International Relations TheoryA New Introduction

Chapter 3The Liberal International Theory Tradition

IntroductionFive characteristics of liberal thought:

Strong faith in human reason Belief in possibility of historical progress & reforming

international relations Focus on state-society linkages & the claim of a close

connection between domestic institutions & politics/ international politics

Claim: Increasing economic interdependence among states reduces occurrence of conflict & war

Arguments about the positive effect of processes of institutionalizing international relations

GenealogyEarly 20th century – key concepts and arguments:

War does not benefit anybody – N. Angell (1913) International anarchy - G.L. Dickinson (1916) First major instances of liberal institutionalism League of Nations Collective Security

Since Second World War D. Mitrany (1943) A Working Peace System Regional integration; multilateral institutions; cooperation under

anarchy Theorizing non-material structures thoroughly

Currents of Liberal Thought Interdependence Liberalism

R. Keohane and J. Nye (1977) Power and Interdependence

Republican Liberalism I. Kant (1795/ 1983) The Perpetual Peace

Neoliberal Institutionalism R. Keohane

Kinds of Liberal Theory Underpinned by normative engagement American liberals: Behavioural revolution & claim

scientific status for their own perspective

In 1980s liberal thinking & game theory R. Axelrod (1984) The Evolution of Cooperation R. Keohane (1984) After Hegemony

Rationalist underpinnings A. Moravcsik´s liberal intergovernmentalism (1998)

Combination of constructivist meta-theory & liberal substantive theory A. Wendt (1999) Social Theory of International Politics

Main Variants of TheoriesDemocratic Peace Theory

Democracies do not fight wars among themselves ( I. Kant - 18th century)

F. Fukuyama (1992) : The End of History and the Last Man

Transnational Theory

Look beyond state-state relations society-society relations are equally important to world politics

K. Kaiser (1969) R. Keohane and J. Nye (1971) J. Rosenau (1980, 1990), K.

Deutsch (1957), J. Burton (1972)

T. Risse-Kappen (1995)

Main Variants of TheoriesTheory of Cooperation

A. Wendt (1999) Social Theory of International Politics

Wendt´s ambition to build a systemic theory emphasizing social rather than material structures

Liberal Intergovernmentalism

A. Moravcsik´s (1998) theoretical framework synthesizing theories of domestic preference formation, strategic bargaining & institutional design

Main Intra-Tradition Debates Neoliberal Institutionalism vs. Liberal Democratic

Peace Theory & versions of Commercial Liberalism

Liberalism/ Adherents of Democratic Peace Theory vs. Idealism

Liberal version of Rationalism vs. Constructivism

Research Agenda International institutions & organizations, see

F. Kratochwil, J.Ruggie (1986); R.Keohane (1989)

Multilateralism, see J.Ruggie (1993)

Democratic Peace Theory & democratization processes

International cooperation international regimes

Merger between transnationalist perspective with studies of globalization/ studies of economic and political processes of globalization

Conclusion Very rich tradition of thought

The liberal vision to establish a new academic discipline = International Relation

Three major strands

Some liberals = strongly state-centric

Liberalism has its ups and downs