Liberalism

Introduction Liberalism – Historical alternative to realism Promotes peace in the international system through set norms, procedures and institutions, and emphasizes the importance of states, NGO’s, International Organizations, and Multinational Corporations – Domestication of International System, opposite of DMS – Both a Political and Economic Theory For Dimensional definition – All citizens are juridically equal and possess certain basic civil rights and liberties = Judicial Equality – Legislative assembly of a state possesses only the authority invest by the people = Democracy » American Democratic Party = Liberal Political Values – Right to own property = Liberty – Best economic exchange is free markets without bureaucratic = Free Market » American Republican Party = Liberal Economic Values

Historical Context Historical Influence – Immanuel Kant – Perpetual Peace Democratic Peace Thesis – Liberal Democracies are pacifist and seek peace, thus two LD won’t go to war with each other – People less like to seek war then a Prince – Liberal democracies = Wealth = More to lose = peace – John Locke Social Contract Theory = establish democracy = peace – Jeremy Bentham Power of Law to solve conflict = Peace – Francis Fukuyama – The End of History Liberal states more stable = peace

Continue World War I – Challenged the notion of a natural “Harmony of Interests” Political and International interest not enough to deter war Liberal Democracies v Monarchies – Gave rise to Constructed Peace Theory Leonard Woolf – Need for Consciously Devised Machinery Woodrow Wilson – International Organization = Regulates International Anarchy = Peace » 14 Points Speech League of Nations Collective Security

Continue WWII and Post-WWII – League of Nations = Failure – US and Russia outside system – Hitler Ignores – Peace gave rise to United Nations – Veto Power ensures great powers will join – Transnational cooperation need to solve common global problems – Collaboration between many various sectors of society began making isolation difficult – Transnational Actors – Gaining importance in IR and a major source of stabilization of the IR – Challenged the domination of states through interdependence

Continue – Mature Anarchy of IS A cobweb of diverse actors linked through multiple channels of interaction create stability and prevent anarchy

Liberalism and Globalization Is globalization creating a liberal hegemony? – Is this good or bad? US has imbedded liberal principles into the IS – Demonstrates a transparent democratic system to other nations – Advocates a global free trade regime – Appears to be reluctant hegemon – Created and maintains important international institutions » Very successful, allies more worried about abandonment of principles then domination » Once institutions are created, very difficult to undo – War or global economic meltdown would be needed to upset the current IR System Post-WWII system successful because of US Hegemony?

Continue Liberalism has created Winners and Losers Richest 20% of world pop = 75% worlds wealth Poorest 20% of world pop = 1.5% worlds wealth – Challenges to liberal economic view because of inequality Hegemonic Power is obsessed with controlling institutions, markets and resources – 9/11 backlash to modern liberalism – Bush foreign policy = liberal values = Neo-Conservative Ideology – Does liberalism encourage imperialism? Historically = Yes Modern = ?... Few liberals would advocate imperialism

Continue Liberalism of Privilege v Radical Liberalism LP = globalization needs to be addressed by a combination of strong democratic states in the core of the IS, robust regimes, and open markets and institutions – RL = Alternative to LP The economic principles of LP comes into conflict with the norms of democracy and human rights – Especially apparent in the Developing world » Western Privatization diminishes internal democracy » Qualifying for western loans requires privatization and limitation of social welfare » Institutions slow to respond to crisis in DV

Continue – Democratic Deficit Power in the IS is dominated by 15 member states, which five have the veto in the UN – Most statist models are dominated by opulent minority = Elite Theory – RL argue is a result of RP RL promotes Cosmopolitan Model of Democracy – Regional governments – Human Rights – Global Parliament Critics (RP) call this Utopian