Group 3 – Dialogue Essay 4 POLSC 20103: International Relations

BONJE, EYANA, GENODIA, HINACAY, RESTRIVERA BAPS 3-4

Beyond the Horizon: Fulfilling the Lapses of Realism and Liberalism

Through the Lenses of Selected Post-Positivist Theories

As an attempt to fulfill the lapses of mainstream theories that were used last
round table discussion, the group decided to select some post-positivist theories which
are Constructivism, Postmodernism, and Feminism. In short, this paper is the second
part of the previous discussion which aims to question the members’ a priori
assumptions on IR.
Regarding her analysis last time, Ms. Raven Restrivera analyzed and
elaborated the 2022 Russo-Ukrainian war through the lens of realism. However, she
then emphasized that examining the aforementioned war is also possible through the
lens of constructivism—suggesting that they can be both associated with the notion of
being mutually supportive theories (supplementing the lapses of one another), rather
than being mutually exclusive. As she continued, this might explain why the aggressive
attack of Russia on Ukrainian territory can be perceived as a means of realist reaction
(due to the threat of security from West expansionism) and the driving force being
associated with the idea of constructivism (colliding of different identities).
In realist theory, Ms. Restrivera stated that the Russo-Ukrainian war can only be
explained by the reason that states (in an anarchic international system) are in the
constant struggle for security, power, and survival and so; leaders tend to extend their
power by conquering land and showing off military might thus that their security is
guaranteed. But using the constructivist approach, it mainly delves deep into the
underlying cause of why this war even started and what is its motivation. Realists argue
that it is due to the leader's greed for power (offensive realism), however, in the lens of
constructivism, it can be denoted that it is due to the struggle and colliding of different
beliefs and identities between the two conflicting countries—the clash of the Western
identity and Russian identity. Hence, in the constructivist view, Ms. Restrivera stressed
that Russia’s behavior towards this aggressive dominion might potentially be shaped by
a number of factors (that are socially constructed) such as the attitude and beliefs of the
decision-makers, social norms, and identities. With regards to Ukraine, she stated that
Russia sees its people and Ukraine’s people as “single people” with shared ethnic
characteristics, language, cultural, and historical rights, and thus this formed the
“Russian identity”. Meanwhile, Russia sees that the West’s identity (e.g., democracy
and liberalism) is gradually creeping across Europe, and so, this threatened Russia’s
regional power in East Europe and started to conquer its former colony to create a
security belt around the nation. Ms. Restrivera further added that even the domestic
people of Russia were permissive of this action due to Putin’s escalated propaganda
towards letting its people believe that they are only freeing those conquered nations
(Ukraine) from the West—justifying that this best explains how domestic identities
helped shape foreign policy.
As Ms. Restrivera emphasized, Ukraine has its own identity also that is deeply
rooted in historical sociology back from when it started to be a sovereign nation. In
Russia’s invasion, Ukraine acted in accordance with their right to security and their right
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BONJE, EYANA, GENODIA, HINACAY, RESTRIVERA BAPS 3-4
to freedom of choice, in short, they decided to strike back. As their identity (Ukraine
wanting to be a sovereign nation) collided with the identity of the Russians, it resulted in
conflict and war. Russia’s aggression escalated due to the fact that Ukraine is being
supported by other European countries and its nemesis, the United States. And as she
reflected, this best explains how colliding identities produce warfare.
On the other hand, supplementing the lapses of realism that he used last time,
Mr. Hans Bonje looked back and examined the US-China relations through the lens of
postmodernism. As he highlighted, the tension between the two powerful countries
(covert or overt) is more than just in the aspects of military (e.g., deterrence and security
dilemma) and economics (e.g., trade war) as he first inspected using the lens of realism,
but it also entails how they presented their narratives in the international system
(competing perspectives) and how it changes the reality. In this sense, in the context of
the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Bonje stated that it uncovered a whole different aspect of
the US-China relations which is correlated to the existence and future of power
structures in the international arena—and that is the perpetuation of the dominant
narrative by the US by marginalizing the narrative of China regarding the pandemic.
By empirical data, it is evident that the US became complacent about the virus by
imposing a late lockdown—in contrast to other countries—and thus having sluggish
response despite their strong and fast vaccine production. As he dissected the timeline
in 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the virus as a “public health
emergency” on January 31, and later on declared as a “pandemic” on March 11.
However, despite the worldwide outbreak of cases due to the virus, it was only on
March 13 that the Trump administration issued a travel ban—making enough time
window for the virus. Subsequently, by the latest data from WHO, the US recorded (so
far) a gigantic 97.6 million cases of COVID-19 with over one million deaths. The point of
Mr. Bonje regarding this matter, in relation to China using a postmodernist approach, is
that this is the reality—that the US became complacent about the virus and yet they
also blame the Chinese government (78% of their public opinion as reflected in the
survey of Pew Research Center) for the global spread and mishandling of the virus;
where in fact, China is not even close compared to their cases with 9.7 million cases
and over thirty thousand deaths. Briefly saying, he pointed out that the said reality is
being maneuvered by the US in the international arena since they are a hegemon and
thus further enabling its consequences like the disturbing and increasing cases of “Anti-
Asian” hate crimes in their country (and some cases worldwide) since the beginning of
the pandemic. Through the lens of postmodernism, Mr. Bonje implied that whoever has
the dominant power has the dominant narrative, and thus manages to impose and
legitimate their narrative on the world stage—controlling the reality or truth per se. And
in the case of the US-China relations—wherein the US is pushing its dominant narrative
by marginalizing the narrative of China regarding the pandemic—this will eventually
shape the post-COVID power structures in the international system.
Furthermore, in her previous take, Ms. Emanuelle Eyana talked about exploring
the issues of climate change through the lens of realism. This time, she used the theory
of feminism in IR to supplement and elaborate on the missing points of the former
theory she used particularly on the effect it has on women and their position to help
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Group 3 – Dialogue Essay 4 POLSC 20103: International Relations
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alleviate the environmental and social issues that are arising. In the concept of realism,
it mainly talks about the concept of “self-help” and the anarchic “what-if” when scarcity
arises due to the continuing destruction of natural resources and non-action to help
lessen pollution that contributes to global warming. However, in feminism, Ms. Eyana
stressed how women are heavily affected by the issue of the climate crisis, if not more
—shifting from the state-centered premise of realism. She explained that the issue of
climate change is not “gender neutral” as data have revealed its strong correlation with
gender inequalities. The issue of climate change amplifies conflict and tension in
different nations that result in women facing increased vulnerability to all types of
gender-based violence—including conflict-related sexual assault, human trafficking,
underage marriage, and other forms of violence (analytical feminism). In addition, during
disasters, women are also more at risk of getting injured or dying as a result of gender
inequality which has created a disparity in terms of getting information, mobility, access
to resources, and training. Ms. Eyana added that research has found that extreme heat
increases the possibility of stillbirth and vector-borne illnesses also worsen maternal
and neonatal outcomes—justifying that climate change has relevant, evident, and
detrimental impacts not just on nation-states but especially to the marginalized women
(as realism failed to acknowledge).
Women are indeed continuing to be underappreciated and neglected despite
having a profound understanding of and reliance on natural resources. She pointed out
that the most climate-sensitive areas have a significant lack of funding for feminist
movements for climate justice, which makes the lives of women fighting climate
disasters even more difficult. As Ms. Eyana emphasized, women are not only victims of
climate change but are crucial agents of change. She also highlighted that women in the
field of science and technology are also leading the way in developing adequate plans
for the effects of climate change (empirical feminism). Nevertheless, women, especially
indigenous women, often live in synergy with their environment and are intimately
familiar with them, thus taking the initiative in defending, conserving, and safeguarding
them.
In the same theory, Mr. Mark Genodia also utilized the theory of feminism in IR
to supplement the lapses of liberalism which he used in the previous round table
discussion regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. As he expounded, the pandemic has
emphasized the value of having a strong health workforce for outbreak response and
vaccine delivery for outbreak prevention (e.g., international cooperation of states and
institutions to combat the said virus). However, when it comes to the gender lines, due
to the patriarchal society (e.g., in the field of science and policy-making), Mr. Genodia
stated that men have always been writing the rules and thus leaving women behind in
the said context.
As he elaborated, according to Kaufman's view, feminism is not only artificially
inserting women in everything but most importantly to raise awareness about the role of
women in world politics or international relations. Around the world, Mr. Genodia
annotated that women make up an estimated two-thirds of the paid health workforce
and a sizable portion of the unpaid workforce (empirical feminism). In addition, it is
anticipated that at least six million more women support health initiatives as community
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Group 3 – Dialogue Essay 4 POLSC 20103: International Relations
BONJE, EYANA, GENODIA, HINACAY, RESTRIVERA BAPS 3-4
health workers (CHWs), whose efforts may go unrecognized or be informally
undervalued by the healthcare industry. Subsequently, he also pointed out that gender
disparities, such as those in training, pay, and professional advancement, limit the
ability of female health workers to carry out their responsibilities and advance
professionally which has an impact on the standard of care and health outcomes.
Moreover, Mr. Genodia cited that women who administer vaccinations and other female
employees are also often subjected to gender-based violence (GBV), discrimination,
and security issues in the course of their work (analytical feminism). Surveys of nurses
in Ghana, for instance, who had encountered verbal or sexual harassment in a clinic
setting suggest that these workplace stressors cause many female health workers to
resign from their positions. Another one, India has also one of the most skewed sex
ratios in the world—only 143 million of the 309 million COVID vaccines administered
since January 2021 were given to women, compared to 167 million given to men. Out of
every 100 men, only 84 women in Maharashtra State, India, received vaccinations,
according to a study. Hence, Mr. Genodia justified that the COVID-19 pandemic
uncovered the alarming problem in the context of gender lines—showing that there are
still a lot of work to do to highlight the plight of women and achieve gender equality in
the international system.
Nonetheless, Ms. Jeorgina Hinacay agreed with Ms. Eyana and Mr. Genodia
that society has seen how men dominated the field of politics, however, upon
recognizing the role of women in society, it is also important to examine their
participation when it comes to conflict resolution such as the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli
conflict. As she questioned the lapses of realism that she used last time on the basis of
gender sensitivity, is there any difference as to how women are going to handle the
conflict compared to their male counterparts? Or are they going to adapt a shark-like
behavior as well?
Ms. Hinacay stressed that one of the most prominent women in Israeli politics
was Golda Meir. She was the first female prime minister that Israel elected. It is said
that Meir was “jingoistic” when it comes to Palestinian, she was quoted to say “there
was no such thing as Palestinians”. Her indifference when it comes to Palestinians was
identified to be her most “damning” legacy according to her critics. She was headstrong
to push for Jewish settlement in the Israeli nation, going as far as forcibly kicking
Palestinians out of their homes and the country to make room for the establishment of
the Israeli nation. Upon describing Meir’s hostility when it comes to her treatment of
Palestinian settlers, Ms. Hinacay stated that even as a woman, she still displays realist
sentiment. As a leader, she will always put forward the security and prosperity of the
young Israeli nation. Aside from Meir, women’s involvement in the conflict can also be
reflected in the creation of the International Women’s Commission which aims to
promote women’s participation in decision-making and resolution—stretching to
promote women’s rights. However, one of its failures was to engage Israeli and
Palestinian women on the ground and its inability to disseminate information, as there
was little awareness of the Article “Israel and Palestinian Women Together for Peace”.
Furthermore, continuous violence and conflict threaten the potential of IWC. This can be
illustrated during the 2008-2009 Gaza War as Palestinian women refuse to participate in

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Group 3 – Dialogue Essay 4 POLSC 20103: International Relations
BONJE, EYANA, GENODIA, HINACAY, RESTRIVERA BAPS 3-4
any dialogue with Israeli women. In this sense, Ms. Hinacay posited that every social
and international issue—whether in the aspect of climate change, pandemic, or conflict
—has always been bounded by gender sensitivity.
In conclusion, it is indeed that both mainstream and emerging theories of IR can
work hand-in-hand. They supplement the lapses of one another with their different
assumptions and propositions. Hence, the group has reflected that to have a profound
and extensive understanding of international issues, one must go beyond the horizon
(established ideas) by keep questioning what is already there and what is more to
discuss.
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