Week 2 - Liberalism

Question 1

Who are the Historical Roots of Liberalism?

Answer 1

St Aguinus, Hugo Grotius, Immanuel Kant, Woodrow Wilson

Question 2

Outline the background and contribution of St Aguinus

Answer 2

A 13th Century Italian Catholic Priest - believes that as humans, we are endowed by nature with rights that are understood through reason, furthermore, these rights are objective and universal.

War must be just, and must be done by the State and must have peace as it is Global

Question 3

Outline the background and contribution of Hugo Grotius

Answer 3

A 17th Century Dutch Jurist who used natural law as a foundation for International law. These laws are cumulative which means that over time we can see the building of a legal structure. These laws can be used to limit war - but there will also be just and unjust laws

Question 4

Outline the background and contribution of Immanuel Kant

Answer 4

19th Century German Philosopher and believes that humans are fundamentally rational and can live by rules - this will create a world of Constitutional Republics which are based on the aspects of moral reason

Question 5

Outline the background and contribution of Woodrow Wilson

Answer 5

An early 20th Century US President who suggested the 14 point - plan post WWI period. This was also the League of Nations and was based on mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to a range of states

Question 6

What are the Key Points of Liberalism?

Answer 6

• International Relations is more than just power and norms and this is because norms, values, and laws matter
• Point out that human nature is malleable and therefore, Progress is possible
• Whilst States are important, so are international norms, laws and institutions
• States are not just self - interested power orientated actors, but they are actors that also focus on economic power and importance - furthers the idea that economic rules are important

Question 7

What is a regime?

Answer 7

A set of principles, norms, rules and decisions

Question 8

According to Liberalism, how is Anarchy mitigated?

Answer 8

Anarchy is mitigated by institutional cooperation

Question 9

According to Liberalism, how is the ‘Zero - Sum Game’ altered?

Answer 9

Because institutions encourage cooperative habitats and it builds awareness that cooperation is more profitable and focuses on the idea that ‘if, through cooperation, I gain something and you gain something, even if you gain more than, cooperation is good’.

Focuses on the idea that the world is not a zero - sum game and states can understand that the optimal outcome is the best collective outcome. As a result, many states feel secure enough to maximise their own gains regardless of what accrues to others.

Question 10

What are the assumptions as to why Liberal Democratic States do not fight each other?

Answer 10

(1) Citizens prefer to avoid war as there is a pacifist public opinion and democratic systems can prevent warmonger politics
(2) Free trade engenders interdependence and war would be damageable to the economy of liberal states
(3) There is no ground to contest each others legitimacy - this links to the idea that there is no just war against a democracy
(4) They share common values and ideologies so why would they want to go to war with each other

Question 11

Outline Fukuyama’s Belief

Answer 11

The end of the East - West conflict and the collapse of the Soviet Union confirmed that Liberal Capitalism was unchallenged as a model of humankind’s political and economic development

Question 12

What are the basic principles of Liberalism?

Answer 12

• Peace is the normal state of affairs - the law of nature dictated harmony and cooperation between people and therefore war is unnatural and irrational. Emphasises that wars are engineered by a ‘warrior class’ that are bent on extending their power and wealth through territorial conquest whilst the people who are peace loving by nature, are plunged into conflict only be the whims of their unrepresentative rulers
• Liberal States are founded on individual rights such as equality before law, free speech and civil liberty and a representative government. Based on the idea that peace is fundamentally a question of establishing legitimate domestic orders throughout the world.
• Free trade would expand the range of contacts and levels of understanding between the peoples of the world and encourage international friendship and understanding. Conflicts were often caused by states erecting barriers which distorted and concealed the natural harmony of interests commonly shared by individuals across the world.

Question 13

What are the Constraints on war according to Liberals?

Answer 13

Power Ratio- One way to reduce the likelihood of going to war is to deter it by military strength - when power is unbalanced, the outcome of conflict is usually predictable, and the weaker side generally will not fight because it knows that it will lose. Thucydides said that “the strong do as they will and the weak do as they must”.

Allies - Allies share important strategic and security interests; if they have military disputes among themselves, they risk weakening their common front against a country each perceive as an enemy - during the Cold War, NATO allies did not fight each other (save for Greece and Turkey).

Distance and Size - Distance makes it harder and more costly to exert military power - neighbours can readily fight and are more likely to have competing interests for territory, control of natural resources, or common ethic groups that may provoke conflict - great powers typically have strong military forces able to exercise force at a distance, and wide-ranging, even global interests to fight for

Question 14

Outline Liberal Institutionalism

Answer 14

Liberal institutionalist’s believe that cooperation between states can and should be organised and formalised in institutions - and in this sense, means a set of rules which govern state behaviour in specific policy areas such as the Law and Sea

Question 15

How has economic interdependence partially overcome self - sufficient States?

Answer 15

The complex layers of economic interdependency ensure that States cannot act aggressively without risking economic penalties imposed by other members of the economic community. It also makes little sense for a state to threaten its commercial partners, whose markets and capital investment are essential for its own economic growth.

Question 16

What are two responses to the liberal claim that economic independency is pacifying International Relations?

Answer 16

(1) In an struggle between disciplines, the anarchic environment and the insecurity it engenders will always take priority over the quest for economic prosperity
(2) Economic interdependence implies a misleading degree of equality and shared vulnerability to economic forces in the global economy - nevertheless, interdependence does not eliminate hegemony and dependency in inter - state relations because power is very unevenly distributed throughout the worlds trade and financial markets

Question 17

Why do Human Rights have an important place in Liberal thinking regarding foreign policy and International relations?

Answer 17

(1) They give a legal foundation to emancipation, justice and human freedom - and this denial by the State authorities is an affront to dignity and a stain on the human condition
(2) States which treat their own citizens ethically and allow them meaningful participation in the political process are thought to be less likely to behave aggressive internationally

Question 18

How do Liberals interpret Globalisation?

Answer 18

Liberals point to the increasing irrelevance of national borders to the conduct and organisation of economy activity. They focus on the growth of free trade, the capacity of transnational corporations to escape political regulation and the national legal jurisdictions as well as the liberation of capital from national and territorial constraints

Question 19

Outline the resurgence and retraction of Liberalism throughout the 20th Century

Answer 19

There was a brief resurgence of liberal sentiment at the end of the Second World War, following the birth of the United Nations, although this was soon ignored by the power politics of the Cold War. In the 1990s, Liberalism appeared to be resurgent again as Western state leaders proclaimed a new world order.

Since 9/11 nevertheless, the pendulum has once again swung towards the realist pole as the USA and its allies have engaged in costly wars against states and networks who were believed to be a threat during this period; as a result, the power and legitimacy of the Western dominated order has been called into question

Question 20

The Four Dimensional Definition of Liberalism

Answer 20

1. All citizens are juridically equal and possess certain basic rights to education, access to free press and religious toleration
2. The legislative assembly of the state possesses only the authority invested in it by the people, and any further use of this power without consensus is an abuse of their rights
3. A key dimension of the liberty of individuals is the right to own property as well as productive forces
4. It contends that the most effective system of economy exchange is one that is largely market driven and not one that is subordinate to bureaucratic regulation and control - either domestically or internationally

Question 21

According to Liberals, how do States and individuals display similarities?

Answer 21

State and individuals may have characteristics that differ, nevertheless, all states (and individuals) are accorded certain ‘natural’ rights such as the generalised right of non - interference of their domestic affairs.

Question 22

What is the First Image of Liberalism?

Answer 22

This is the image of Human Nature and originated in the 19th Century with Richard Cobden. The causes of conflict were interventions by governments domestically and internationally which disturb the International Order. Furthermore, the determinants of peace were seen to be individual liberty, free trade, prosperity and interdependence

Question 23

What is the Second Image of Liberalism?

Answer 23

This was the image of the State and originated in the early 20th Century with Woodrow Wilson. The causes of conflict were the undemocratic nature of international politics, especially foreign policy and the balance of power. The determinants of peace were national self - determination, open governments responsive to public opinions and collective security

Question 24

What is the Third Image of Liberalism?

Answer 24

This is the Structure of the System and originated in the early 20th Century by J.A Hobson. The balance of power caused conflict and the determinants of this conflict included a world government, with powers to mediate and enforce decisions.

Question 25

How did WWI shift liberal thinking? What did Woodrow Wilson believe?

Answer 25

It acknowledged a recognition that peace is not a natural condition, but it is one that must be constructed and Woodrow Wilson believed that peace could only be secured with the creation of an international organisation to regulate international anarchy.

Question 26

What is Collective Security?

Answer 26

This refers to an arrangement where each state in the system accepts that the security of one is the concern of all, and agrees to join in a collective response to aggression.

Question 27

What did David Mitring argue in 1943?

Answer 27

That transnational cooperation was required in order to resolve common problems - core concept was ramification which observed that cooperation in one sector would lead governments to extend the range of collaboration across other sectors and then as states become more embedded in an integration process, the cost of withdrawing from cooperative ventures increases

Question 28

According to Pluralism, what has the progression of world politics led to a recognition of?

Answer 28

It has been increasingly argued that the centrality of other actors, such as interest groups, transnational corporations and international non - government organisations had to be taken into consideration

Question 29

What are the other pluralist approaches?

Answer 29

Due to the expansion of capitalism and the emergence of a global culture, pluralists recognised a growing interconnectedness in which ‘changes in one part of the system have direct and indirect consequences for the rest of the system’. This looks to the idea that absolute state autonomy was being circumscribed by interdependence and such a development brought with it enhanced potential for cooperation as well as increased levels of vulnerability

Question 30

What do Englightenment Liberals believe?

Answer 30

A latent cosmopolitan morality could be achieved through the exercise of reason and through the creation of constitutional states. In addition to this, the unfettered movement of people and goods could further facilitate more peaceful international relations

Question 31

What are the criticisms of Liberalism?

Answer 31

(1) Liberal internationalism 2.0, which is associated with the post-1945 period, is in crisis and the ability of the USA to steer world order is diminishing, rising powers are wanting a greater share of the spoils and new security challenges are opening up significant divisions among the major powers. If Ikenberry is right and the 2.0 is in decline, it is not clear what is going to replace it. If the 2.0 collapses then the world is back to the inter-war period when the League of Nations could not keep its promises; nevertheless, if 2.0 is reinvigorated, then global institutions will adapt to the challenge of new emerging powers without losing their distinctively liberal character
(2) Is the future of liberalism likely to return to internationalism 1.0 - in other words, which is a period in which there is an institutional architecture that is hopelessly out of step with what is happening in world politics. Or is internationalism 3.0 a realistic alternative to the rules and institutions of the post - 1945 period, which seems unable to deliver order and justice for most peoples in the world