Book Review: Anne L. Clunan, The Social Construction of Russia’s Resurgence: Aspirations, Identity, and Security Interests (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009, 336 pp., $60.00 hbk)
| DOI | 10.1177/03058298110400011210 |
| Date | 01 September 2011 |
| Author | Evgeny Postnikov |
| Published date | 01 September 2011 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
202 Millennium: Journal of International Studies 40(1)
profile as a journalist and historian. Thanks to the interviews she conducted, her personal
experience and a synthesis of the literature on the topic, Caridi sheds new light on Hamas
and contributes to correcting the distorted image that is often associated with it. Although
it does not offer any theoretical insights on Hamas, it is a book that every scholar dealing
with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the movement should read as it provides the
reader with interesting ‘titbits’ of information, vivid descriptions and eyewitness accounts
that usually remain absent from most of the literature on the topic. Moreover, the style is
fresh, engaging and to some extent even emotional, making the book just as enjoyable
for the non-expert readers as for the specialists.
Benedetta Voltolini
Benedetta Voltolini is a PhD candidate in the Department of International Relations at the
London School of Economics and Political Science, UK.
Anne L. Clunan, The Social Construction of Russia’s Resurgence: Aspirations, Identity, and Security
Interests (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009, 336 pp., $60.00 hbk).
How do states know what they want? Are they pursuing some fixed national interests or
are these interests actively influenced by the country’s historical and political experi-
ence, in other words its identity? And, significantly, where and how is this identity devel-
oped? These are the questions guiding Anne L. Clunan’s enquiry in this monograph on
the sources of Russia’s national identity and interests. The book comes at a very oppor-
tune moment as Russia’s foreign policy is becoming more assertive and Western leaders
are trying to find the right diplomatic approach to deal with it.
A central idea offered in the book is the theory of ‘aspirational’ constructivism which
is supposed to remedy the insufficiency of the structuralist interpretations of state iden-
tity. ‘Aspirational’ constructivism is formed by building on the work of social psycholo-
gists, particularly social identity theory, to combine both systemic and domestic sources
of identity. In doing so, the author emphasises the importance of a state’s own history, a
seemingly obvious point often overlooked in constructivist scholarship.
The process of identity formation in the work begins with political elites, seeking to
advance national self-esteem, as social identity theory would predict, who naturally look
into a nation’s past when deriving aspirations for its future. The book thus brings back
agency and history – a valuable contribution to the constructivist literature. Using vari-
ous identity management strategies, identified by social identity theory as assimilation,
social competition and social creativity, elites seek to promote their preferred national
self-image, which is rooted in the ideas about the country’s international status and
political purpose. Elites then test the legitimacy of various rival images in terms of their
historical appropriateness, that is, how well they resonate with the existing constructions
of the past, and efficacy, that is, how well they fit already existing social norms and
practices, elite capabilities and current political conditions. The image that passes the
legitimacy test becomes dominant and defines the contours of national identity, driving
To continue reading
Request your trial