Liberal Challenge Research Articles

The Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime as a “Failed Promise”: Contestation and Self-Undermining Dynamics in a Liberal Order

Abstract The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) forms the core of the most prominent multilateral security governance regime of the liberal international order (LIO). Despite being a widely supported and remarkably successful security regime to prohibit the spread of nuclear weapons, NPT politics have become increasingly polarized. In this article, I analyze contestation and self-undermining dynamics in the nuclear regime. The NPT is a strongly institutionalized but weakly liberal regime. However, it is unevenly institutionalized. Patterns of contestation in the regime derive from these characteristics. The basic source of contestation is the fundamental inequality between the nuclear “haves” and “have-nots.” Specifically, dissatisfied states seek to strengthen the rules and obligations in the less institutionalized domain. I argue that when efforts at order-consistent reform fail, states shift to a more radical strategy of liberal counter-institutionalization to pursue their goal of equality. Nonnuclear states have long been dissatisfied with the uneven distribution of the burdens and benefits of the regime, and especially the nuclear-armed states’ failure to pursue their obligation of disarmament. Most of the contestation in the NPT over the decades has been order-consistent and pursued “liberal reform.” However, when proponents of nuclear disarmament failed to achieve meaningful progress through the NPT, they shifted to a liberal counter-institutionalization strategy and adopted an entirely new legal instrument, the 2017 Nuclear Prohibition Treaty, to pursue disarmament. This was a direct—but liberal—challenge to the existing suborder. This treaty, which prohibits nuclear weapons for all, legalizes the NPT obligation to pursue disarmament.

Agricultural Land Market in Ukraine: Challenges of Trade Liberalization and Future Land Policy Reforms

After over 20 years of a strict moratorium on the turnover of agricultural land in Ukraine, an official market for this type of land has recently been established. The purpose of this study was to examine the functioning of the fundamental elements of this market from the moment of its introduction on 1 July 2021 until today, as well as to understand the possible directions for its further development. The analysis of the agricultural land market and the visualization of the obtained results were carried out using the PostgreSQL database, Python and SQL programming languages, and the QGIS and Metabase tools. It was found that the volume of the agricultural land market remains insignificant, as the total area of sold land during this period made up only 0.7% of the arable land area of Ukraine. Prices for land plots remained at the level of their normative monetary value and are still relatively low, which indicates the significant undercapitalization of agricultural land as a production factor. The stability of agricultural land prices under the influence of various factors also indicates their relative virtuality, which, taking into account the further lifting of restrictions on the size of land plots to be sold as of 1 January 2024, requires the use of appropriate land policy instruments in order to fully utilize the multipurpose role of land in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, which should be based on a human-rights-based approach to rural development, food security, and land policy.

Building Legal Foundation for a Prosperous Indonesia: Insights from MPR-RI Four Pillars

<div class="WordSection1"><p><em>Indonesia is a state that openly engages with the opportunities and challenges of global economic liberalization. Several issues arise when international legal interventions clash with the identity, values, and interests of indonesian nation. Therefore, this study aimed to strengthen the national foundation in facing globalization and and ushering in a prosperous era for Indonesia. This doctrinal study was conducted using a conceptual approach, with the perspective regarding the role of law in economic development. It also examined the importance of robust legal foundation to maintain national stability in the midst of global economic changes. The results showed that national legal development was crucial to realizing aspirations for unity, sovereignty, justice, and prosperity. Four pillars of MPR-RI could serve as a guide for every citizen to foster nationalism in the midst of rapid globalization. Furthermore, the spirit of legal foundation in four pillars could guide the formulation of national policies that accommodated global interests without forsaking the identity, values, and interests of indonesian nation. The idea of four pillars was also developed as the basis for the philosophy of national economic legal development. The results were expected to guide all stakeholders in constructing economic law in Indonesia, thereby achieving prosperity for the entire population.</em><em></em></p></div><p><em><br clear="all" /></em></p>

In Defense of Moderation

Many of us believe that if some acts wrongly out of culpably ignorance, they are morally blameworthy to some degree. I offer a defense of this view against the powerful "Liberal Challenge" to the position. My defense proceeds by arguing that facts about a given agent's quality of will can play a different explanatory role in the larger theory of blameworthiness and the structure of exculpation than is often assumed.

How (Not) To Wrong Others with Our Thoughts: A Liberal Challenge Against the Possibility of Doxastic Wronging

In recent years, a number of authors have claimed that we can wrong each other simply by having certain beliefs—in particular sexist, racist, ableist etc. beliefs—about each other. So far, those who argue for the possibility of so-called doxastic wronging have tried to defend this idea by focusing on issues of doxastic control and coordination. In this paper, I raise a distinctly moral challenge against the possibility of doxastic wronging. I show that the idea of doxastic wronging runs afoul of the liberal principle according to which all moral obligations have to be justifiable vis-à-vis those they presume to bind. In addition, I argue that there is a better way to account for the fundamental intuition driving the debate: instead of assuming the possibility of doxastic wronging and the morally grounded epistemic duty it implies, we should conceptualize what is morally problematic about bigoted beliefs in terms of the harm they constitute for their targets.

Current challenges of agricultural trade liberalisation between Ukraine and the EU

Agriculture is the main specialisation of Ukraine in the international arena, which is associated with its geographical features and relatively inexpensive labour. Despite this, it remains relevant to find opportunities for the development of this industry in the country through the use of all available methods. The purpose of the study is to describe the current challenges that arise in the trade relations between these subjects of international entities. This paper examines how the situation in the agricultural sector can be improved by liberalising trade between Ukraine and the European Union. The main methods used are analysis, prediction, abstraction, and deduction. Within the framework of this study, trends in trade in agricultural products between Ukraine and the European Union are evaluated. The paper establishes that this union became the largest Ukrainian trading partner after the outbreak of war. This was caused both by actions on the part of the European Union in support of Ukraine and by the blockade of seaports, which limited the country's export options to only the land route. The study describes the features of changes in the structure of external trade between the unions in the agricultural sector and proposes specific methods to address existing issues in international interactions between countries to better understand the specific features of economic relations between Ukraine and the European Union. In addition, the study includes recommendations on how to improve relations between these subjects of international relations in the future and solve the difficulties that still exist between them in the trade in agricultural products.

The settler-rights backlash: understanding liberal challenges to Indigenous self-determination

ABSTRACT In the archetypal settler-colonial states of the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, Indigenous peoples have joined the ‘rights revolution’, pressing for self-determination. They have been met by a ‘settler-rights backlash’, contraposing settler and Indigenous rights. This article makes two contributions. First, it presents a scoping study of settler-rights challenges in Anglo-settler states, revealing the extent and means of the settler backlash. Second, working within mainstream Anglo-settler political theory, it theorizes settler-rights challenges, exploring what liberal principles settlers invoke, what Indigenous protections they impugn, and what contrapositions of rights ensue. This article shows settlers invoke the liberal principle of universalism to impugn Indigenous sovereignty, the liberal principle of individualism to impugn differentiated citizenship, and the liberal principle of egalitarianism to impugn Indigenous decision-making and territorial control. In doing so, this article reveals the normative dynamics and internal contradictions of settler-rights challenges. By showing the extent, dynamics and contradictions of such challenges, it is hoped to help public decision-makers better understand and resolve them.

From Professionalisation and Normalisation to Genealogy and Realism: The Challenge of Liberalism in Contemporary Political Theory

This essay seeks to characterise and explain a specific pattern in professional political theorising over the last five decades. The paper does not seek to offer a stipulative or philosophical definition of the activity and nor can it offer a full historical or political sociological analysis of the activity in the context of academic institutions in the Anglophone world. Instead it provides a high-level overview of a particular pattern of development in the activity of political theory as exemplified in core outputs such as monographs, journal articles and essays as a way of explicating some perennial dynamics in the discipline that could be given a more extended historical and sociological explanation. That pattern is illustrated in the initial quest for professionalisation and institutional normalisation which has a tendency towards presenting the subject of study as converging on a broadly liberal agenda. This dominant liberal paradigm in turn has been challenged by the recent development of genealogical analyses of the contemporary intellectual history of political theory and the rise of political realism as attempts to sustain a common subject of enquiry that does not collapse into the endorsement of a liberal vision of ‘the political’. This dialectic, which centres on the problem of liberalism, is the key to understanding the fundamental dynamic of Anglophone political theory as an institutional practice as well as a body of ideas, principles and values.

The Prospects and Challenges of Economic Liberalization in Reducing Poverty and Inequality in Indonesia

This article discusses whether economic liberalisation policies have succeeded in alleviating poverty and inequality in Indonesia. In addition, this article aims to provide alternative policies to strengthen Indonesia’s bargaining position in international trade forums by shifting the extractive industry to knowledge-based industries and fixing the fragile social protection system when faced with COVID-19. This article is written descriptively and analytically based on various data, such as literature, planning documents, news reports, and other sources. Despite the prospect of economic liberalisation, the findings show Indonesia has three main problems: statistical data that does not reflect reality, overlapping regulations, and weak governance. This article offers several policy recommendations that need improvement based on the “Going for Growth” framework. 
 Keywords: economic liberalisation, poverty alleviation, inequality, social protection, and going for growth 
 
 Tulisan ini mendiskusikan apakah kebijakan liberalisasi ekonomi berhasil dalam pengentasan kemiskinan dan ketimpangan di Indonesia. Selain itu, tulisan ini bertujuan untuk memberikan alternatif kebijakan dalam rangka memperkuat posisi tawar Indonesia dalam forum perdagangan internasional dengan menggeser industri ekstraktif ke industri berbasis pengetahuan, sekaligus membenahi sistem perlindungan sosial yang rapuh ketika dihadapkan pada COVID-19. Tulisan ini ditulis secara deskriptif dan analitis berdasarkan dukungan dari berbagai data, seperti literatur, dokumen perencanaan, laporan berita, dan sumber lainnya. Meskipun terdapat prospek dari liberalisasi ekonomi, temuan menunjukkan bahwa Indonesia memiliki tiga masalah utama: data statistik yang tidak mencerminkan realitas, regulasi yang tumpang tindih, dan lemahnya tata kelola pemerintahan. Tulisan ini menawarkan beberapa rekomendasi kebijakan yang perlu ditingkatkan berdasarkan kerangka berpikir “Going for Growth”. 
 Kata kunci: liberalisasi ekonomi, pengentasan kemiskinan, ketimpangan, perlindungan sosial dan going for growth

Competitiveness framework of local contractors in the Malaysian construction industry towards globalisation and liberalisation

In Malaysia, one of the main challenges of the Internationalisation Thrust under Construction Industry Master Plan (CITP) 2016-2020 is an increasingly competitive local market, especially with the presence of foreign players as a result of globalisation and liberalisation. Apart from specialised and highly technical projects, foreign players are also increasingly gaining various types of projects in Malaysia. The gradual increase in foreign investors’ market share over the last few years indicate the need to enhance the capabilities of local players to remain competitive. Competitiveness frameworks formulated at the nation or industry level in previous studies were mainly focused on the macro level with limited studies measuring the contractor’s competitiveness at the firm level. Therefore, the development of a competitiveness framework at the firm or micro-level for local contractors in the Malaysian construction industry is required. This paper aims to appraise the competitiveness of local contractors towards globalisation and liberalisation in Malaysia. The objective of this paper is to develop a competitiveness framework for local contractors towards globalisation and liberalisation. This framework consists of five variables namely, competitiveness awareness of local contractors, factors contributing to the competitiveness of local contractors, drivers of competitiveness among local contractors, challenges among local contractors in the Malaysian construction industry in competing with local and foreign contractors and competitive strategies of local contractors in competing with local and foreign contractors. The partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was employed to develop the competitiveness framework consisting of five variables. Four variables namely, competitiveness awareness, competitiveness factors, drivers of competitiveness and competitive strategy shared a direct relationship. Meanwhile, challenges of competitiveness reported an indirect relationship with competitive strategy. This paper addresses the Internationalisation Thrust under CITP 2016-2020 to increase the competitiveness of the domestic market. The competitiveness framework developed in this paper serves as a guideline for local contractors in raising their competitive advantage amid the challenges of globalisation and liberalisation.

The Crisis of Global COVID-19 Governance and the Challenge of Liberalism From Error-Tolerantism

The Crisis of Global COVID-19 Governance and the Challenge of Liberalism From Error-Tolerantism

III. Pastor Aeternus, Liberalism, and the Limits of Papal Authority

Two dogmatic constitutions from the First Vatican Council, Dei Filius and Pastor Aeternus, are worth revisiting today. These documents were in part a response to the challenge of liberalism. Although such a retrieval of the wisdom of Dei Filius and Pastor Aeternus is necessary as a means of protecting Christ's revelation, this is not sufficient. The doctrine of Pastor Aeternus should also be developed to make more clear the limits of papal authority.

Soft Balancing, Institutions, and Peaceful Change

AbstractAs part of the roundtable “International Institutions and Peaceful Change,” this essay examines the role of institutional soft balancing in bringing forth peaceful change in international relations. Soft balancing is understood as attempts at restraining a threatening power through institutional delegitimization, as opposed to hard balancing, which relies on arms buildup and formal alignments. We argue that soft balancing through international institutions can be an effective means to peaceful change, spanning minimalist goals, which aim at incremental change without the use of military force and war, and maximalist goals, which seek more profound change and transformation in the form of continuous interstate cooperation aimed at a more peaceful and just world order. However, the success of soft-balancing strategies in fostering peaceful change varies widely, even in today's globalized and institutionalized international environment. We explore these variations and identify three conditions for success that can inform both academic analysis and political practice: inclusion, commitment, and status recognition. We draw lessons from two historical examples: the Concert of Europe in the early nineteenth century and the League of Nations in the early twentieth century, and discuss how current threats to the liberal international order challenge soft balancing for peaceful change.

Take a Stand or Keep Your Seat: Board Turnover after Social Activist Challenges

While prior work shows that a firm’s market performance affects its directors’ loyalty, little is known about how a firm’s social values and perceived social responsibility affect directors’ willingness to serve. In this project, we shed light on this question by exploring how social movement boycotts that challenge a firm’s social responsibility affect the loyalty of board members. We find that boycotts do provoke significant increase in turnover at targeted firms. Further, we show that directors are especially likely to leave when a boycott signals that the firm’s social values conflict with their personal values. Specifically, we find that an ideological match between a board member and the activist challengers predicts exit: liberals are more likely to leave after liberal challenges and conservatives are more likely to leave after conservative challenges. Moreover, we show that turnover is consistent with the rigidity of the right hypothesis in political psychology: conservatives, as compared to liberals, are more prone to entrenchment when their firms faces challenges from the opposition. Our study offers strong evidence that corporate social performance matters to corporate directors and provides insights into the manner in which contentious crises affect the motivation of corporate insiders.

Maritime Transport Services in ASEAN-China Free Trade Area-Liberalization and Challenges

Maritime transport, as an international transportation, plays an imperative role in global trades. At present, the negotiation on maritime transport sector faces with difficulties. This brief article tries to indicate the challenges of maritime service trade liberalization in CHINA-ASEAN free trade area; to find out the ways to promote maritime trade liberalization.

Preparedness for ASEAN Economic Community (AEC): a case study of Malaysian SME manufacturing sector

PurposeThe ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) initiative poses both significant opportunities and difficult challenges to the Malaysian SME communities. This study aims to investigate the preparedness of the local SMEs to compete and exploit opportunities in a post-AEC era. The aim is to contribute to existing literature and knowledge base on SMEs’ practices in the ASEAN region. The manufacturing sector has been selected for study, and the research efforts focus on procurement competencies. SME procurement practices in the two largest manufacturing sub-sectors in Malaysia – resource-based (RB) and electrical and electronics (E&E) – are explored.Design/methodology/approachPreparedness for AEC is gauged from four key performance areas summarized from literature review. Six key research activities are also identified for each performance area from the findings of previous works. Data were collected using a survey instrument and face-to-face interviews. Research methodology is primarily qualitative with quantitative data for robustness check.FindingsThe findings reveal peculiar procurement practices in Malaysian SME manufacturers that have significant implications on their preparedness to compete effectively post-AEC. The findings also highlighted the key influences that have contributed to variations in Malaysian SMEs’ attitude toward trade liberalization challenges and business process improvements in comparison with practices in foreign firms and more advanced economies.Originality/valueTheoretical models have been adopted across business settings and environments by managers. This study reveals managerial practices in Malaysian SME manufacturers run counter to developed theories. The peculiarities and business attitudes of this resilient economic sector can be an important input to managerial decision-making when analyzing business activities in the region.

Challenges of liberalization for natural monopolies: Ukrainian railways

The article examines the approaches to transport policy at the state level, the particularities of the liberal approach and the specifics of the current liberalization processes in the rail transportation markets in Ukraine. Purpose of the study. To consider the main challenges facing the Ukrainian railways in the context of liberalization of the freight transportation markets, passenger transportation, locomotive traction and liberalization of access to infrastructure. Objectives of the study. The main tasks are: 1) to analyze the main approaches to regulation of the transport sector at the state level; 2) determine the role of the state in the implementation of liberalization policies; 3) to generalize the development of the liberalization processes at the present stage in the railway transport sector in Ukraine. Methods of research. The article uses structural-logical, economic-statistical and economic-mathematical methods, as well as comparative analysis, a graphical method. Results of the study. The analysis of the main approaches to regulation of the transport sector at the state level has been carried out. The necessity of combining the principles of paternalistic and liberal approaches in the combined transport policy is determined. A historical review of the process of reforming railways in Ukraine in the context of the theory of the stages of the life cycle of natural monopolies is carried out. The experience of development of the process of liberalization in the market of freight traffic is generalized. The necessary investments in the transport sector and railway transport in particular have been assessed. Scope of application of the results. Scientific results can be used and have been used by the Ministry of Infrastructure, implementing the state policy in the field of transport. Conclusions. Among the two polar approaches to transport policy, namely full non-interference or liberalization of the transport sector and a paternalistic approach, presupposes strict regulation of tariffs and a uniform form of ownership, the combined approach looks like an alternative in modern conditions, in which the principles of liberal (for commercial activities and tariffs) and paternalistic approaches. The choice of its application is confirmed, first of all, by the world practice of public administration in the transport sector. At the same time, the development of a competitive environment in the field of rail freight traffic in Ukraine will depend on the following factors: the introduction of EU railway directives, which are spelled out in the Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine of 2014; the subsequent separation of regulated and unregulated activities (the monopoly sector from potentially competitive) in the organizational and economic sense. After all, while the actual definition of the sphere of freight transportation as a competitive sector, Ukrzaliznytsya, as the owner of the infrastructure, enjoys unlimited powers with respect to other business entities in this market. It is necessary: reorganization of potentially competing segments; the establishment of civil liability of all market participants, as well as the conditions for their interaction; bringing the investment process in line with market requirements; improving the mechanism for setting tariffs for transportation and the adoption of the rules for non-discriminatory access to infrastructure.

Al-Tawassut waal-I‘tidal: Menjawab Tantangan Liberalisme dan Konservatisme Islam

The purpose of this paper is to explain al-tawassut wa al-i‘tidal in answering the challenge of Islamic liberalism. The presence of Islamic liberalism is seen by Islamic fundamentalism as a notion that prioritizes rationality and beyond the teachings of Islam in understanding the texts of the Qur’an. On the contrary, Islamic liberalism views Islamic fundamentalism as too restrained in the freedom of thought to eliminate the reasoning capabilities that God gives to humans. Through historical analysis and phenomena occurring in the religious life of Muslims, this paper explains the important role of understanding al-tawassut wa al-i‘tidal as the middle path of religion. Moderate (wasatiyah) covers various as- pects: religiosity, spirituality, intellectuality, appearance, attitude, behavior, rela- tions and activities of Muslims in the contemporary era. Various aspects of life must be understood by multi-knowledge in order to avoid ultra-liberal thinking and extremist interpretation. Al-tawassut wa al-i‘tidal is an interpretation of the Qur’an (Surat al-Baqarah: 143) and the hadith of the Prophet for Muslims to be “balance and justice”. In addition, altawassut wa al-i‘tidal combines the “tradi- tions” (al-muhafazah) and “tajdid” (al-akhzu).This paper concludes that al-tawassut wa al-i‘tidal educates Muslims to be tolerant, just, democratic, and not self-righ- teous. If every Muslim understands Islam “moderately” and “justly”, so the truth claim will not happen and ummatan wasat}an will be realized.This paper, theo- retically, is expected to contribute a comprehensive- constructive knowledge in understanding Islamic religious texts. Likewise, practically, the arguments and analysts of this paper become the reference for every ism in Islam to be balanced and justice in religion.

Liberalism, Civil Marriage, and Amorous Caregiving Dyads

AbstractRecently, the US has joined many European jurisdictions in extending civil marriage to same sex as well as different sex dyads. Many liberals regard this as a development worth entrenching. But a prominent recent liberal challenge to civil marriage claims otherwise. According to this challenge, by defining and conferring civil marriage, the state privileges some relationships over others that serve equally well the important liberal goal of fostering effective liberal citizenship, in violation of a prominent interpretation of the doctrine of state neutrality. Theorists who press this challenge, such as Elizabeth Brake and Tamara Metz, argue that it can be met effectively only by dismantling civil marriage and replacing it with more inclusive state‐maintained arrangements. So far, prominent responses to this neutralist challenge to civil marriage have focused on the special value of either the relationships to which civil marriage currently extends, or the special value of civil marriage itself. In this article, I develop an alternative reply to this neutralist challenge to civil marriage, one focusing instead on the special vulnerabilities of some of the liberally valuable relationships to which civil marriage currently extends, amorous caregiving dyads.

Model integracji gospodarczej jako wzorzec scalania systemów biznesowych koncepcja i jej interpretacja (na wybranych przykładach)

Celem artykułu jest prezentacja koncepcji modelu integracji biznesowej, wzorowanej na klasycznym modelu integracji B. Balassy. W początkowej części opracowania starano się wykazać, że mechanizm integracji jest niezależny od typu obiektu. Działania integracyjne stanowią bowiem sposób dostosowań do wymogów zmieniającego się otoczenia – wyzwań globalizacji i liberalizacji. W kolejnej części przedstawiono koncepcję sześcioetapowego modelu integracji biznesowej. W ostatniej części opracowania (podzielonej na uwagi teoretyczne oraz case studies) podjęto próbę egzemplifikacji modelu na przykładach scalania systemów biznesowych korporacji transnarodowych.