International Relations – Liberal Theory (2/7)

Summary

Liberalism in international politics emphasizes globalization as the driving force behind state behavior, influenced by economic interests, ideas, and domestic institutions. It contrasts realism by focusing on social and state preferences rather than power distribution. Liberal theory explains cooperation, peace, and war, highlighting factors like democracy and ideological differences. It also addresses international relations, such as Western policy towards China, emphasizing engagement through trade and development. Liberalism provides a comprehensive view of state behavior, adapting to the complexities of global interactions and predicting varied outcomes based on state preferences.

Takeaways

• 🌍 Liberalism views globalisation as the fundamental force in international politics, emphasizing interdependence between groups in different societies.
• 📊 Different groups lobby their governments to regulate globalisation in varied ways, leading to diverse state preferences and actions.
• 🛠 Liberalism is a 'bottom-up' theory where globalisation drives state preferences, which in turn dictate state behaviour.
• 👥 Liberal theories start with individuals and groups in society as the key actors, representing their interests to political entities, typically modern states.
• 💼 Three key liberal theories are commercial, ideational, and republican liberalism, focusing on material interests, ideas, and domestic institutions, respectively.
• 🧩 By combining interests, ideas, and institutions, liberalism provides a comprehensive view of factors influencing state preferences and actions.
• 🌐 Liberal theory excels in explaining cooperative outcomes in the international system, such as the growth of trade organisations like the WTO and the European Union.
• 🕊 Liberalism explains phenomena like the 'democratic peace,' where democracies tend to cooperate and avoid war with each other.
• ⚔ In contrast to realism, which focuses on coercive power, liberalism emphasizes the importance of state preferences, ideologies, and domestic systems in shaping state behaviour.
• 🇨🇳 Liberal theory can be applied to US-China relations, where the main policy approach has been engagement, promoting economic development to encourage peaceful interactions.

Q & A

What is the main focus of liberalism in international politics?

Liberalism focuses on globalization as the fundamental force in world politics, driven by the interdependence between the interests of groups in different societies.

How do groups in society influence government actions according to liberal theory?

Groups in society present their interests to their governments, which then regulate globalization in ways that reflect these demands, leading to varied state preferences and actions.

How does liberal theory differ from realist theory in explaining international relations?

Liberal theory emphasizes the distribution of social and state preferences to explain state behavior, while realist theory focuses on the distribution of coercive power to explain war and peace.

What are the three types of liberal theory mentioned in the script?

The three types are commercial liberal theory (focused on economic interests), ideational liberalism (focused on ideals and beliefs), and republican liberalism (focused on domestic institutions).

How does liberal theory explain cooperative outcomes in international relations?

Liberal theory explains cooperation by predicting conditions under which countries have convergent interests, such as in post-war international trade where countries formed organizations like the WTO to manage global trade.

What is the 'democratic peace hypothesis' in liberal theory?

The democratic peace hypothesis suggests that democracies tend to cooperate and avoid going to war with each other, a phenomenon that liberal theory helps explain.

How does liberalism explain instances where states go to war?

Liberalism predicts that wars are more likely between states with opposed ideologies, such as democratic and non-democratic states, or those with competing religious or political visions.

What is the liberal explanation for US-China relations, according to the script?

Liberal theory explains US-China relations through the Western policy of engagement, which aims to make China more cooperative through economic development, education, and integration into international systems.

Why does the script argue that liberal theory is systemic like realism?

Both liberal and realist theories are systemic because they claim that state behavior is determined by characteristics within the international system. The difference lies in the emphasis: realism focuses on coercive power, while liberalism focuses on social and state preferences.

What critique do some people have of liberal theory's complexity, and how does the script respond to it?

Critics argue that liberal theory is too complicated due to its multiple sub-theories (commercial, ideational, republican). The script responds by asserting that theories should be as complex as the world they study, and liberal theory provides useful, mid-range predictions that explain real-world outcomes.