International Relations Theory
Nemzetközi Politika Elmélet - 2010. október 7. A liberalizmus. György László egyetemi tanársegéd BME GTK, Pénzügyek Tanszék, Gazdaságpolitika és Gazdaságtörténet Szakcsoport
Monday, November 22, 2010 Basic Vocabulary of Liberalism 1. Positive view of human nature (individuals are self-interested, but... cooperative) 2. Modernization 3. Belief in progress (World War I, II, End of the Cold War = “The end of history?” (Fukuyama, 1989, 1992), 9/11) Robert Keohane: “possibility of Francis Fukuyama John Locke cumulative progress” 4. State as constitutional entity = Rechtsstaat (respect citizens rights to life, liberty and property) (Locke) 5. International law (Jeremy Bentham): it was the rational interests of states to adhere to international law in their foreign policies
Jeremy Bentham 6. Republics will establish perpetual Robert Keohane peace (Kant)
Monday, November 22, 2010 Basic Vocabulary of Liberalism
Classical liberalism FOCUS freedom, peace, progress, cooperation EARLY THINKERS Locke (1632-1704) Bentham (1748-1832) Kant (1724-1804) The rule of law Liberal states respect ‘Republics will international law establish perpetual peace’ Federation of states
Basic liberal assumptions
Human progress Human reason Cooperation
The process of modernization: development of the modern state
Monday, November 22, 2010 Basic Strands of Liberalism
Interdependence Sociological liberalism liberalism
Institutional liberalism Republican liberalism
Monday, November 22, 2010 Sociological Liberalism
• IR is about transnational relations, ‘pluralism’ • Transnationalism (Rosenau): • Security community (Deutsch) • Word Society: ‘Cobweb model’ (Burton) James Rosenau • Sociological liberal macro-level analysis (Rosenau): anarchic system has not disappeared, but a ‘multi- centric world has emerged that is composed of diverse “sovereignity- free collectivities which exist apart from and in competition with the state centric world...’ (more unstable in some respects, but...) Karl Deutsch
Monday, November 22, 2010 The Cobweb Model
“cross- cutting” and overlapping groups
Billiard balls collide Cobweb of groups: conflicts muted
Monday, November 22, 2010 Rosenau’s five principle
Citizens become important variables... in global politics for at least five reasons 1. The erosion and dispersion of state and governmental power 2. The rise of new media, use of computers, growth of foreign travel, and migration and the spread of educational institutions... has enhanced the analytic skills of individuals James Rosenau 3. The rise of global interdependence issues (AIDS, terrorism, environmental pollution) make citizens more active 4. Revolution of information technologies... make possible to follow events 5. Leaders are increasingly becoming followers because individuals are becoming increasingly aware....
Monday, November 22, 2010 Definition
Sociological liberalism: a branch of liberal thinking which stresses that IR is not only about state-state relations; it is also about transnational relations, i.e. relations between people, groups and organizations belonging to different countries. The emphasis on society as well as the state, on many different types of actor and not just national governments, has led some to identify liberal thought by the term ‘pluralism’.
Monday, November 22, 2010 Basic Strands of Liberalism
Interdependence Sociological liberalism liberalism
Institutional liberalism Republican liberalism
Monday, November 22, 2010 Interdependence Liberalism
• Mutual dependence (Rosencrance, 1986, 1995, 1999) • Economic development and foreign trade are more adequate and less costly means of achieving prominence and prosperity • Brute force is no longer the key to success, but highly qualified labour, access to information, and financial capital • Most economically successful countries of the post-war period are the so called ‘trading states’ (Germany, Japan) • High division of labour in the international economy increases interdependence and decreases the risk of war • Functionalist theory of integration (Mitrany, 1966): cooperation should be arranged by technical experts and not by politicians. • Neofunctionalist theory (Haas): integration is not only technical, but political as well. ‘Political actors are persuaded to shift their loyalties...’. ‘Spillover’; One way process
Monday, November 22, 2010 ‘Complex Interdependence’
• Whether integration is best explained by a liberal, neofunctional or realist approach emphasizing national interests • Power and Interdependence (Keohane and Nye, 1977, 2001): post-war ‘complex interdependence’ is qualitatively different from earlier kinds of interdependence Robert Keohane • ‘High politics’ as security and survival vs ‘low politics’ as social and economic affairs are not easily separable anymore 1. Intergovernmental relations on many different levels via many different actors and branches of government 2. Host of transnational relations outside of the state Joseph Nye 3. Military force is less useful
Monday, November 22, 2010 ‘Complex Interdependence’
• IR is becoming more like domestic politics (issues/coalitions) 1. States will pursue different goals simultaneously + NGOs + corporations. 2. Power allocation, resources to specific issue areas. 3. The importance of international organizations will increase, because of small countries.... • Time and space: after the 1950s and in the industrialized, pluralist countries
Monday, November 22, 2010 ‘Complex Interdependence’ Realism or Interdependence • ‘It is not impossible to imagine dramatic conflict or revolutionary change in which the use of threat of military force over an economic issue or among advanced industrial countries might become plausible. Then realist assumptions would again be a reliable guide to events,’ (Keohane and Nye, 1977) • Complex interdependence should supplement realism
Types of international relations REALISM COMPLEX INTERDEPENDENCE States dominant actors and Transnational actors increasingly coherent units important. States coherent units Force usable and effective Military force is less useful. Economic and institutional instruments more useful Military security dominates Military security less important. Welfare the agenda issues increasingly important
Monday, November 22, 2010 Basic Strands of Liberalism
Interdependence Sociological liberalism liberalism
Institutional liberalism Republican liberalism
Monday, November 22, 2010 Institutional Liberalism
• Beneficial effect of institutions (from jungle to zoo) vs realism: mere ‘scraps of paper’ • What is an international institution? International organization, or a set of rule=regime • Behaviouralistic, scientific approach • Scope: number of issue areas • Depth: • Commonality: the degree to which expectations are shared • Specificity: the degree to which expectations are clearly specified • Autonomy: the degree of independence of the institution • Current research: • To collect more data on the existence of regimes • Under what conditions and what mechanisms do regimes come into existence? • Do regimes persist even when the circumstances change? • What are the consequences of regimes for state behavior and problem-solving? • What long-term effects do regimes have on national and international politics?
Monday, November 22, 2010 Institutional Liberalism
The role of institutions
• Provide a flow of information and opportunities to negotiate • Enhance the ability of governments to monitor others’ compliance • Strengthen prevailing expectations about the solidity of international agreements
Monday, November 22, 2010 Institutional Liberalism
A typology of international and transnational organizations
GOAL OF ORGANIZATION
Specific General
Intergovernmental NATO, NAFTA AU (African Union)
Supranational ECSC, EURATOM EU Regional Transnational European Anti- European Movement Poverty Network Intergovernmental WHO, IAEA UN
Supranational IMF (?) - TERMS OF MEMBERSHIP
Universal Transnational Amnesty World Federalist International Association
Monday, November 22, 2010 Basic Strands of Liberalism
Interdependence Sociological liberalism liberalism
Institutional liberalism Republican liberalism
Monday, November 22, 2010 Republican Liberalism • Basic assumption: liberal democracies are more peaceful and law-abiding... • ‘Manifesto’: Perpetual Peace. (Immanuel Kant, 1795) 1. The Civil Constitution of every State shall be Republican (domestic political Immanuel Kant cultures based on peaceful conflict resolution) 2. The Right of Nations shall be based on a federation of Free States (common moral values) 3. Cosmopolitan Right shall be limited to Conditions of Universal Hospitality (Universal Human Rights and Commitments) • Democratic zone of peace
• Transformation in the 1990’s. ‘The evidence is not supportive of any profound optimism’. Why? Continued one sided dependence
Monday, November 22, 2010 Republican Liberalism
• One sided independence (vertical economic ties instead of horizontal) Agrarian subsidies: timing of direct subsidies in Hungary in the transition period
10 100% 30 20 30 75% 30 30 30 50% 30 30 25% 25 30 35 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 2004 2005 0% 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 EU-source National source Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs (www.kum.hu)
Monday, November 22, 2010 Liu Xiaobo Simor András
Monday, November 22, 2010 Rare-Earth production
Monday, November 22, 2010 Neoliberalism and neorealism: the MAINSTREAM • Problem solving paradigms: interested in status quo (so called atlantist researchers)
• Different view points originated from different values
• Same domain, codomain only • Realism: national security • Liberalism: cooperation
• At least see the same world, but from different view points
• System maintainers (neoliberalism and neorealism)
vs system criticizers (structuralism), welfare for all
Monday, November 22, 2010 Neoliberalism
• Shaped by the assumptions of sociological, interdependence, institutional and republican liberalism • Commercial (interdependence) and republican liberalism provide the foundation for current neoliberal thinking in Western governments. These countries promote free trade and democracy in their foreign policy programs. • Roots: examples of atlantic integration • See institutions as the mediator and the means to achieve cooperation. Regimes and institutions help govern a competitive and anarchic international system and they encourage, and at times require, multilateralism and cooperation as a means of securing national interests • Cooperation only when mutual gains achieveable • Belief in absolute gains
Monday, November 22, 2010 Neoliberalism
Coalition of the willing in 2003
Monday, November 22, 2010 The neo-neo debate
Neorealism Neoliberalism International Anarchic. Anarchy put more constraints Anarchic. NRs minimize the System on the state and NLs minimize the importance of international inter- importance of survival as the goal of dependence and regimes state Focus Relative power, security, survival in a Economic welfare, international competitive (and anarchic) international political economy (IPE), environment system International Will not happen unless states make it Easy to achieve in areas where cooperation happen. Hard to achieve, difficult to states have mutual interests maintain, and dependent on state power Gains The fundamental goal of states in Actors with common interests try to cooperative relationships is to prevent maximize absolute gains others from gaining more. (Relative gains) Emphasis Capabilities over intentions and interests Intentions and preferences Institutions Do not mitigate the constraining effects Significant forces in international and regimes of anarchy on cooperation relations, that facilitate cooperation
Monday, November 22, 2010 The neo-neo debate
• Not a debate between two polar opposite worldviews. Common: epistemology, focus on similar questions, agree on number of assumptions about IR. (Realist analytical starting point in many ways) Intra-paradigm debate. • They study different ‘worlds’ of IR. NRs focus on security and military issues. NLs focus on political economy, environmental issues and lately human rights issues. • NRs focus on relative (and absolute gains). NLs on absolute gains • NRs: world is still a competitive place with self-interests, be cautious about cooperation. NLs: states can be persuaded to cooperate if they are convinced that all states will comply and cooperation will result in absolute gains • NR and NL are mainstream theories on mainstream issues. What about inequality; society and domestic politics; ethical and moral issues backed by the society and international networks. What about a less state-centric world?
Monday, November 22, 2010 Weak liberals vs strong liberals
Weak liberals Strong liberals
Anarchy Progressive change with irreversible long- term effects
Restricted role for international institutions Higher standard of living, more peaceful world Democracies won’t turn back to autocracy anymore
States co-existing within the constraints of the War is too expensive, quitting cooperation security dilemma is too expensive
Monday, November 22, 2010 Liberalism and World Order
• Deudney and Ikenberry (1999) - strong liberals 1. Security co-binding 2. Penetrated reciprocal hegemony 3. Semi-sovereign and partial great powers (Germany, Japan) 4. Economic openness 5. Civic identity • These characteristics will survive after the collapse of the Soviet Union as well • Kagan (2003): Power and Paradise: Americans from the Mars, Europeans from the Venus
Monday, November 22, 2010 Liberalism and World Order
• Isaiah Berlin (1969): • Negative liberty vs Positive liberty (health, economic resources, education)
• Liberalism of Restraint vs Liberalism of Imposition (Wilson, Kennedy, Bush, Blair) - wants to go out and forcefully change the world in a liberal direction
Monday, November 22, 2010 The World is Flat
Monday, November 22, 2010