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Liberal World: the Resilent Order

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Liberal World: the Resilent Order liberal vision of nation-states cooper- Liberal World ating to achieve security and prosperity remains as vital today as at any time in the modern age. In the long course of The Resilient Order history, liberal democracy has hit hard times before, only to rebound and gain Daniel Deudney and ground. It has done so thanks to the G. John Ikenberry appeal of its basic values and its unique capacities to effec tively grapple with ecades after they were suppos- the problems of modernity and edly banished from the West, the globalization. Ddark forces of world politics— The order will endure, too. Even illiberalism, autocracy, nationalism, though the United States’ relative power protectionism, spheres of influence, is waning, the international system that territorial revisionism—have reasserted the country has sustained for seven themselves. China and Russia have dashed decades is remarkably durable. As long all hopes that they would quickly transi- as interdependence—economic, security- WHICH WORLD ARE WE LIVING IN? tion to democracy and support the liberal related, and environmental—continues to world order. To the contrary, they have grow, peoples and governments every- strengthened their authoritarian systems where will be compelled to work together at home and flouted norms abroad. to solve problems or suffer grievous harm. Even more stunning, with the United By necessity, these efforts will build on Kingdom having voted for Brexit and and strengthen the institutions of the the United States having elected Donald liberal order. Trump as president, the leading patrons of the liberal world order have chosen to THE LIBERAL VISION undermine their own system. Across the Modern liberalism holds that world world, a new nationalist mindset has politics requires new levels of political emerged, one that views international integration in response to relentlessly institutions and globalization as threats rising interdependence. But political to national sovereignty and identity orders do not arise spontaneously, and rather than opportunities. liberals argue that a world with more The recent rise of illiberal forces and liberal democratic capitalist states will be leaders is certainly worrisome. Yet it is more peaceful, prosperous, and respect- too soon to write the obituary of liberal- ful of human rights. It is not inevitable ism as a theory of international relations, that history will end with the triumph liberal democracy as a system of govern- of liberalism, but it is inevitable that a ment, or the liberal order as the overarch- decent world order will be liberal. ing framework for global politics. The The recent rise of illiberal forces and the apparent recession of the liberal DANIEL DEUDNEY is Associate Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University. international order may seem to call this school of thought into question. But G. JOHN IKENBERRY is Albert G. Milbank Professor of Politics and International Affairs at despite some notable exceptions, states Princeton University. still mostly interact through well-worn 16 foreign affairs Liberal World All together now: at the G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, July 2017 institutions and in the spirit of self- governments, market-based economic interested, pragmatic accommodation. systems, and international institutions not Moreover, part of the reason liberalism out of idealism but because they believe may look unsuited to the times is that these arrangements are better suited to many of its critics assail a strawman realizing human interests in the modern version of the theory. Liberals are often world than any alternatives. Indeed, in portrayed as having overly optimistic— thinking about world order, the variable even utopian—assumptions about the path that matters most for liberal thinkers is of human history. In reality, they have a interdependence. For the first time in much more conditional and tempered history, global institutions are now neces- optimism that recognizes tragic tradeoffs, sary to realize basic human interests; and they are keenly attentive to the intense forms of interdependence that possibilities for large-scale catastrophes. were once present only on a smaller scale Like realists, they recognize that it is are now present on a global scale. For often human nature to seek power, which example, whereas environmental prob- is why they advocate constitutional and lems used to be contained largely within legal restraints. But unlike realists, who see countries or regions, the cumulative history as cyclical, liberals are heirs to the effect of human activities on the planet’s POOL / REUTERS / POOL Enlightenment project of technological biospheric life-support system has now innovation, which opens new possibilities been so great as to require a new geologic both for human progress and for disaster. name for the current time period—the Liberalism is essentially pragmatic. Anthropocene. Unlike its backward- Modern liberals embrace democratic looking nationalist and realist rivals, July/August 2018 17 Daniel Deudney and G. John Ikenberry liberalism has a pragmatic adaptability democracies turned out to lack the and a penchant for institutional inno- traditions and habits necessary to sustain vations that are vital for responding to democratic institutions. And large flows such emerging challenges as artificial of immigrants triggered a xenophobic intelligence, cyberwarfare, and genetic backlash. Together, these developments engineering. have called into question the legitimacy Overall, liberalism remains perennially of liberal democratic life and created and universally appealing because it rests openings for opportunistic demagogues. on a commitment to the dignity and Just as the causes of this malaise are freedom of individuals. It enshrines the clear, so is its solution: a return to the idea of tolerance, which will be needed in fundamentals of liberal democracy. Rather spades as the world becomes increasingly than deeply challenging the first principles interactive and diverse. Although the of liberal democracy, the current problems ideology emerged in the West, its values call for reforms to better realize them. have become universal, and its champions To reduce inequality, political leaders will have extended to encompass Mahatma need to return to the social democratic Gandhi, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Nelson policies embodied in the New Deal, pass Mandela. And even though imperialism, more progressive taxation, and invest in slavery, and racism have marred Western education and infrastructure. To foster a history, liberalism has always been at the sense of liberal democratic identity, they forefront of efforts—both peaceful and will need to emphasize education as a militant—to reform and end these catalyst for assimilation and promote practices. To the extent that the long arc nation al and public service. In other of history does bend toward justice, it words, the remedy for the problems of does so thanks to the activism and moral liberal democracy is more liberal democ- commitment of liberals and their allies. racy; liberalism contains the seeds of its own salvation. DEMOCRATIC DECLINE IN Indeed, liberal democracies have PERSPECTIVE repeatedly recovered from crises resulting In many respects, today’s liberal from their own excesses. In the 1930s, democratic malaise is a byproduct of the overproduction and the integration of liberal world order’s success. After the financial markets brought about an Cold War, that order became a global economic depression, which triggered system, expanding beyond its birthplace the rise of fascism. But it also triggered in the West. But as free markets spread, the New Deal and social democracy, problems began to crop up: economic leading to a more stable form of capitalism. inequality grew, old political bargains In the 1950s, the success of the Manhattan between capital and labor broke down, and Project, combined with the emerging social supports eroded. The benefits of U.S.-Soviet rivalry, created the novel globalization and economic expansion were threat of a worldwide nuclear holocaust. distributed disproportionately to elites. That threat gave rise to arms control pacts Oligarchic power bloomed. A modulated and agreements concerning the governance form of capitalism morphed into winner- of global spaces, deals forged by the United take-all casino capitalism. Many new States in collaboration with the Soviet 18 foreign affairs Daniel Deudney and G. John Ikenberry Union. In the 1970s, rising middle-class replacing the liberal order with some- consumption led to oil shortages, economic thing significantly different would be stagnation, and environmental decay. In extremely difficult. Despite the high response, the advanced industrial democ- expectations they generate, revolutionary racies established oil coordination agree- moments often fail to make enduring ments, invested in clean energy, and struck changes. It is unrealistic today to think that numerous international environmental a few years of nationalist demagoguery accords aimed at reducing pollutants. The will dramatically undo liberalism. problems that liberal democracies face Growing interdependence makes the today, while great, are certainly not more order especially difficult to overturn. challenging than those that they have faced Ever since its inception in the eighteenth and overcome in these historically recent century, liberalism has been deeply decades. Of course, there is no guarantee committed to the progressive improve- that liberal democracies
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