Introduction to Liberalism

Lecture 8

War in the Contemporary State System

“The Culture of Death.”Boutros Boutros-Ghali

(Former Secretary-General of the UN)

How Frequent?

Each year between 1945 and 1988 9 wars with more than 100,000 killed were in progress

What Type of War?

1989-1998

• 192 Nation States in existence (average)

• 107 civil wars were begun in this period

• 10 of these civil wars were “internationalized”

• In 1999, 31 wars underway

Where in the World?

9 out of every 10 wars take place in the Developing World

Wars in Progress, April 2002Africa Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Dem. Republic of

Congo, Sudan, Somalia

South Asia Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, India, Burma, Indonesia, Philippines

Middle East Algeria, Turkey, Iraq, Israel-Palestine

Russia-E. Europe Tajikistan/Kyrgyzstan, Russia (Chechnya), Georgia

Latin America Colombia, Peru

No. America, Western Europe, Japan/Pacific

None

Source: Joshua Goldstein. 2003. International Relations, 5th edition (New York: Longman), page 211.

Question of the Month:

• Peace and Stability in the Advanced Industrialized World.

• War and Instability in Much of the Developing World.

• Why?

Liberalism and International Politics

• Liberalism: A “Global Society” Can Produce Peace in International Politics.

• Liberal Theories of International Politics Have their Roots in Classical Political Theory

• Particularly Important is Immanuel Kant’s Essay “Perpetual Peace’ (1795)

• (also John Locke, Hugo Grotius; Adam Smith; Richard Cobden; Woodrow Wilson).

Central BeliefsCentral Beliefs• Humans Are Corrupted By

Society—No Such Thing as an Inherently “Bad” Person or an Inherently Aggressive Country.

• Anarchy is the Corruptive Force in International Politics.

• Humans Can Improve their Condition By Reforming Political Institutions.

• Countries Can Make War Less Likely By Reducing Corruptive Force of Anarchy.

The 3 Pillars of Liberalism in International Politics

• Democracy

• Economic Interdependence

• International Institutions

The Democratic Peace: Democracies Do Not Fight Wars Against Other Democracies.

Cultural and Norm-Based Explanations

• Practice of Peaceful Conflict Resolution Within Democracies Spills into Relations Between Democracies.

• Respect Right of Self-Determination, Cultural Constraints Against Violence.

Institution-Based Explanations

• Elections and Other Checks and Balances Make Governments in Democratic Societies Less Able to Use Force.

• To Use Force, Gov’t Must Persuade– Legislature– Bureaucracy– Public Opinion

• Constraints Make it Difficult to Use Force Against Democracies

Economic Interdependence

• International Trade and Investment Creates a High Level of Economic Interdependence.

• Economic Interdependence Causes Governments To Redefine their Interests in a Way that Makes War Less Likely.– Too Busy Making Money to Fight– War Too Costly in Economic Disruption

• The Greater is Economic Interdependence, the Less Likely is War.

• Economic Interdependence or Prosperity?

International Institutions

• Provide Political Framework for Peaceful Resolution of Conflict.

• Collective Rule Enforcement• Alter Governments’ Interests

– Make Them Less Insecure– Make Them Less Prone to Militarize Disputes

• Can Provide Information About Government Behavior.

Three Interwoven Strands

• The Three Pillars are Complements, not Alternatives.

• A Global Society Can Emerge From a Dense Network of Economic Relationships Among Democratic Governments that Interact Within a Heavily Institutionalized International System.

• This Global Society Makes War Less Likely by– Providing Fewer Reasons to Fight – Raising the Cost of Fighting– Providing Alternative Means for Conflict Resolution.

Liberalism and Life in the West

• All Countries are Democratic.

• A High Degree of Economic Integration and Prosperity. (Average Income is $26,440)

• Interaction Among these Countries Takes Place in Highly Institutionalized International Environment.

• A “Liberal Peace?”

Liberalism and Life in the Rest of the World

• Non-Democratic or, where Democratic, “New” Democracies.

• Less Economic Integration, More Poverty. (Average Income Ranges from $420 to $4,870)

• Interactions Take Place Within Weak Political Institutions, International and Domestic.

• Lots of War.

A Roadmap

• The “Tragedy” of International Politics: the Liberal Vision.

• The Role of International Organizations• Making Sense of Peace in the West: Realists

versus Liberals.• Making Sense of War in the Rest of the World

– Ethnic Conflict– Focus on Africa– Can anything be done?