Compare and contrast
realist and liberal internationalist approaches to the process
of international organisation.
‘Liberal internationalism’ is a broad term, which
relates to liberal ideas, and encompasses theories such as
liberalism, neoliberalism and neoliberal internationalism
, which is similar to neoliberalism. These theories, however,
cannot all be explored in detail. Therefore, over the course
of this essay, realism and liberalism shall be considered,
in that order. Following this, the extentions of these two
theories, neorealism and neoliberalism shall be discussed.
Neorealism and neoliberalism will be outlined in turn, and
then discussed together, using Baldwin’s six points.
An attempt will be made throughout the essay to outline the
main similarities and differences between the theories. It
should be mentioned at this stage that there is no single
school of thought for any of the theories. There are, however,
common themes running through each of them, and it is on these
that the main part of this essay will be based.......
Liberalism is a direct challenge to realism, as will now
be demonstrated. Liberalism is sometimes referred to as ‘idealism’
or ‘utopianism.’ In the eighteenth century, the
‘Enlightenment project’ was developed. Knutsen
refers to this as “the emergence of a doctrine of natural
law derived from empirical observation of nature and from
individual human reason.” He states that “the
claim that a moral law of nature could be scientifically established,
found its final expression in the Enlightenment project.[1]”
The Enlightenment project was seen to challenge Renaissance
realism, and liberalism is seen by some as an extention of
the Enlightenment project.
In general, liberals believe that people are good, and often
have a ‘harmony of interests.’ However, they can
be manipulated in such a way that they are no longer aware
of this harmony of interests, perhaps by militarists, for
example. Liberals think that the only way to realise this
harmony of interests is to remove possible manipulating forces.
The nation state is seen by liberals as a manipulating force.
They believe that by replacing states with a world government
is a feasible solution. International organisations are believed
to be prototypes of a world government. It is true to say
that international organisations can create a spirit of cooperation
and help states to realise their common interests. Liberals
believe that international organisations are an independent
force facilitating cooperation.
The League of Nations is a good example of these points. Although
it failed, the League did lend itself to a spirit of cooperation.
Its members did indeed have similar interests, primarily because
none of them wanted to see another war break out. The League
was, on the whole, built on ‘idealist’ principles,
mainly put forward by Wilson. The general consensus was that
if reason was allowed to prevail, then cooperation would be
possible. Morgenthau states: “Since all men partake
of reason, they must sooner or later meet on common ground,
discovering that their conflicts are apparent rather than
real.” [2]
- Knutsen, T.J. A history of International
Relations Theory, second edition, p.225. Manchester University
Press, 1997. [Return]
- Morgenthau, H. Politics Among
Nations, sixth edition, p.42. NY: McGraw-Hill, 1985.[Return]
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