Liberalism has contributed to the understanding of International Relations as an academic discipline and through organizations such as the United Nations, the European Union, the League of Arab States, and others in what many consider to be a very influential manner.
To start, Liberalism traces its roots back to the Enlightenment period (Mingst, 2008) where many philosophers and thinkers of the time began to question the established status quo. Such as the prevailing belief in religious superstition and began to replace it with a more rational mode of thinking and a belief in the intrinsic goodness of mankind. The Enlightenment period influenced Liberalism’s belief that human beings are thinkers who are able to naturally understand the laws governing human social conduct and by understanding these laws, humans can better their condition and live in harmony with others (Mingst, 2008). Two of the most prominent Liberal Internationalists of the Enlightenment period were Immanuel Kant and Jeremy Bentham who both thought that international relations were conducted in a brutal fashion. It was Kant who compared international relations as “the lawless state of savagery” (Baylis and Smith, 2001, pp 165). It was also Kant who believed nations could form themselves into a sort of united states and overcome international anarchy through this (Mingst, 2008). This was probably the beginning of a coherent belief in a sort of union of sovereign states. Toward the end of the seventeenth century William Penn believed a ‘diet’ (parliament) could be set up in Europe, like the European Union of today (Baylis and Smith, 2001). We can see much of this liberal thinking today in organizations such as the United Nations.
Another influential work to hav...
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...g principles and core beliefs. The United Nations has continuously through its history worked for and advocated collective security measures through international diplomacy and through its deployment of Peacekeepers throughout troubled areas worldwide. Its collective security measures are another example of the beliefs set down by Kant (Baylis and Smith, 2001).
The Mont Pelerin Society, although not as influential as the United Nations, is still another example of the sort of classic liberal think tank which exists today. It has had some notable and influential members including Nobel Prize winners Milton Friedman and Vernon Smith. Although it is unclear how it may have influenced state actors in the past.
There are many more liberal organizations and this is just a small example of the many which exist worldwide which have influenced International Relations.
It is easy to seen from the articles in the magazine that it is a voice for liberal opinions. Contributors to the magazine consist of such liberalists as Katha Pollitt, Eric Alterman, Alexander Cockburn, Christopher Hitchens, and Patricia J. Williams. Some past contributors include T. S. Elliot, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, Jr., Albert Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt, H.L. Mencken, Hannah Arendt, W.E.B. Du Bois and Jean-Paul Sartre.
In the 21st century, there have been plenty of examples of potential competition to liberalism as seen by the emergence of social democracy and the push for welfare states as well as varying degrees of fundamentalism and nationalism all throughout the world. Fukuyama believed that all societies where converging towards democracy and capitalism and that the world was beginning to embrace the ideas and principles of western liberalism, capitalism and materialism. He argued that “liberal democracy remains the only coherent political aspiration that spans different regions and cultures across the globe.” (Mapping the political landscape p.323). Although Fukuyama believes that with the fall of communism and fascism, liberal democracy had finally assumed it rightful place as that right ideology in the world, he seems to have overlooked the overall flexibility of liberal ideologies as well as capitalism and materialism.
Liberals see humans as both moral and rational beings, who are egotistical and altruistic as well as competitive and cooperative (Mullaly, 2007). They assume that everyone should be able to support themselves, because they are sufficiently motivated by self-development, and through this motivation they can be successful and move upwards in class status (Mullaly, 2007). The nation-state in the liberal paradigm exists to ensure fair competition, and generally acts in the best interests of society to promote harmony (Mullaly, 2007). The basic liberal belief is in equality of opportunity, which stresses that anyone can move up through the class system (indeed, they often see the class system as being “upper class”, “middle class” and “those working towards middle class”, ignoring the “low class” component of society) through hard work and individual effort, after being granted basic equality (Mullaly, 2007). Liberals are in general favour of social change that improves conditions for individual members of society, but do not see a reason to change society as a
Typically Liberalism can be categorized into two different strands, Classical and Modern (yet some thinkers advocate a third strand that is referred to as Neo-Liberalism), each characterized by their differing and to some extent unavoidably overlapping attitudes regarding the theory behind the ideology and how it should be put into practice. Prior to examining how these relate to one another and before making any comparisons, it is important to give a definition, as best as possible, of Liberalism as a concept.
As a result it can be said that the success of the Liberal World Order
Newman, Edward, Roland Paris, and Oliver P. Richmond. New Perspectives on Liberal Peacebuilding. New York: United Nation University Press, 2009. Print.
Liberals believe that the United States should not be so sovereign instead the United States should be a member in a world community. Liberals say that the United States has a moral and legal obligation to support the United Nation because the United Nations promote peace and human rights. Liberals aslo want the United States to submit its national interests to the greater good of the global community as proposed by the united nations. Liberals also are saying that us troops should submit under the command of the united nations. Conservatives once again disagree with what the liberals say the say the united nations has repeatedly failed in the mission to promote world peace and human rights they back this up by saying that the wars genocide and human rights abuses that take place in many Human Rights Council members states prove the conservatives point even further. Conservatives also do not want United States troops under the control of the United Nations and that a United States troop should wear a United States
Walt, Stephen. "Top 10 Warning Signs of Liberal Imperialism." Foreign Policy. N.P, 20 May 2013. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. .
Liberalism assumes that the war and can be policed by the institutional reforms that empower the international organizations and law.
Liberalism-derived from the Latin word ‘liber’ which means “free and not enslaved”- is seen as the dominant ideology of the western civilisation. During the European history before the modern society, it was characterised by absolutism and feudalism. That time was also called ‘the age of absolutism’.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Collective security is one type of coalition building strategy whether global or regional in which a group of nations agree not to attack each other and to defend each other against an attack from one of the others, if such an attack is made. The principal is that "an attack against one is an attack against all." It differs from "collective defense" which is a coalition of nations which agree to defend its own group against outside attacks. It can also be described as a system where states attempt with its use to prevent or stop wars. Examples of Collective defense are NATO and the Warsaw Pact .The United Nations (UN) is the best example at an attempt at collective security. Many nations enter into such an agreement in an effort to maintain the status quo and to secure their best interests. Collective security is achieved when states come to an agreement on the need for same. As a result an international organization is formed under the rules of international law. The collective security organization then becomes an arena for diplomacy, balance of power and exercise of soft power. The use of hard power by states, unless legitimized by the Collective Security organization, is considered illegitimate, reprehensible and needing remediation of some kind. This idea of collective security was posited by people such as Immanuel Kant and Woodrow Wilson. There are a few basic assumptions as it relates to collective security, including , In an armed conflict, member nation-states will be able to agree on which nation is the aggressor another basic assumption is that each member state has freedom of action and ability to join in proceedings against the aggressor. Also of great importance is the fact that all member nation-states are e...
Liberalism is universalistic and tolerant. It believes that all persons share fundamental interest in self preservation and material well being. Each individual must be allowed to follow hi s or her own preferences as long as they do not d...
A notable aspect of liberalism regards the belief that a state has no moral authority of wielding political power and control over the citizen without justification or explanations. Additionally, liberalism philosophical argument is based on the equality and freedom of individuals to make personal decision for their own good provided there in no interference with state stability. Political liberalism proposes adoption of liberal rights and institution which work towards encouraging individuals to engage and subscribe to their appeal without coercion. Consequently, liberalism has enabled growth articulation of individual ideological inclination in state affairs, for example, in legislative process and policymaking. The new development in global politics and current affairs such feminism movement are attributed to the entrenchment of individualism as an essential foundation of national
To define any perspective in International Relations, one must understand its’ origin and primary authors, including the context in which they were writing in. Liberalism is one of the more loosely defined perspectives as it has had a number of authors throughout history. Primarily, liberalism relies on the positive aspects of human nature. One of the most prominent liberal authors was Kant- who often wrote of the anarchical nature of international relations- referring to it as “the lawless state of savagery.” He also wrote of three primary routes to obtaining peace within this system, namely treating all aspects of human life with humanity, allowing for a federation of states and most importantly republican constitutionalism.
Liberalism and democracy are closely tied together in international politics. They have a central bond which brings out the notion of democratic peace. Today much of Latin America and the European Union practices democracy. The chances of these nations getting into an armed conflict are very scarce in today’s standards. Liberalism promotes the idea of human security and equality and democracy reinforces that idea into the political framework of governing bodies and their higher authorities. Liberalism leads to democracy which promotes democratic peace preventing conflict between nations. This article will look at how liberalism leads to democratic peace through the process of creating democracy.