Liberalism Failed

1. Liberalism Failed

2. Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles • This is the War Guilt Article. • Germany was forced to take complete responsibility for WWI • Kriegsschuldfrag • In addition, Germany was supposed to pay 31.5 Billion in reparations.

3. Germany • Germany was seen as THE major cause of the War. • So, Germany was humbled. • Without Germany, the Allies began working on rebuilding their world.

4. Wilson • Woodrow Wilson’s 14 points began an age of Utopianism • Free and beneficial dialogues so that war would never again occur. • Happy Happy, Joy, Joy, right?

6. Britain and France • France wanted to keep Germany weak. • They were a vocal proponent of the harsh measures. • Also, France concluded alliances with the newly created states in Eastern Europe.

7. Britain • Britain had destroyed the German fleet after the war. • Then they turned back the crumbling Empire. • An alliance with France helped to secure any European concerns (France was seen as the continental land power)

8. Germany • Angered, humiliated and seeking revenge, Germany experienced the worst of the depression. • So, Germany began to talk to the Russians. • Russia provided territory and equipment to train the German army. • Germany provided technical assisatnce

9. Strange Bed fellows • Germany and the new USSR shared a major trait: • Both were outcasts in the European system • Nobody wanted to deal with Communists (especially Communists who advocated world wide revolution) • Nobody wanted to deal with the losers of the Great War

10. Marriage made in Heaven • Both Germany and the USSR benefitted from this curious arrangement. • Even as Hitler took power, much emphasis was placed on German/Soviet cooperation and sharing.

11. Trust • The only person Stalin trusted was Hitler. • This lasted until 1941. • The arrangement benefitted Germany the most; the Panzers and Luftwaffe were able to train unwatched and unmolested.

12. Appeasement • Appeasement came about because, simply put, Britain and France wanted to avoid another war. • Concessions were made because of the horrors of World War One. • Hitler was a gambler, and he believed that the Western Allies would not risk war. He was right.

13. Appeasement • The Munich Conference, where Czechoslovakia was broken up, became a symbol of appeasement. • After 1945 Munich was cited by Harry Truman and Eisenhower as the consequences of appeasement.

14. Balance or Collective • The most important question here is why did Collective Security fail? • Is Realism, power, security, war.. All there is? • Did WWII happen because Liberalism failed?

15. False? • States can and do act out of moral conscience. • Public Opinion will help change a state’s mind. • International Law and conventions. • Violating moral norms only comes when other states will not let it.

16. Example • Kosovo • East Timor • Somalia • Tardy and limited (and sometimes failed) but influenced by the influence of morals on foreign policy.

18. After the Cold War • The demise of the Soviet Union enhanced the influence of liberal theories of IR. • Not since the end of WWI had this happened. • Fukuyama “End of History because now liberal democracy has no serious challengers”

19. Triumph • The end of the cold war was supposedly the triumph of the “ideal state” and liberal capitalism. • Democracy was the endpoint of history; no better government could occur.

20. Churchill says: • "Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those others that have been tried." • "The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter."

21. Fukuyama • Francis, “The End of History and the Last Man” • The above idea that democracy is the endpoint. • Interesting, but with problems.

22. First • His claim that the political and economic development ends at liberal-capitalist democracy assumes that Western path to modernity will no longer have to face a challenge like the one posed by Communism.

23. Second • The argument assumes that national and cultural distinctions are no barrier to the triumph to liberal democracy and capitalism.

24. Third • What are the implications of globalization for nation-states and their sovereign powers?

25. Continued • Fukuyama also believes that progress can be measured by the elimination of global conflict and the adaptation of the principles of legitimacy that have evolved over time in domestic political orders.

26. Inside looking out • The spread of legitimate domestic political orders would bring an end to conflict. • Obviously the rise of Islamic militarism proves this wrong, even if it is fleeting. • Neo-realists reject the above view because they believe that in the absence of an over-arching authority, behavior will not be regaulated.

27. Reductionism • Realists accuse Liberal theorists of reductionism • That is, the importance of things like domestic political orders in explaining foreign policy behavior. • Inside-out versus outside-in approach

28. War, Democracy and Free Trade • Peace is a normal state of affairs • Kant: Peace can be perpetual. • War is unnatural and irrational • War is an artificial contrivance • Faith is put into the power of human reason and human potential that war will be eliminated.

30. War is…….bad. • Paine: War was contrived to preserve the power and the employment of princes, statesmen, soldiers, diplomats and armaments manufacturers. • War was a cancer on the body politic. • This was an ailment human could cure

31. Liberal States • Founded on the ideals of individual rights, equality before law, free speech, and civil liberty, liberal states would not have the same appetite for war and conflict. • Peace was merely establishing legitimate domestic orders.

32. Two Themes • Domestic Legitimacy of political institutions • Extent to which liberal states exercise restraint and peaceful intentions in their foreign policy.

33. Use of Force…not approved • Compromise and conflict resolution run through the liberal state.

34. Rawls • John Rawls • Liberal society are also less likely to engage in war with non-liberal outlaw states except on ground of legitimate self defense • And to protect human rights

35. ? • Can cases like Iraq in 2003 and Afghanistan pose challenges to Rawl’s interpretation?

36. War, Obsolete • Some claim that we have already witnessed the obsolescence of war between major powers. • Just like dueling and slavery are seen as unacceptable, so is war going that way. • This was a product of moral learning and a shift in ethical consciousness away from coercive forms of social behavior.

37. Long Peace • The long peace after WWII was a case of optimism for many liberal theorists. • The borders of great powers have weakened somewhat (EU) in their rigidity. • However, the anti-western terror may signal a reverse in this.

38. Realists disagree • Many realists believe that the collapse of bipolarity poses a grave threat. • MAD provided a stabilizing balance of power. • Unipolarity will not last, and will devolve into war and volatility. • In other words, raw power always trumps the zone of peace.

39. Recent Conflicts • Many recent conflict is indeed a reminder that the post- Cold War period was and is volatile. • Most of these are with industrial states and “failed states”

40. Failed State • State that sees a collapse of its institutions and infrastructure. • See: Somalia, Afghanistan, and others.

41. Islamic and East Asia • Doubt can be cast on the idea that democracy is wanted by everybody. • There is doubt on whether the non-European world really wants to accept it unconditionally. • Islamist terror throughout the world is an example. • Will it last, or is it a fleeting thing?

42. Spirit of Commerce • War and commerce were incompatible. • Wilson’s 14 Points tried to remind us of that. • Free Trade was a peaceful means of achieving national wealth. • Free Trade would also break down the barriers between states. • Artificial barriers distorted this, causing international tension.

43. Trade • Kant: Unhindered commerce between the peoples of the world would unite them in a common, powerful enterprise. • David Ricardo: Free trade binds together, by one common tie of interest and intercourse the universal society of nations throughout the civilized world.

44. Free Trade • Liberals have always thought that unfettered commercial exchange would encourage links across frontiers and shirt loyalties away from the nation state. • Benefits of free trade outweighed the costs of territorial conquest and colonial expansion.

45. Interdependence • Free Trade and the removal of barriers is the heart of interdependence theory. • Creating a common interest in trade and economic collaboration result in closer political cooperation. • This means that disputes will be resolved peacefully, not by force.

47. Regional Cooperation • The EU is the best example of interdependence theory in action. • Initial cooperation formed in areas of technical matters. • Then, once this is established, it will “spill over” • Rules compliance at this level weakens state soverignity.

48. Liberal Institutionalism • Cooperation between states can and should be organized and formalized in institutions. • Institutions: Sets of rules which governs state behavior in specific policy areas. • It is acknowledged that such cooperation is likely to be fragile. • Especially where enforcement procedures are weak.

49. Human Rights • Liberal orders believe on upholding the law and the state’s respect of the human rights of its citizens. • If it wrong for a individual to engage in socially unacceptable or criminal behavior, then it is also acceptable for states.

50. Historic texts • Magna Carta- 1215 • English Common Law and the Bill of Rights- 1689 • Declaration of Independence- 1776 • French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen-1789