Liberalism
John Baylis – Theory International Relations
Chapter – 6
Table of Contents
Introduction
- Realism is regarded as the dominant theory of international relations, but Liberalism has historically served as a strong alternative.
- In the twentieth century, liberal thinking influenced policy-making in Western states after World War I, an era referred to as Idealism.
- A brief resurgence of liberal sentiment occurred after World War II with the creation of the United Nations, though it was soon overshadowed by Cold War power politics.
- In the 1990s, Liberalism seemed to experience a revival with the proclamation of a New World Order and the intellectual justification of the supremacy of liberal ideas.
- After 9/11, the pendulum shifted back towards Realism, as the USA and its allies focused on consolidating power and punishing those they define as terrorists.
- Liberal values and institutions are deeply embedded in Europe and North America but lack legitimacy on a global scale.
- Stanley Hoffmann’s phrase, “international affairs have been the nemesis of Liberalism”, explains that the essence of Liberalism (self-restraint, peace, compromise) contrasts with the essence of international politics (troubled peace or war).
- Realists argue that progress, law, and justice are impossible without a common power in international politics.
- Liberals believe power politics is the product of ideas and that ideas can change, meaning Liberalism can be remade globally.
- Liberalism believes in the possibility of progress, one of its core tenets, and has a broad tradition characterized by:
- Equality of citizens and the right to basic rights (education, free press, religious tolerance).
- Legislative authority vested by the people, with the right to protect basic rights.
- The right to own property, including productive forces.
- An effective market-driven economic system, free from bureaucratic control.
- There is a stark contrast between liberal values (individualism, freedom, tolerance) and conservatism (order, authority, sacrificing individual liberty for community stability).
- Liberalism is not only a theory of government but also an international theory, linking domestic and global governance.
- Liberal states believe that, like individuals, states have distinct characteristics: some are war-prone, others are peaceful.
- States have certain natural rights, such as the right to non-intervention in domestic affairs.
- Liberalism sees the extension of domestic ideas to the international realm, such as coordinating institutions and the rule of law for a just order.
- The goal of Liberalism is the domestication of the international.
- Liberal thinkers agree with Realists that war is a recurring feature of the anarchic state system but do not view anarchy as the cause of war.
- Liberalism attributes war to different factors, including imperialism, failure of balance of power, and undemocratic regimes.
- The solution to global conflict may involve collective security, commerce, or world government.
- The core concepts of international Liberalism are focused on order and justice on a global scale.
- A key tension in liberal theory is between the commitment to freedom (which supports minimal governance) and the democratic political culture (which requires strong institutions to safeguard freedoms).
- This tension manifests in questions about whether Liberalism should prioritize equality over liberty, especially in terms of redistributing resources from the strong to the weak.
- On a global scale, inequalities are much greater, and institutional capacity to address them is much less.
- The intensification of global flows in trade, resources, and people has weakened the state’s ability to govern, calling for a radical reconfiguration of the relationship between territoriality and governance.