Liberalism Perspective
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| 460850814 | Founding Fathers of Liberalism | John Locke "Second Treatise on Government" (1689) Emphasis is on the individual and the limited state. Thomas Paine "The Rights of Man"(1791): The war system is constructed to preserve the power and the employment of princes, statesman, soldiers and to bind their tyranny upon the necks of people. Wars provide governments with excuses to raise taxes, expand their bureaucratic apparatus and increase their control over their citizens. The people are peace-loving by nature and plunged into conflict by the whims of their unrepresentative rulers. | |
| 460850815 | Founding Fathers of Liberalism | Immanuel Kant "Perpetual Peace" (1795) States can develop organizations and rules to facilitate cooperation Suggests a "World Federation" resembling today's U.N. Republics with a legislative branch that can hold the monarch in check will be more peaceful than autocracies. (This is the foundation of "democratic peace theory".) Trade and economic interdependence promotes peace by increasing wealth, cooperation and global well-being. | |
| 460850816 | Current Liberal Thinkers: | Francis Fukuyama "The End of History and the Last Man" (1992) (neo-Kantian) The collapse of the Soviet Union proved that liberal democracy has no serious ideological competitor. The end of Cold War was "the end of mankind's evolution" and the "final form of human government". "Liberal democracies have transcended their violent instincts and institutionalized norms which pacify relations between them" | |
| 460850817 | Current Liberal Thinkers: | Doyle : Ways of War and Peace (1997) "Liberal democracies are willing to eschew the use of force in their relations with one another" Why? Institutional constraints on liberal democratic states, such as public opinion, the rule of law, and representative government. Normative preference for compromise and conflict resolution which can be found in liberal democracies. | |
| 460850818 | Basic Liberal Assumptions | Human nature is basically good, altruistic. People are rational. They can resolve disputes through rational argument. Nature of the International System International System is not fundamentally conflictual Potential for cooperation is high. War is not inevitable. Peace is the normal state of affairs. In Kant's words "War is unnatural and irrational" States can escape from, or at least ameliorate, anarchy. How? International Institutions and Laws. | |
| 460850819 | Basic Liberal Assumptions | Unlike realists, liberals stress on change and progress, not continuity. Interdependence Democratization. People can learn from mistakes of past. Dominant Actors in IR States, international organizations, transnational organizations, individuals State is no longer as "sovereign" as before: Interdependence New actors and new technologies. Stress on "absolute" not "relative gains". There is no "hierarchy of issues" . Economic issues are as important to states as security issues. | |
| 460850820 | Liberal Assumptions: | Democratic processes and institutions would break the power of the ruling elites and curb their propensity for violence. The "disease of war" can be successfully treated with the twin medicines of "democracy" and "free trade" Free trade and commerce would overcome the artificial barriers between individuals and unite them everywhere into one community. | |
| 460850821 | Basic Liberal Assumptions | Liberals have an optimistic view for post-Cold war. Realists such as Waltz & Mearsheimer argue that the collapse of bi-polarity in the 1990s was a cause for concern. Mutual nuclear deterrence maintained a stabilizing balance of power in the world whereas unipolarity would not last, eventually leading to volatility and war. Waltz (Realist): "In international politics, unbalanced power constitutes a danger" Recent conflicts in Balkans, Central Asia, Caucasus are a reminder that the post Cold -War period remains volatile. | |
| 460850822 | Current Liberal Thinkers: | Rawls, J: The Law of Peoples (1999) Liberal societies are "less likely to engage in war with non-liberal outlaw states, except on grounds of legitimate self defense or to protect human rights. Recent U.S. led wars in Iraq pose significant challenges to the claim that only self-defense and humanitarianism incline liberal-democratic states to war. | |
| 460850823 | Liberalism & Free Trade: | Free-trade is a more peaceful means of achieving national wealth. Free-trade would break down divisions between states and unite individuals everywhere in one community. Barriers to commerce distort perceptions and relations between individuals which cause international tension. Free trade expand the range of contacts and levels of understanding between people and encourage friendship. Conflicts are often caused by states erecting barriers which distort the natural harmony. J.S.Mill "Free trade is the means to bring about the end of war". But is there a possibility that the relationship is inverse? | |
| 460850824 | Arguments against Free Trade | Today's industrial nations all have passed through a protectionist era. Free trade argument is an ideology used by developed nations to exploit developing states. IMF, WTO are means of exploitation established by the powerful states. Liberal institutions (IMF &WTO) impose identical prescriptions for economic development on all countries regardless of what conditions prevail locally. Global order is already based on unequal market relations, free trade will help sustain this. | |
| 460850825 | Liberals and Interdependence : | Conflict between states can be reduced by creating a common interest in trade and economic collaboration among the members. Focus is on "mutual dependence". Rosecrance: The growth of economic interdependency has been matched by a corresponding decline in the value of territorial conquest for states. Liberals say that benefits of trade and cooperation among states exceed military competition and military control. | |
| 460850826 | Interdependence and Realism | Interdependence means dependence. Interdependence means vulnerability and interdependence is a power relationship. The more interdependent a state is the weaker. It is better to be "independent" than "interdependent", or at least minimize dependency. Ex:Oil. Interdependence is a sort of balance of power. Interdependence may or may not enhance prospects for peace. Conflict could occur just as easily as cooperation. More contact, more conflict. |
