Democracy and the Global System A Contribution to the Critique of Liberal Internationalism Fabian Biancardi Democracy and the Global System Democracy and the Global System A Contribution to the Critique of Liberal Internationalism Fabian Biancardi Assistant Professor of Political Science, Riverside Community College, California, USA © Fabian Biancardi 2003 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2003 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 Companies and representatives throughout the world PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 1–4039–1777–9 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Biancardi, Fabian 1963– Democracy and the global system: a contribution to the critique of liberal internationalism / Fabian Biancardi. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1–4039–1777–9 (cloth) 1. Democracy. 2. Globalization. 3. Internationalism. 4. Liberalism. I. Title. JC423.B433 2003 321.8—dc21 2003054915 10987654321 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 Printed and bound in Great Britain by Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham and Eastbourne To Teri and the girls Contents Abstract x Acknowledgements xi Preface xii Introduction 1 Democracy and the global system 4 Liberal internationalism and the spread of democracy 4 Liberal internationalism and the end of the Cold War 7 Conceptualising the global system 9 Conceptualising democracy 15 Methodology 16 1 Barrington Moore’s ‘Social Origins’ and the Global System 20 Introduction 20 The basic argument of the text 21 Theorising democracy 22 The historical actors 23 The original transition 24 Theoretical implications 26 Conditions favourable and unfavourable to democracy 28 Criticisms 36 Conclusion 38 2 Karl Polanyi, Democracy and the Global System 40 Introduction 40 The ‘double movement’ 40 Structure and agency in the ‘double movement’ 42 Self-regulating market utopia 45 Domestic and international institutions of the self-regulating market 46 Opposition to market society in England/Britain 48 Democracy and working-class opposition to self-regulation in Britain 50 Uneven and combined development and democracy 52 vii viii Contents Agrarian protection in Europe 53 Working-class protection in Europe 55 Middle-class protection in Europe 56 Imperialism and the double movement 60 The international political consequences of the double movement in the nineteenth century 62 ‘World-historical-time’, liberalism and the twentieth century 64 Criticisms: a post-liberal order? 66 Conclusion 67 3 Joseph Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism, Democracy and the Global System 69 Introduction 69 Schumpeter’s analysis of the direction of capitalism 70 Schumpeter’s theory of democracy 73 The consequences of democracy 77 Democracy and the capitalist order 78 Conditions for the success of the democratic method 81 Criticisms 92 Conclusion 93 4 Samuel Huntington, Political Order and the Global System 95 Introduction 95 Objectives of text 95 Huntington’s thesis: modernity versus modernisation 97 Aspects of modernisation: social mobilisation and economic development 99 Social modernisation and political change in traditional polities 104 Historic routes to political modernity: Continental, British and American 106 The city–country gap: ‘urban breakthroughs’ and ‘Green Uprisings’ 111 Political stability: civic and praetorian polities 114 Huntington’s theory of the state and the political community 119 Modernisation and revolution 122 Reform and political change 125 Modernisation and corruption: politically functional? 128 The global system and the prospects for democracy 131 Conclusion 134 Contents ix 5 David Held’s ‘Democracy and the Global Order’ 136 Introduction 136 Democracy and the global order 137 The rise of liberal democracy 139 War and militarism: the first ‘macro-pattern’ 142 The development of capitalism: the second ‘macro-pattern’ 145 Liberal democracy and citizenship: the third ‘macro-pattern’ 149 Globalisation and the challenges to democracy 151 Disjuncture 1: international law 155 Disjuncture 2: internationalisation of political decision-making 156 Disjuncture 3: hegemonic powers and international security structures 161 Disjuncture 4: national identity and the globalisation of culture 163 Disjuncture 5: the world economy 165 Disjuncture 5 (continued) 174 Assessment of text 183 Conclusion 184 Conclusion 186 Introduction 186 Liberal internationalism and the case studies 187 Democracy and the global system: a framework for analysis 193 Conclusion 209 Notes 211 Bibliography 242 Index 249 Abstract This study seeks to analyse the relationship between the global system and democratic governance. While much has been written in recent times about the impact that democratic states have on the global sys- tem, the question of whether the global system promotes, hinders or is in contingent relation to the institutionalisation of democracy has not been theorised to the same extent, especially within the discipline of International Relations (IR). The central hypothesis is that forms of state, democratic and non-democratic, are not simply a consequence of domestic processes and forces – cultural/ideological, economic, political – but also of international ones. This is not to deny the impor- tance of domestic contexts but to place these within the larger context of the global system and to analyse their dynamic interrelations. The structure of the thesis takes the form of evaluation, critique and comparison of texts that to some extent have dealt with questions con- cerning international causes of socio-economic, political and cultural change in a wider social context than is usually found in mainstream IR literature. These are as follows: 1. Barrington Moore Jr., Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy 2. Karl Polanyi, The Great Transformation 3. Joseph Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy 4. Samuel Huntington, Political Order in Changing Societies 5. David Held, Democracy and the Global Order Beyond the arguments of the specific authors, a critique of liberal inter- nationalism is attempted – a potentially significant interpretation of the global system, of democracy and of their interrelations. Finally, the con- cluding chapter seeks to elaborate a coherent framework for analysing the complex relations and salient variables established in the five main chap- ters and to provide a basis upon which to conclude whether indeed the global system may be said to promote or hinder the institutionalisation of democracy within states. x Acknowledgements The research and writing of a book of this nature can be a long, and at times, quite solitary endeavour. The support and encouragement of one’s colleagues, friends and family can consequently become a critical factor in its evolution and completion. I have been privileged with an abundance of such sustenance. First, I would like to extend my gratitude to Richmond, The American International University in London for their support throughout the 11 years of my tenure there. A particular debt is owed to Wolfgang Deckers, my closest Richmond colleague and dear friend, for supporting my every step from the earliest stages of my academic career – from before I even knew I was to embark upon one. I’d also like to thank John Otterpohl, former history and social science teacher at the American School in London, for nurturing my love of teaching and for providing encouragement, guidance and, occasionally, the prodding necessary for me to do the right thing. My participation in his meticulously organised study-tours to Vietnam, Cuba and South Africa gave me a rare opportunity to see first-hand the reality of some of my earliest political ideals as well as delusions. As anyone who reads this book or who has shared any significant time with me will know, the intellectual debt I owe to London School of Economics Professor Fred Halliday, my doctoral supervisor, is immense. He has been and remains an inspirational teacher and model scholar to countless students and fellow academics and I am indeed honoured to be able to count myself among both of these. Many thanks are due also to Professors David Held and Andrew Linklater for their unanimity in diagnosing some of the central problems with an earlier draft of this work and for their clear suggestions as to how best to deal with them. The responsibility for all those that remain is mine alone. I wish