Liberalism

International Relations
Why study a chapter on the liberal
tradition in IR?
How can liberals be optimistic?
Why do they see a more peaceful world down the road?
What are their arguments and beliefs?
Modernity projects a new and better life,
free of authoritarian government, and
with a much higher level of material
welfare
 Modernity projects a new and
better life, free of authoritarian
government, and with a much
higher level of material welfare.

Liberals generally take a positive

view of human nature.
Liberals recognize that individuals are self-
interested and competitive up to a point.

Liberal theorists thus believe that human

reason can triumph over human fear and
the lust for power.
Progress for liberals is
always progress for
individuals.
Classical Liberalism
Basic Liberal Assumtions
Four main strands of thinking:

sociological liberalism
interdependence liberalism
institutional liberalism
republican liberalism
Sociological Liberalism

IR is not only about state–state relations; it is also about

transnational relations,
Transnational relations are important aspect of international
relations.
The transnational relations between people from different
countries help create new forms of human society which exist
alongside or even in competition with the nation-state.
Interdependence Liberalism

Interdependence means mutual dependence: peoples and

governments are affected by what happens elsewhere, by the
actions of their counterparts in other countries.
Basically these liberals argue that a high division of labour in
the international economy increases interdependence between
states, and that discourages and reduces violent conflict
between states.
Types of International Relations
Institutional Liberalism

The international institutions can make cooperation easier and

far more likely, but they do not claim that such institutions can
by themselves guar antee a qualitative transformation of
international relations, from a ‘jungle’ to a ‘zoo'
International institutions are more than mere handmaidens of
strong states
What is an international institution?

Institutional liberals claim that international

institutions help promote cooperation between
states.
Republican Liberalism

Republican liberalism is built on the claim that liberal

democracies are more peaceful and law-abiding than are other
political systems.
Liberal scholar even claims that the assertion that
democ racies do not fight each other is ‘one of the strongest
nontrivial or non-tautological statements that can be made
about international relations
Why are democracies at peace with
one another?
Three elements behind the claim that democracy leads to peace
with other democracies.

The existence of domestic political cultures based on peaceful

conflict resolution.
Democracies hold common moral values which lead to the
formation of what Kant called a ‘pacific union’.
The peace between democracies is strengthened through
economic cooperation and interdependence.
Thank you!