Liberalism

1
Liberalism

• Packet pages102-108

2
Learning Goal Success Criteria

• Students will learn the core aspects of the
  Democratic Peace Theory and how states have
  integrated and cooperated re liberal goals.

• Describe the four dimensions of liberalism
• Explain how liberal theorists liken states to
  people
• Explain and evaluate the Kantian Peace Thy
• Summarize Neoliberal Theory and contrast it with
  Dem. Peace Thy

3
A Place for Liberalism in IR

• Seen as an alternative to realism
• UN -gt Cold War Power Politics -gt New World Order?
• NWO according to Liberal Internationalism
  founded on universal liberal values such as intl
  cooperation, respect for intl law and orgs.
  Ex intl coalition to expel S Hussein from
  Kuwait
• Hoffman international affairs has been the
  nemesis of liberalism. Why?

4
Four-dimensional definition of Liberalism
individualism vs. community

1. All people are equal and have the same rights
2. Legislative assemblies are by, for, and of the
   people and thus must not impinge on peoples
   rights

1. Ownership of property is a fundamentally
   important liberty/right of the people
2. The most effective method of economic exchange is
   based on market forces

5
Liberalism as an IR Theory

• States are likened to people
• States have different characteristics. Identity
  determines outward orientation.
• All states have natural rights.
• Other non-intervention domestically extension
  of ideas internationally rule of law, purpose
  of centralized institutions

6
Liberals cause of war

• War not due to anarchy
• War is caused by other factors imperialism,
  failure of balance of power, undemocratic
  intrastate power structures
• Liberal theorists disagree about which is the
  true cause of war

7
The Contradiction within Liberalism

• Commitment to freedom in economic and social
  spheres leads to reduction of power in governing
  institutions.

• Commitment to a democratic political culture
  needed to protect basic freedoms requires strong
  govt and interventionist institutions

8
Kant Perpetual Peace

• Definitive articles on pg. 104 full essay handed
  out and on blog
• States (like people) can use logic/reason to
  produce freedom and justice in IR
• Federal contract between states to abolish war

9
Democratic Peace Theory

• States that are liberal democracies are less
  likely to war with each other
• Doyle 2 elements to the Kantian ideal
• Why is war unlikely b/tw liberal states?
• Alternative explanations?

10
Other Liberal Voices re War

• Bentham intl law can prevent war establish a
  common tribunal
• Cobden free trade creates a more peaceful world
  via mutual gains
• But this overlooks asymmetric gains by hegemons
• History contradicts the above premises

11
Neoliberalism

• Status-quo oriented theory
• Problem-solving theory
• Shares many assumptions as neo-realists re
  actors, values, issues and power arrangements
• Study a different world than neorealists

• Neoliberalism focuses on
• Political economy
• Cooperation
• Institutions
• Promote free trade and democracy in foreign
  policy programs
• Rooted in functional integration thy, complex
  interdependence thy and transnational studies

12
Neoliberalism (contd)

• N-L institutionalists see institutions as the
  mediator and the means to achieve cooperation in
  the international system
• Believe that states cooperate to achieve absolute
  gains and the greatest obstacle to cooperation is
  cheating or non-compliance by other states
• Recognize that cooperation is harder when leaders
  perceive there are no mutual interests

• Regimes and institutions help govern a
  competitive and anarchic system
• Regime a set of mutual expectations, rules and
  regulations, plans, organizational energies and
  financial commitments, which have been accepted
  by a group of states. (Ruggie, 1975)
• Prinicples, norms, rules, and decision making
  procedures (Keohane)

13
WWI Lesson Constructing Peace

• Peace is not a natural condition, but must be
  built
• Wilson 14 Points League of Nations
• A disaster
• System of Collective Security

14
The League and Self-determination

• Moral and legal problems with self-det.
• Minorities with no feeling of allegiance to the
  newly created state
• How democracy affects constituency and balloting
• What if the new state rejects liberal democratic
  norms

15
On the League of Nations

• While the moral rhetoric at the creation of the
  League of Nations was decidedly idealist, in
  practice states remained imprisoned by
  self-interest.
• The collapse of the L. of N. dealt a fatal blow
  to idealism (106)

16
Integration Theory and Pluralism (Neo-Libs)

• Transnational cooperation is needed to resolve
  common problems
• Core concept ramification cooperation in one
  area would lead to collaboration in others
• Not only focused on mutual gains from trade, but
  also how other transnational actors played a
  major role in IR now (pluralism)
• Huge focus on interdependence
• State autonomy was being replaced by
  interdependence
• Criticism by K. Waltz
• Less interdep. than predicted

17
Neo-liberalism

• Agreed w/ core assumptions of neorealism
• anarchic system, rational approach states are
  most important
• Differ anarchy does not imply the impossibility
  of durable patterns of cooperation
• Intl regimes must be created to govern key issue
  areas
• Cooperative agreements would exist when benefits
  are evenly shared

18
Neo-liberalism vs. Democratic Peace Thy

• N-Ls say Scientific approach must be used to
  build the theory around idealism
• N-Ls see a naïve assumption of the DPT that
  commerce breeds peace Free-trade provides
  incentives for cooperation, but does not
  guarantee it. (107)