Liberal Internationalism Research Articles

Literature as a Matter of Policy

Literature as a Matter of Policy

미·중 패권경쟁시대 인태 지역의 자유주의 국제질서: 도전과 전망

국제질서의 주도권을 둘러싼 미·중의 전략적 경합이 전방위에서 진행 중이다. 양 강대국 모두 국제사회의 공동선(善)을 추구하는 다자협력을 강조하고 있으나, 실제로는 진영경쟁에 매진하고 있다. 미국 주도의 자유주의 국제질서(LIO)를 회복하려는 바이든 대통령의 다자주의 전략은 민주주의 국가들과의 반중 연대를 지향하고 있어 다자주의 민주동맹에 참가하지 않는 국가 들에게는 배타적이다. 중국은 대규모 재정적·인적 자원을 동원하여 다자기구에서 적극적으로 영향력을 확대해왔으나, 국제법과 규범을 무시하는 중국식 다자주의에 대한 비판이 크다. 역내 (소)다자 협력도 미·중 대립이 가장 첨예한 인도·태평양(인태) 지역 LIO를 지탱하는 하나의 축으로 기능하기보다는 양 강대국의 지정학적 경합이 충돌하는 기제로 변질할 가능성이 크다. 이러한 맥락에서 미·중 전략경쟁을 완화하기 위한 중견국 역할론이 주목받고 있다. 양 강대국이 주도하는 네트워크가 갈등적 경쟁상태일 때, 중견국 연합체의 행위에 따라 경합하는 안보 네트워크들의 관계가 더 분쟁적이 되거나, 더 협력하게 될 수도 있기 때문이다. 결국, 중국의 부상, 미국 패권의 상대적 쇠락 및 미·중 전략경쟁으로 도전받고 있는 LIO의 향배는 미국이 중국과의 패권경쟁 상황에서 글로벌 공공재를 계속해서 제공할 능력과 의지가 있는지와 더불어, 역내 중견국이 주축이 되는 국제사회가 LIO를 위해 얼마나 건설적인 역할을 수행할 수 있는지에 크게 영향받게 될 것이다. 본고는 강대국에 대한 레버리지 확대를 위한 (소)다자협력의 중요성을 강조한다는 점에서 신제도주의적 관점을 취하지만, 강대국 정치라는 구조에서 각국이 국익확보의 일환으로 (소)다자협력과 중견국 역할에 주목한다는 점에서 신현실주의적 시각을 포함한다.

The Latin American politics of international law: Latin American countries’ engagements with international law and their contradictory impact on the liberal international order

Recent studies on international law and liberalism have shown convincingly that both liberal internationalism and international law have played a central role in the international politics of Latin America and that Latin American countries have contributed to the consolidation of multilateralism and the Liberal International Order (LIO). Yet, the connections between the institutionalization of international law and the rise of liberal internationalism in the region have tended to be overlooked. This article examines the genealogy of these connections, focusing on the emergence of two contending legal traditions, a solidarist liberal internationalist tradition and a pluralist and political one. The article argues that the emergence of these opposing legal traditions across the region have had a contradictory impact on the formation of the LIO, contributing to its emergence and consolidation by promoting multilateralism, and to challenging and revising some of its fundamentals when stressing a strong attachment to absolute non-intervention.

China and the Liberal International Order

China and the Liberal International Order

From converts to cooperation: Protestant internationalism, US missionaries and Indian Christians and ‘Professional’ social work between Boston and Bombay (c. 1920–1950)

AbstractThe 1920s and 30s were a high phase of liberal missionary internationalism driven especially by American-led visions of the Social Gospel. As the missionary consensus shifted from proselytization to social concerns, the indigenization of missions and the role of the ‘younger churches’ outside of Europe and North America was brought into focus. This article shows how Protestant internationalism pursued a ‘Christian Sociology’ in dialogue with the field’s academic and professional form.Through the case study of settlement sociology and social work schemes by the American Marathi Mission (AMM) in Bombay, the article highlights the intricacies of applying internationalist visions in the field and asks how they were contested and shaped by local conditions and processes. Challenging a simplistic ‘secularization’ narrative, the article then argues that it was the liberal, anti-imperialist drive of the missionary discourse that eventually facilitated an American ‘professional imperialism’ in the development of secular social work in India. Adding local dynamics to the analysis of an internationalist discourse benefits the understanding of both Protestant internationalism and the genesis of Indian social work and shows the value of an integrated global micro-historical approach.

The ‘China’ question in mobile Internet standard-making: Insights from expert interviews

This article explores the actions of Chinese stakeholders as norm entrepreneurs in mobile Internet standard-making within the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Through semi-structured interviews with key experts from the Internet stakeholder communities, this article contextualises a rapidly transforming and increasingly politicised issue in the broader context of China's engagement with the global multistakeholder Internet governance architecture, as well as the debate on China's rise in the Liberal International Order. Furthermore, it incorporates the views and experiences of technologists working first-hand in standard-making, as they are often disregarded in political-scientific literature. Through the analytical lens of cognitivist regime theory, this article argues that the stronger China and Chinese stakeholders grow economically and politically, the more they become involved in the existing Internet governance regime complex, increasing their influence in the existing institutional arrangements without necessarily acting for changing their norms, rules, and principles. Through these theoretical and methodological approaches, new light is shed on the role of private and public Chinese stakeholders and on the relation between them.

Refugees And Patronage: A Political History Of Uganda’s ‘Progressive’ Refugee Policies

Abstract Uganda’s self-reliance policy for refugees has been recognized as among the most progressive refugee policies in the world. In contrast to many refugee-hosting countries, it allows refugees the right to work and freedom of movement. It has been widely praised as a model for other countries to emulate. However, there has been little research on the politics that underlie Uganda’s approach. Why has Uganda maintained these policies despite hosting more refugees than any country in Africa? Based on archival research and elite interviews, this article provides a political history of Uganda’s self-reliance policies from independence to the present. It unveils significant continuity in both the policies and the underlying politics. Refugee policy has been used by Ugandan leaders to strengthen patronage and assert political authority within strategically important refugee-hosting hinterlands. International donors have abetted domestic illiberalism in order to sustain a liberal internationalist success story. The politics of patronage and refugee policy have worked hand-in-hand. Patronage has, in the Ugandan case, been integral to the functioning of the international refugee system. Rather than being an inevitably ‘African’ phenomenon or the unavoidable legacy of colonialism, patronage politics has been enabled by, and essential to, liberal internationalism.

Woodrow Wilson and the Spirit of Liberal Internationalism

ABSTRACT Woodrow Wilson is among most influential presidents in U.S. foreign policy history, and the most pious. The challenge for scholars is joining Wilson's faith and his foreign policies. What was the role of religion in Wilson's worldview? What is the place of religion in Wilsonianism? This article uses original archival sources and a synthesis of historical research to intervene in IR theory, demonstrating that Wilsonianism is a product of Wilson's specifically Southern Presbyterian upbringing, his admiration for other Christian idealists, and the influence of the budding movement of the Social Gospel. This finding raises a historiographic puzzle: why did late twentieth century IR scholars erase religion from theories of liberal internationalism? The article suggests Wilson's religion has been erased as part of the broader project of desacralizing and universalizing liberal internationalism. Wilson's worldview was a mirror for the kind of social and political order he witnessed and propagated in America, a Janus-faced spirit of universalism and exceptionalism, internationalism and parochialism, that continues to motivate the liberal internationalist project. Unearthing the Protestant origins of Wilsonianism helps us to explicate the missionary spirit driving the liberal internationalist project.

Liberal internationalism, OK, but for whom?

The Political QuarterlyVolume 92, Issue 2 p. 380-382 Book Review Liberal internationalism, OK, but for whom? Victoria Honeyman, Corresponding Author v.c.honeyman@leeds.ac.uk v.c.honeyman@leeds.ac.ukSearch for more papers by this author Victoria Honeyman, Corresponding Author v.c.honeyman@leeds.ac.uk v.c.honeyman@leeds.ac.ukSearch for more papers by this author First published: 20 March 2021 https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-923X.12978Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume92, Issue2April–June 2021Pages 380-382 RelatedInformation

International Progress, International Order, and the Liberal International Order

Most explanations for the crisis of the liberal order revolve around geopolitics, globalization, economic resentment fueling new forms of populism and nationalism, and Western states following their interests away from liberal values and institutions of their creation. But international orders are produced and legitimated by both material and spiritual forces. The spirit in liberalism is moral progress defined by practices of humanity. If the Liberal International Order (LIO) is in decline, then perhaps we should consider its moral foundations. Section “Introduction” briefly introduces the question of international order, categorizes international relations theories according to the mixture of consent and coercion, and how legitimacy often refers not only to the existing order but a vision of progress. This is particularly true of the liberal international order. Section “International Order, Legitimacy, and Progress” turns to the liberal international order, progress, and the possible spiritual decline of the liberal international order. After briefly considering the liberal in international liberalism and the late 20th-century emergence of the liberal international order, I argue that one reason for its declining moral foundations is because of the pronounced individualism that resides at the heart of the contemporary international order. In other words, the sources of decline are not exogenous but rather part of liberalism. The Conclusion asks: what is next? The conjunction of the decline of the LIO and COVID-19 has complicated the debate about the future international order, and much of the conversation hinges on whether and how the United States can recover from its self-destructive tendencies and China’s intentions. But where is the spirit of moral progress and humanity in this discussion?

Arnold J. Toynbee, the Colonial Question, and ‘Peaceful Change’

While most scholarship on appeasement focuses on its later stages in Europe – culminating in the Munich Agreement – policymakers and public intellectuals throughout the early and mid-1930s were exercised by appeasement in a different context. These prominent Britons, concerned by increasing international tensions and conscious of the resentments engendered by having a globe-spanning empire, sought to contrive some way to appease the revisionist powers without betraying their liberal internationalist principles or harming British national interests. At the center of these debates was Arnold J. Toynbee, director of studies at Chatham House. A devoted liberal internationalist, Toynbee was convinced that a durable peace could be built on appeasement in the context of ‘the colonial question’. This version of appeasement claimed that German interests and honour could be satisfied by finding some way to return Germany to Africa as an imperial power. But the debates over ‘the colonial question’ revealed the extent to which British and German conceptions of the issue diverged. They also demonstrated the inability of liberal internationalists to reconcile their commitment to changing an unsatisfactory status quo with their commitment to preventing the forceful revision of that same status quo; ‘peaceful change’ was therefore elusive.

RECONSIDERING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VITORIA AND GROTIUS’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE INTERNATIONAL LAW AND NATURAL LAW TRADITIONS

AbstractIn light of recent reevaluations of the work of Hugo Grotius, this essay analyzes the respective roles of Francisco de Vitoria and Grotius in the construction of the “Grotian tradition” of international law and human rights. In contrast to conventional accounts which understand the two within a progression, this essay argues that Vitoria and Grotius can alternatively be understood as representing two distinct strains of international law and ethics, forms of which persist to this day. The first is that strain which privileges local governance based on the natural law and which insists that international law must have a moral or equitable valence (represented today by liberal internationalism). The second, competing strain which, with its focus on “neutral” rules of commerce and international order, presumes that it need not have such a valence (essentially, neoliberalism). In the process, this essay examines the role of the natural law in Vitoria’s thought, which for him was most often a reason against interference or intervention, not for. The essay also highlights the role of the Eighty Years’ War between the Dutch United Provinces and Spain in the development of Grotius’s understanding of sovereignty, in contrast to the Thirty Years’ War which is given more prominence in conventional accounts.

TANTANGAN SUPRANASIONALITAS UNI EROPA: KOMPARASI INTEGRASI POLITIK PADA KRISIS EUROZONE 2008 DAN KRISIS PENGUNGSI 2015

The European Union is widely referred to as the international organization at the regional level with the highest integration phase. His journey is thought to have united the continent of Europe in a post-modern supranational political institution with a new post-Westphalia identity - European continental identity. This can be defined as a process of political integration. The process marked by the transfer of sovereignty, for example, can be seen in the European Union's ability to handle the Euro crisis in 2008. However, along the way, the political integration of the European Union is considered to be weakening. Post-Crisis 2008, the European Union experienced another challenge in the form of the 2014-2015 Refugee Crisis. This paper aims to answer questions related to why there is a weakening of the political integration of the European Union in these two challenges. By using the method of cross-longitudinal comparative studies on the responses of countries to the EU's decisions in the two challenges above, this paper argues that the increase in right-wing populism in various countries, particularly in Eastern and Central European countries, is a factor. the main part of the start to break up the political integration of the European Union. This paper concludes that the political values ​​of right-wing populism that focus on nation-state nationalism are contrary to the basic values ​​of the European Union which focus on liberal internationalism, and will become an obstacle to the future of EU political integration.

TRIZ를 활용한 창의적 글쓰기 수업설계

TRIZ를 활용한 창의적 글쓰기 수업설계

Safeguarding Settler Colonialism in Geneva: Canada, Indigenous Rights, and ilo Convention No. 107 on the Protection and Integration of Indigenous Peoples (1957)

This article explores the intersecting of liberal internationalism and settler colonialism by tracing the Canadian governmental response to the emergence of International Labour Organisation (ilo) Convention 107 (1957) and Recommendation 104 (1957), the first international treaties regarding the rights of Indigenous Peoples in independent states. Drawing upon the archives of the ilo, Canada’s Department of External Affairs and Department of Citizenship and Immigration, notably the latter’s Indian Affairs Branch, the article investigates the convergence of mid-twentieth-century notions of Indigenous rights and the global phenomenon of “development.” It also explores how, amid anti-colonial resistance, decolonization, and an emerging international human rights regime, settler states responded, not least by seeking to blunt if not defeat the ilo initiative. In addition to yielding greater understanding of the origins and emergence of the ilo instruments, this analysis contributes to critical interrogations of Canadian liberal internationalism by revealing how Canadian settler preoccupations were projected abroad and shaped the international system’s evolving treatment of Indigenous Peoples. It also offers a different perspective on Canadian Indian policy by revealing the “global” dimension of an allegedly “domestic” question. Finally, the article highlights a parallel history of Indigenous internationalism speaking back to a world order constructed on Indigenous displacement and dispossession.

The European Union and the Liberal International Order in the Age of ‘America First’: Attempted Hedging and the Willingness-Capacity Gap


 The crisis of the Liberal International Order (LIO) has resulted in, and been amplified by, the unilateral turn taken by the United States (US) under the Trump presidency. In this sense, ‘America First’ resulted in revisionism by the system leader vis-à-vis an order the US created and led for decades. This shift away from a historical US liberal hegemony has been even more consequential as it resulted in a leadership crisis and translated into episodes of rupture within the transatlantic community, which constitutes the backbone of the LIO. While the European Union (EU) initially positioned itself as a follower of the US, today it appears to oppose American ‘illiberalism’ through its rhetoric of ‘principled pragmatism’, expressed in an increasing number of issues. Building on the concept of leadership, this article analyses whether and to what extent the EU has the willingness to uphold LIO leadership and to what extent it is strategically equipped to do so. Following an analysis of the 2003 European Security Strategy and 2016 EU Global Strategy in order to comprehend better the EU’s relationship with the LIO and its willingness to lead, the article builds on two brief case studies: the America First trade policy and the Iran nuclear agreement. In turn, this facilitates examination of the EU’s capacity to lead and determination of the extent to which this leadership is accepted by other actors. The article argues that, while being limited by American preponderance over international issues, the EU is faced with a willingness-capacity gap but still attempts to uphold the LIO through pragmatic leadership by hedging.

An Examination of American Diplomacy During the Tehran and Yalta Conferences

Since the end of World War II, the United States has been a leading proponent of liberal internationalism and Western democratic values around the world. Modern historians generally agree that the post-war order, which produced multi-national institutions and promoted democracy, free trade, and peace, was largely shaped by the United States and the other two Allied powers, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union. This paper explains how the Tehran and Yalta Conferences served as early examples of President Franklin Roosevelt’s vision for international cooperation and American global leadership. Specifically, this essay analyzes how Roosevelt used these conferences to unite the other Allied powers in an effort to end World War II and establish the foundations for the liberal international post war order. To demonstrate the significance of these conferences and their role in the development of the liberal post-war order, conference minutes between the leaders of the Allied powers and their respective foreign policy experts are analyzed. Academic writings from military and international historians are also used to evaluate the execution and outcomes of the agreements reached during these conferences.

Theoretical approaches towards the steps of nongovernmental actors in world politics: global paradiplomacy of the Iraqi Kurdistan (KRI).

This article presents a theoretical approach towards the global political steps of non-state actors. Particular attention is given to a number of theories of international relations, such as neorealism, international liberalism, and constructivism, which are able to encompass current global actions of non-state political actors. For a clearer perspective on the subject matter, the article employs the example of Iraqi Kurdistan (KRI); as a non-state actor, KRI has recently become a vivid example for the theories of international relations. The conclusion is made that security, economy, culture, religion and identity are the key and post powerful instruments of non-state actors of international politics. The example of KRI demonstrates that international relations of non-state actors focus on security, economy and culture, as well as serve as the instruments of interaction with both, state and non-state actors. The article reviews such activity within the framework of neorealism, international liberalism, and constructivism. It is underlines that the example of Iraqi Kurdistan (KRI) fully meets all the criteria of a non-state actor of international politics. It is also a brilliant example for the theories of international relations.

Theoretical approaches towards the steps of non-state actors in world politics: global para-diplomacy of the Iraqi Kurdistan (KRI)

  This article presents a theoretical approach towards the global political steps of non-state actors. Particular attention is given to a number of theories of international relations, such as neorealism, international liberalism, and constructivism, which are able to encompass current global actions of non-state political actors. For a clearer perspective on the subject matter, the article employs the example of Iraqi Kurdistan (KRI); as a non-state actor, KRI has recently become a vivid example for the theories of international relations. The conclusion is made that security, economy, culture, religion and identity are the key and post powerful instruments of non-state actors of international politics. The example of KRI demonstrates that international relations of non-state actors focus on security, economy and culture, as well as serve as the instruments of interaction with both, state and non-state actors. The article reviews such activity within the framework of neorealism, international liberalism, and constructivism. It is underlines that the example of Iraqi Kurdistan (KRI) fully meets all the criteria of a non-state actor of international politics. It is also a brilliant example for the theories of international relations.  

American “Odyssey” in Afghanistan

This article aims to analyze the development and implementation of the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan under President Donald Trump’s Republican administration. By removing constraints, which limited U.S. action in Afghanistan under President Obama, Trump added more flexibility to American strategy in Afghanistan. Sporadic attempts to reach a compromise with the Taliban, which the U.S. made since 2010, resulted in signing the Doha Agreement in February 2020. Despite Trump’s willingness to bring the war to a close, there is lack of overwhelming consensus over strategy in Afghanistan among American politicians and pundits. Some influential segments of U.S. foreign policy and military elites advocate for a limited counterterrorism mission in Afghanistan. Regardless of fulfilling plans to minimize America’s involvement in the war, the U.S. will keep the capability to interfere in Afghanistan if the security situation in this country deteriorates further. The development of the U.S. Afghan strategy under Trump reflects continued infighting in America’s policy and expert circles between proponents of different strategies. To consolidate their influence on foreign policy debates, they use a number of axiomatic views. Unlike the advocates of the Afghanistan mission, its opponents use a wider variety of arguments, including shifting regional dynamics and dramatic changes in the international system. The infighting of Trump’s decision-making team concerning U.S. continued involvement in Afghanistan reflects a broader struggle between liberal internationalists and supporters of a more restrained U.S. foreign policy.