psychology, by re-theorising political neutrality.

The Role of Identity in the Constructivist School: A Theoretical Study with Application to the Russian-Ukrainian Conflict

Objectives: This study aims to scrutinize the role of identity in the constructivist school and the reason for its connection with the constructivist perspective in international relations. It also deals with the impact of the components of the cultural dimension in general and the concept of identity in particular on contemporary international conflicts with application to the Russian- Ukrainian conflict
 Methods:. The study relies on the functional constructivist approach because it helps in the comparative study of political systems and it analyzes international relations from the perspective of the social construction of events.
 Results:. This study concluded that the Ukrainian crisis confirmed Russia's restoration of its natural position as a major, effective and influential power regionally and internationally. This crisis also reflected the desire of the Russian leadership to correct the imbalance of power with the United States to become a more equal relationship between two partners within the framework of a multi-power system that ends American uniqueness in managing international affairs.
 Conclusions: Ukraine is an arena in which strategic accounts are intertwined with historical roots, as well as political and economic factors are intertwined with cultural ones.

New trends in Russian diplomacy after February 24, 2022

The article examines the new trends in Russian diplomacy, which emerged after February 24, 2022. The diplomatic war launched against Russia by "unfriendly States" leads to the "zeroing" of ties between the Russian Federation and the States of the collective West - the Anglo-Saxon and European countries. In the context of the degradation of relations with the Euro-Atlantic region, there is a shift in the regional focus in Russia's foreign policy. Moreover, in order to make the implementation of foreign policy goals more efficient Russian intensifies the use of "new tracks" in addition to classical diplomacy. The purpose of the article is to identify the prospects for using the potential of diplomacy of dialogue structures as an auxiliary tool for promoting national interests in the international arena, strengthening Russia's position as an independent center of power in international relations. The theory of a two-level game developed by R. Putnam in relation to the practice of negotiating facilitates the explanation of the diplomacy of dialogue structures specificity. The theory of securitization of the constructivist school served as a theoretical justification for diversifying the global priorities of Russia's foreign policy. In the course of the study, the author came to the conclusion that the diplomacy of the dialogue structures of the Russian Federation is not developing in isolation, but it takes into account the strategic goals and objectives formalized at the official level in the basic conceptual foreign policy document. In particular, the central topics of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum include sovereignty of the economy and the formation of a multipolar world. A series of regional forums and congresses reflects the priority desire of the Russian Federation to build up ties with partners from the CIS and BRICS countries. The “Pivot to the East” raises the profile of the Eastern Economic Forum. Particular attention is paid to the development of relations with the states of the Islamic world, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. It is noteworthy that regional platforms serve not only for the exchange of views, but also for the adoption of practice-oriented agreements in the field of politics, economics, culture and sports. The very holding of events on the territory of the Russian Federation contributes to the growth of the investment attractiveness of Russian cities and regions, as well as the formation of a favorable image of the country abroad.

Implementasi Aliran Konstruktivisme Terhadap Kurikulum Merdeka Dalam Perspektif Filsafat Pendidikan Islam

This research discusses the flow of constructivism from the perspective of Islam education philosophy. The latest curriculum update, namely the independent learning curriculum, which is linked to constructivism, is the reason for this research, because in the independent learning curriculum, learning is more student-centered, so constructivist learning plays a big role in it. This research uses qualitative methods with a library research approach. Data collection techniques through library sources related to research related to research titles from books, journals, articles and other related writings. The results of the research show that the constructivist school can be used in the learning process in accordance with the independent learning curriculum which is currently still being implemented where students can develop their own existing knowledge based on experience.

Alexander Wendt’s “Social Theory of International Politics”: A Realist Critique

Since its publication, Alexander Wendt’s Social Theory of International Politics has become nearly synonymous with the constructivist school in the study of International Relations. Despite its innovative methodological approaches and bold challenges to neorealism’s hegemonic prevalence in the field, Wendt’s social theory faces issues on both theoretical and empirical grounds. With respect to the former, this critical evaluation of the social theory focuses primarily on Wendt’s neglect of causal questions in the examination of state formation as well as his omission of the psychological and sociological levels of analysis in the examination of cultural development. With respect to the latter, the evaluation focuses on instances in which the historical record contradicts Wendt’s proposed distinction between the Hobbesian culture of the past and the Lockean culture of the present as well as on instances in which international socialization and the establishment of commonly observed ideas and norms have not proven effective in preventing the exercise of power politics among states.

Imparare a navigare l’imponderabile: intervista a Massimo Giliberto

Massimo Giliberto, psychologist and psychotherapist, is Director and Professor of Institute of Constructivist Psychology (ICP) of Padua. Besides teaching, he works as private psychotherapist and counselor for companies. Previously he held the roles of prison psychologist, consultant at Padua Military Hospital and Honorary Judge at the Juvenile Court of Venice. Author of several publications, he’s dedicated to spreading the constructivist approach both as a member of various e-journals (Journal of Constructivist Psychology and Personal Construct Theory & Practice) and as Editor-in-chief of Rivista Italiana di Costruttivismo. Furthermore, willing to create an international network among constructivist schools, he’s Trainer of the Serbian Constructivist Association (SKA) and co-founder of the European Constructivist Therapy Network (ECTN). Interested in the development of new learning contexts, he identified sailing – one of his greatest passions – as a useful tool for training. Since then, he’s been a group trainer in Outdoor Training on a sailboat.

Pre-service teachers’ preparation program: Is it responsive to the constructivist school curriculum?

There seems to be a mismatch between the requirements of schools and how educators are being trained in educator training institutions with regard to the use of constructivist approaches. This article focuses on the degree to which the student teachers were exposed to the constructivist principles during training. The study draws on the experiences of second-year student teachers at one institution in Zimbabwe. Questionnaires and observations were used to collect the data. The findings focused on the four aspects of constructivism: student teachers’ level of interaction; involving students in the planning of learning and assessment activities; connecting and applying mathematics and science to the real-life situation; and accommodating students’ views. The study might have some implications on educator training institutions program designers and educators especially on the aspect of aligning their teaching approaches to the constructivist approaches as required by the school curriculum. The results of this study can help educators in designing effective professional development courses as well as improvement in instruction and content delivery. The study recommends that student teachers be involved in the planning of content to be taught.

Constructivist Inspirations in Social Work with The Family

This paper explores the issues of current achievements in the field of the constructivist social work with the family, as well as presents a new perspective on the use of constructivist thought in this area. The constructivist approach was particularly developed in the 1970s. Still, it remains a concept that strongly influences the process of helping the family. Numerous constructivist-oriented methods of working with the family were developed in Europe and the United States; they also inspired Polish social work. The solution-centered approach is the most widespread approach to the constructivist school of thought in Poland. In addition, among a wide range of these concepts we can distinguish: constructive social work by Nigel Parton and Patrick O'Byrne, strengths-based social work by Ann Weick, Charles Rapp, Patrick W. Sullivan, Walter Kisthardt, Dennis Saleebey, the concept of positive practice by Gary Clapton and strengths-based work models (FGC, VIT). Researchers of social work less frequently refer to positions that fall within the current of systemic (operational) constructivism by Niklas Luhmann. The analysis undertaken in the article aims to show the ways of (re) defining the helping process, as well as the role of partners involved in this process in the theories of Heinz von Foerster and Niklas Luhmann.

The Constructivist Teaching Approach and Academic Achievement in English: An Empirical Evidence of Secondary School Students

Constructivism is a vibrant and self-motivated coaching paradigm that implies the establishment of the latest academic conceptions relying on the pupil’s past educational experiences. Constructive teaching approach (CAT) accompanied with PQRST method (Preview, Question, Read, Summarize and Test) considered as an efficient way for progression of the students’ comprehension regarding skills of English subject matter. This study aimed to find the effect of constructive teaching approach (PQRST) on 9th graders academic achievement in the provided subject of English. Quasi experimental Pre-test-posttest research design had employed to fulfill the fundamentals of the current study. Two intact groups were randomly selected, and teacher made achievement test used to take the score. Control group was instructed English conventionally whereas treatment group was instructed through PQRST under the shade of CAT. Pre-test scores demonstrated an insignificant statistical difference between both groups but after getting treatment for 12 weeks experimental group exposed a momentous positive statistical discrepancy in scores via getting instruction through PQRST. The current research recommends constructivist teaching approach along with PQRST may be used for the improvement of students’ reading and comprehension skills in the subject matter of English which can enhance their achievement overall.

Iran’s turn to the East: assessment of the Caucasian and Central-Asian policy of Ebrahim Raisi’s administration

The article considers the Caucasian and Central-Asian policy of the new administration of Ebrahim Raisi in Iran. It’s already clear that the Eurasian region has become a priority of Iran’s diplomacy, and President Raisi has been demonstrating these changes during the first year at the helm. The author uses comparative methodology to outline the differences from the previous administration’s policy. The research methodology is based on the theory of the constructivist school of international relations which focuses on the ideological level and analysis of actors during the decision-making process. The purpose of the research is to study the changes in international politics which have already made the new administration follow the new approach focusing on the Eurasian policy.  The author believes that the reasons for such a transformation are: 1) Tehran’s will to reconsider the central role of nuclear treatments as a core of its foreign policy; 2) the economic crisis in the country which makes Iran’s politicians search for alternative markets and partners; 3) an aspiration to escape the international isolation, and the importance of Eurasian bilateral and intergovernmental relations; 4) the change of threats perception by Tehran caused by the recent events in the Caucasus and Afghanistan. The author supposes that the combined impact of these factors has made Raisi’s administration consider Eurasia as Iran’s foreign policy priority, and if this trend continues, we’ll see a more balanced approach in the future, unlike the previous periods, when relations with the West and events in the Middle East defined the central line of Iran’s policy.   

The productive power of rising China and national identities in South Korea and Thailand

Drawing on the insights of the constructivist school approach, this article joins the debate on the effects of rising China in Asia. The existing scholarship devoted to no-material aspects of China’s rise focused either on China’s ‘soft power’ initiatives or their reception by certain audiences. In this article, rising China and its governance model, are construed as a form of productive power, one that is expected to bring about not only shifts in material relations and perceptions but also transformations in the national identities of countries in the region. This article focuses on South Korea and Thailand, two countries with fundamentally different political systems but a similar pattern of recent interactions with China. It analyzes the policymaking elites’ discourse and public attitudes and explores the productive effects of China’s rise on national identities in the two countries. This article argues that the impact of China’s rise on elites’ discourse has been largely negligible with narratives on kinship and historical ties being used by the elites mostly for instrumental reasons. At the same time, this article suggests that the recent shifts in public attitudes towards greater acceptance of authoritarian values observed in South Korea and Thailand, may be indicative of the productive effect of rising China on national identities in both countries.

International Territorial Dispute Preferences in China and the United States

Within international relations theory, there is significant disagreement on the nature and significance of leaders’ dispute outcome preferences. While many variants of realism assume that such preferences are relatively fixed and homogeneous, both the liberal and the constructivist schools view them as significant variables. This debate remains unresolved because, for the standard large-sample conflict data sets, there are no direct measures of leadership preferences over outcomes in given types of international disputes. Using a conflict bargaining experiment, we ask whether, after controlling for the effects of relative power and initial conditions, leadership preferences have a statistically significant impact. We use two different country samples—from China and the United States—to examine whether the impact of leadership preferences varies internationally. We find that realist-style preferences are a special rather than a general case, and that such differences have significant implications for understanding continuities and changes in Chinese and US foreign policies.

Modern Universities and Establishment: The Interactions of Islamic Azad University and Iran’s Power Centers

To examine the ways in which the Islamic Azad University interacts with the power centers in order to cooperate, constructivist school and power-knowledge theory have been used as a theoretical framework. In this research, scientific cooperation is emphasized instead of commercialization of scientific researches in Iran and in the Islamic Azad University. The role of the university is to organize cultural frameworks and to introduce them to the system for planning. Islamic Azad University pursues the interests of power centers to strengthen the system, expand knowledge and promote cultural values. The power centers combine the activity and the type of sovereignty with the prevailing culture in the universities and seminaries, where the scientific and religious teachings are involved in the process of legitimizing the dominant political system. The interaction of the Islamic Azad University with power centers through mutual and shared understanding, identifying the potentials and capacities of each other, in general, would meet the needs of both parties, improve functions of the organizations, maintain scientific independence and develop the university’s financial resources and, in particular, lead to the participation of members of university in the development of the country and the preservation of the political system in large-scale decision-making, assisting socialization and urban management and ultimately maintaining the human and physical assets of the Islamic Azad University.

Five years of integrating science and dance: a qualitative inquiry of constructivist elementary school teachers

ABSTRACT What can we learn from K-5 science teachers who have integrated science and creative dance for a five-year period? In this paper, the preliminary findings of the qualitative research conducted by a constructivist elementary charter school principal, a university dance professor, and an educational researcher is presented.This research highlights the experiences of science teachers who were given professional development in science/creative dance integration each semester and implemented arts integration strategies in the science classroom. To conclude the five-year period, the six teachers completed a questionnaire and participated in a videotaped interview to document their reflections on the project, Dance of Science Project (DoS), which serves as the primary data source for this paper. An interpretive methodology is used as a framework for interpreting the interviews of the teachers. Of interest is how teachers developed arts integration practices on their own in the classroom without being in partnership with a dance educator, and how arts integration in the science class supported their constructivist teaching practices which include elements of co-operation, autonomy, experimentation, play, and interest. In addition, the article discusses how creative dance aligns with the elements of constructivism.

Quest for the Middle Kingdom: the Political Effects of China’s Ambitions in the Belt and Road Initiative

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is Chinese President Xi Jinping’s brand for economic infrastructure development and investment. The BRI offers significant strategic advantages to the PRC and many benefits to partner countries, and is intended to situate China at the centre of international trade. At the same time, unintended consequences of investment will impact local populations in key areas, including population displacement, environmental degradation, corruption, political upheaval, exploitation and violent conflict. While the BRI offers significant opportunities to both China and its partner countries in the initiative, relative Chinese military weakness, the limits of economic activity, underdeveloped soft power authority, energy dependency, terrorism and domestic politics will all either inhibit the BRI or remain vulnerable aspects of the Chinese national interest as projects move forward. The BRI has the potential to reshape the economic relations of the world, however the strategic limitations of the project do not indicate a short or mid-term upheaval of the international system in favor of China or an end to China’s political challenges at home and abroad. This essay views the realist and constructivist schools of international relations theory as the most useful way to understand the motivations and consequences of the BRI. The long term effects on the global balance of power will also be examined, especially in the context of Xi’s vision for China in 2050.

A Constructivist Perspective of Rape as a Military Strategy: A Comparative Analysis of the Rwandan Genocide and the Bosnian War

This paper explores how the social construction of a peoples’ ethnic or national identity can influence the use of rape as a military strategy. In exploring this concept, the Rwandan genocide and Bosnian War will be used as case studies. It is argued that rape as a military strategy derives coercive power from social constructions of ethnicity, nationality and gender in patriarchal societies. In presenting this argument, the constructivist school of thought is used to analyze the processes that led to social constructions of ethnicity, nationality and gender. This paper considers the subsequent social environment that allowed rape to be used as an effective military strategy in both Rwanda and Bosnia.

Concomitants of socio-cultural exigencies on narrative preferences in the Kenyan “Riverwood” film

In a report commissioned by the World Story Organization in 2008, Justine Edwards points out that storyline lies at the centre of problems that Kenyan films face in trying to “break down the wall preventing Kenyan films from being shown and celebrated beyond Kenyan borders” (2). This paper goes a step further to interrogate this observation through an analysis of three works by three representative Kenyan home grown film makers: Wandahuhu’s Njohera (Forgive Me), Simon Nduti’s Kikulacho (What Bites You) and Simiyu Barasa’s Toto Millionaire. These film makers have made films under the banner of a Kenyan film industry that has come to be informally known as Riverwood—the Kenyan filmindustry associated with Nairobi’s River Road Street where cheaply produced independent home videos are made in mass mainly by Kenyan film makers working with a Kenyan crew and cast. By measuring their works against narrative conventions established in classical cinema, this paper evaluates Kenyan home grown film standards as defined by the narrative choices made by the film makers. In so doing, it is essentially guided by narratological theories developed by the constructivist school of film criticism. Constructivist film theory is founded on the tenet that it is the reader (viewer) of the film text that constructs the story and meanings in the story using the clues that the film maker puts before him or her on the screen. Other relevant theoretical positions are applied as need arises to cater for the multidisciplinary nature of film as an art. The methodology used is textual analysis and interpretation, therefore qualitative in nature.

Eurasian encounters: the Eurasian Economic Union and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

ABSTRACTThis article examines the emerging interactions between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Drawing on the theoretical insights of the literature on comparative regionalism, it develops a framework for analysis of how the two organisations relate to one another. The article starts by looking at the commercial dimension of the EAEU–SCO relationship. It focuses on interregional trade and investment and examines the prospect of a free trade area and a currency zone between the two organisations. The second strand of analysis present in this article is the institutionalist one. Here the interaction between the EAEU and the SCO is conceptualised in terms of formal relations between regional organisations as juridical entities. The third strand of analysis draws on the insights of the constructivist school. Here EAEU–SCO relations are seen to be driven above all by intersubjective forces. The final approach to the study of EAEU–SCO relations taken in this article focuses on how these relations are constituted technologically. The article thus looks at how the two organisations interact at the level of infrastructure. It is argued that at this level of interaction the EAEU–SCO relationship is strongest and most dynamic.

Russia’s Postcolonial Identity: A Subaltern Empire in a Eurocentric World by Viacheslav Morozov

Reviewed by: Russia’s Postcolonial Identity: A Subaltern Empire in a Eurocentric World by Viacheslav Morozov Vsevolod Samokhvalov (bio) Viacheslav Morozov, Russia’s Postcolonial Identity: A Subaltern Empire in a Eurocentric World (Houndmills and New York: Pal-grave Macmillan, 2015). 209 pp. Bibliography. Index. ISBN: 978-1-137-40929-4. Research on Russian foreign policy has until recently been dominated by conventional descriptive studies based on politicized and moralizing either pro-Russian or anti-Russian narratives. Some constructivist researchers have tried to produce more reflective studies grounded in modern theories of international relations. Much has been written about Russia’s uneasy relations with Europe both in Russia and the West. However, there has been a noticeable lack of intellectual effort to apply postcolonial analysis to this problem. The book by Viacheslav Morozov is an interesting attempt to bridge international relations with postcolonial theory in Russian studies. Chapter 1 of the book makes a case for the application of postcolonial theory to gain a deeper understanding of the tensions and contradictions of Russia’s international standing. Specifically, it advances the thesis of Russia as a “subaltern empire.”1 The concept of subaltern is borrowed from postcolonial theory and refers, according to Morozov, to an oppressed nation deprived of subjectivity and ability to articulate its own narrative. By combining the two concepts, “subaltern” and “empire,” the book argues that the country is simultaneously part of both the global imperial core and the Western periphery. This mixed experience has resulted in a unique state of Russian identity, which Morozov defines as “hybrid subjectivity,” another term borrowed from postcolonial studies. Hybrid subjectivity, according to Morozov’s interpretation of postcolonial studies, is a situation when the colonized subject is able to mimic the discourse of the colonizer, thus subverting it and making colonial domination a profoundly ambiguous phenomenon. To illustrate this condition, Morozov uses the example of the group of Hindus, who study the Gospel but refuse to accept that it was introduced to them by Europeans. Similarly to Indians, who accept the universality of Christian values, but refuse to acknowledge their origin in the European culture, Russia, [End Page 463] even when it opposes the West, nevertheless frames its own demands in the “Western” language (Pp. 23–24). Drawing on this frame of analysis, the chapter concludes that the added value of the postcolonial perspective is its ability to explain uneasiness in Russian–European relations and to demonstrate that the only subject on the horizon of Russian politics is the West itself (Pp. 6, 157–164). Chapter 2 of the book provides a critical overview of several strands of the reflectivist international relations literature (postcolonial, constructivist, and critical revisions of the English school). In particular, the book argues that a variety of constructivist scholars, especially those who explicitly pursue the task of theorizing Russian schools of international relations, eventually end up analyzing their own identity rather than the ontology, epistemology, and methodology of the field. Furthermore, the book argues that even though separate constructivist studies identified similar patterns of the discursive landscape in Russia, China, Iran, and Japan, most of them still pursue a case-focused approach, which does not allow generalizations about the nature of identity, discourse, and othering mechanisms. Postcolonial theory, according to Morozov, allows a comparative perspective and can account for this pattern (P. 44). Another limitation of the constructivist school, namely, its in-ability to take into account material factors, is addressed in chapter 3. In describing Russia’s economic dependency on the West, Morozov combines approaches by Alexander Etkind, Boris Kagarlitsky, and Vsevolod Sergeev. He concludes that external economic rationale (demand for fur, hemp flax, timber, grain, and currently gas imported by Russia to Europe) reveal the interrupted pattern of the country’s uneven and combined development as a semiperiphery of the capitalist core over the past several centuries (P. 89). The persistence of this extractive economy model leads to identification between the security apparatus and the state per se. The preponderance of a centralized and militarized state with its grip over the economy, as well as the persistence of resource-oriented economic development has constituted the two main distinctive features of Russia up to today (P. 94). The...