Class 2 Idealism and Liberalism PDF

Class 2. “Never this again!”, idealist theory and liberalism in international relations. Leading figures: - Alfred Zimmern - Immanuel Kant - Woodrow Wilson - Hugo Grotius - John Locke - Montesquieu - Andrew Moravcsik - Thomas Weiss...

Class 2. “Never this again!”, idealist theory and liberalism in international relations. Leading figures: - Alfred Zimmern - Immanuel Kant - Woodrow Wilson - Hugo Grotius - John Locke - Montesquieu - Andrew Moravcsik - Thomas Weiss - Oran Young - Michael Doyle - Bruce Russett Concepts: - International organisation - International regime - League of Nations - United Nations - Idealism/utopism - Liberalism - Democratic peace theory - Collective security Important dates: - 1918. Woodrow Wilson’s 14 points - 1919. Creation of the League of Nations - 1945. Creation of the United Nations I. Improving the world: the idealist project a. Putting an end to the World War: the use of Philosophy b. The collective security project: the League of Nations II. Two trends of liberalism a. Republican liberalism b. Institutional liberalism I. a. The idealist approach was born right after World War I that traumatized Europe. Idealists’ thinkers decided to invest their energies in studying war and peace, in order for the later to triumph. 1  They used the work done by former philosophers to develop their ideas and conceptions of international relations. With an institutional focus, Hugo Grotius, On the Laws of War and Peace (1625), points out that all individuals need a peaceful social life that has to be protected by the people's law. John Locke, Treaty of Government (1690) proposes to establish a political authority to warrantee the interests of all individuals. With a Republican interpretation, Kant Perpetual Peace (1795), considers that wars are less costly for Kings and Emperors as they do not directly feel the negative externalities of wartime (they usually stay protected, at home, and continue their everyday-lives). To the contrary, the decision to go to war is more difficult to take for citizens of Republican States, as they directly feel the impacts of wars. Each State should promote its own security by adopting a Republican constitution, and by informing its citizens. From an economic perspective, Montesquieu, with many others (Jeremy Bentham for instance) has developed the idea of “doux commerce”, stating that trade progressively brings peace, as it enhances the costs of a potential war. Idealists have trust in human nature and in human reason. They believe in perfectibility and progress. They are optimistic. b. As individuals interacting in a state of nature, States interact in a context of anarchy that can either lead to peace or to war. For idealists, war is not a fatality. It is an anomaly that we have to correct. The League of Nations is an international organization that aims at ensuring collective security. Its creation comes from a proposal by Woodrow Wilson, in a 14-points-speech given on the 8th January 1918 to the American Congress. It uses several proposals from idealists’ thinking, such as disarmament (point 4), the need for a transparent diplomacy (point 1) or self- determination (point 5). The first professorship in International Relations (the W. Wilson’s Chair) was given to Alfred Zimmern who wrote The League of Nations and the Rule of Law. 1918-1935 (1936). He also proposes the creation of an international library. But soon the League of Nations became a forum for discussion, without any clear actions, and the United States will never take part to it. During the interwar period, Germany and Japan (in 1933), and then Italy (in 1937) left the League. World War II indicated the failure of the League and of idealists’ ideas about international relations. Who could still believe in progress and peaceful human nature after what happened during the War? See the technical data sheet of idealism. II. a. Democratic Peace theory is one illustration of Republican liberalism. Michael Doyle, « Liberalism and World Politics », American Political Science Review (1986) and Bruce Russett, Grasping the Democratic Peace (1993). Michael Doyle notices that, since 1945, all interstate conflicts have involved either non-democratic States fighting against each other (Soviet 2  Union-Afghanistan, China-Vietnam, Iran-Iraq, etc.) or democratic States fighting against non- democratic ones (India-Pakistan, North Korea-South Korea, etc.). Russett adds a cultural/normative explanation to the theory (democracies share common values) and stresses the slowness of political decisions. The theory has been modified/instrumentalised by policymakers. Andrew Moravcsik (Princeton University) is another member of the Republican- liberal school of international relations. « The Origins of Human Rights Regimes: Democratic Delegation in Postwar Europe », International Organization (2000). He has studied the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, 1953, negotiated from 1949 to 1950 by the Council of Europe. Most advanced and efficient international regime for the protection of human rights. Can we explain the Convention by its negotiation by democracies? No because the most advanced democracies were the most reluctant to adopt the agreement. To the contrary, young democracies were very active. They wanted to prevent the rise of external threats to their political regimes. Moravcisk signals that more than democracies, it is the political game of national pressure groups that determine political action. Private interest groups are key elements to understand international relations. b. Institutional liberalism is specialised in the study of international institutions. Oran Young is a liberal institutionalist scholar, who extensively worked on environmental treaties. The United Nations were created in 1945. It is established in the continuity of the League of Nations. Its founding fathers also wanted to avoid repeating the same mistakes as they did for the League (Security Council, armed force). Thomas Weiss is a liberal institutionalist specialised in the study of the United Nations. The UN system is made up of a General Assembly, a Security Council, a Secretariat, an Economic and social council, an International Court of Justice (with only declaratory function) and a Trusteeship Council. The aims of the United Nations remind us about the liberal way of thinking about international relations. See the technical data sheet of liberalism. Glossary Idealism/utopian liberalism Idealism in the foreign policy context holds that a nation-state should make its internal political philosophy the goal of its conduct and rhetoric in international affairs. Both within and outside of the United States, American president Woodrow Wilson is widely considered an early advocate of idealism and codifier of its practical meaning; specific actions cited include the issuing of the famous "Fourteen Points". Liberalism 3 The liberal tradition in IR emphasizes the great potential for human progress in modern civil society and the capitalist economy, both of which can flourish in states which guarantee individual liberty. The modern liberal state invokes a political and economic system that will bring peace and prosperity. Relations between liberal states will be collaborative and cooperative. Institutional liberalism Strand of liberalism that picks up on earlier liberal thought about the potential and beneficial effects of international institutions. The earlier liberal vision was one of transforming international relations from a ‘jungle’ of chaotic power to a ‘zoo’ of regulated and peaceful relations. This transformation was to be achieved through the building of international organizations. Present-day institutional liberals are less optimistic than their more idealist predecessors. They do agree that international institutions can make cooperation easier and far more likely, but they do not claim that such institutions can by themselves guarantee a qualitative transformation of international relations, as powerful states will not easily be completely constrained. Republican liberalism Strand of liberalism built on the claim that liberal democracies are more peaceful and law-abiding than other political systems. The argument is not that democracies never go to war; but democracies do not fight each other. This observation was first articulated by Immanuel Kant in the late eighteenth century in reference to republican states rather than democracies. International organizations A stable set of norms and rules meant to govern the behavior of states and other actors in the international system. International regime A set of implicit or explicit principles, norms, rules, and decision-making procedures around which actors' expectations converge’. Democratic peace theory The democratic peace theory posits that democracies are hesitant to engage in armed conflict with other identified democracies. Collective security A security arrangement by which states attempt to prevent or stop wars. Under a collective security arrangement, an aggressor against any one state is considered an aggressor against all other states, which act together to repel the aggressor. 4