Liberalism in International Relations

Course Information

• Course Title: Global Trends
• University: Bahir Dar University
• Department: Political Science and International Studies
• Instructor: Begashaw M. (MA in Political Science)

Key Concepts (Chapter One: Understanding International Relations)

• Nation: A community of people with a shared identity and common social practices. Nations evolve organically from ethnic communities, revealed through myths, legends, and songs. They share a common language, religion, culture, and geographical area. A nation combined with a state is a nation-state.
• Nation-state: Occurs when a nation has its own country and state.
• Country: Geographical entity.
• State: Political entity.
• Nation, state, and country: Words frequently used interchangeably, but they are distinct. Nation is cultural, state is political, and country is geographical. The United Nations comprises states, not nations.

Nationalism

• Causes of nationalism: Inequality, injustice, lack of self-determination, lack of recognition as a distinct group, colonialism, chauvinism.
• Impact of nationalism: Influencing force in international affairs, causing revolutions and wars; a factor in the collapse of empires, creation of new borders, and reshaping regimes. Examples include the break-up of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, the break-up of the Eastern Roman Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, WWI and WWII, and the French and American revolutions.
• Types of nationalism: Liberal nationalism (with liberal sentiments) and aggressive nationalism (with aggressive sentiments). Aggressive nationalism has a strong sense of national determination and the desire for expansion, which manifested in the Scramble for Africa, pan-nationalism in Russia and Germany. Examples of aggressive nationalism: German Nazism and their depiction of the Aryan race.
• Nationalism's role in world wars: Nationalism is seen as a major factor in the outbreak of both World Wars. For example, nationalist-inspired programs of imperial expansion by Germany, Japan, and Italy fueled the build-up to World War II.
• Self-determination: The right to self-determination is acknowledged with the conclusion of WWI in 1918.

Power

• Relational definition: Power is the ability of actor A to get actor B to do something it wouldn't otherwise do. A's influence on B, irrespective of their willingness.
• Material (capability) definition: A measure of power based on attributes that a state possesses, like military strength, Economic development, natural resources, population size and geographical location.
• Sources of power: Military strength, economic development, natural resources, population size, and geographical location.

Anarchy

• Definition: Absence of a global government.
• Implications: Decentralized power, lack of shared institutions, reliance on self-help and alliances.
• International relations system: Decentralized power and self-help are characteristic of international politics.

Sovereignty

• Definition: The ultimate authority within a state's own decision-making process and upholding of law and order.
• Implications: States determine their own form of government, economic systems, domestic and foreign policies, and all issues.
• Internal sovereignty: A state's ultimate authority within its territory.
• External sovereignty: A state's involvement in the international community.

International Relations

• Broadened scope: Traditionally focused on interactions between states but expanded to include multiple entities like international organizations, multinational corporations, societies, and citizens.
• Relations involve: Interactions in politics, economics, culture, and other areas across national boundaries, affecting the world.
• Definition (Prof. Charles Schleicher): Relations among nations, states, and peoples, including interactions between individuals and groups, and these interactions are part of everyday life.

International Relations Field of Study

• Peaceful interactions/conflicts: International relations involve both peaceful interactions and conflicts between different entities.
• Interconnectedness: Interactions happen across territories, nations, and states in various parts of the world.
• Important daily impact: Individual decisions affect global processes in a variety of ways.

Levels of Analysis in International Relations

• Level of analysis: A framework for understanding international relations using different levels like individual (states actions, leaders), State (domestic policy influencing foreign policy), system (international system influences interactions and the balance of power), providing unique interpretations.
• Individual Level: Focuses on behaviors, motivations, beliefs, and perceptions of individuals impacting international relations. Examples: Leaders' personalities or perceptions affecting foreign policy decisions, psychological/emotional considerations.
• State Level: Domestic factors influencing a state's foreign policy actions. Factors like state structure, characteristics, public opinion, economic standing, historical ties, and military capability are included.
• System Level: International system's impact is the focus; the international system's structure, global circumstances, balance of power, polarity systems and global characteristics are considered.

The Structure of International System

• Polarity: Distribution of power among actors in the international system.
• Unipolarity: One dominant state with the greatest political, economic, and military influence.
• Bipolarity: Two dominant states with significant power, often in competition with each other.
• Multipolarity: Multiple states with significant power, often competing and forming alliances. Examples: Unipolarity - Post-Cold War United States, Bipolarity - Cold War, Multipolarity – pre-World War I.

Theories of International Relations

• Liberalism: States are not the only actors, emphasizes cooperation, peacefulness of humans, and the value of international organizations in establishing peace, cooperation, and the desire for collective security through the League of Nations.
• Realism: Focuses on the struggle for power among states in an anarchic system; states as rational actors prioritizing self-interest and security.
• Critical Theories: Offer critiques of conventional approaches for their perceived shortcomings by bringing attention to issues overlooked by other theories, and their disregard for marginalization, oppression, and inequality. Critical Theories include Marxism, Post-colonialism.
• Marxism: Focuses on class structures, power struggles, and the disparity of wealth between wealthy states and poor states in the international system.
• Structuralism: Explores the distribution of power, inequality, and dependency within the global system.
• Postcolonialism: Focuses on the lingering effects of colonialism and power imbalances between states, and it calls for a more diversified and equal global playing field.

Terrorist Groups

• Motivations: terrorism is often driven by political, economic, or social reasons
• Impact: significantly impact international relations by fueling conflicts.

Multinational Corporations (MNCs)

• Role: MNCs influence states and shape international agendas.

Actors in International Relations

• State actors: States play a primary role.
• Non-state actors: International governmental organizations (IGOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and multinational corporations (MNCs) interact as important parts.

Test your knowledge on liberalism in international relations and its key concepts. This quiz covers foundational ideas, significant philosophers, and the implications of liberalism on global peace and organization. Discover how liberal theories shape our understanding of international politics.