Liberalism

Question 1

Why are Liberals more optimistic than Realists with regard to the possibility for cooperation in IR?

Answer 1

• acknowledge the need for checks and balances in the international system
  -> Kant proposes “Federation of Free States” as form of alliance for peacekeeping and diplomatic dispute settlement
• view economic interdependence as a deterrent for war
  -> interconnectedness provides stability

Question 2

What is interdependence?

Answer 2

• a way in which countries rely on each other through:
  -> trade
  -> shared problems (eg climate change)
  -> communication

Question 3

How does the Realist and Liberalist understanding of power politics differ?

Answer 3

Realist: military power
Liberal: economic influence and international norms also play a role

Question 4

What are international regimes and how do they matter?

Answer 4

1. principles
2. norms
3. rules
4. decision making procedures
   - structure interactions between states
   - provide predictability and order
   - states coordinate their actions better
   - expectations about behaviour is created

Question 5

In what sense is there conflicts between Kant’s preliminary articles and the balance of power?

Answer 5

• argues against standing armies
• condemns borrowing money to fund wars
  -> seeks fundamental peace principles (instead of keeping one actor from becoming too powerful)

Question 6

On what level of analysis does Kant argue?

Answer 6

• state level (internal structure is crucial for peace)
• international level (proposes “Federation of States”)
• individual level (emphasizes cosmopolitan rights and universal hospitality/immigration rights)

Question 7

Forms of interdependence

Answer 7

• asymmetrical interdependence (one country is more dependent than the other)
• complex interdependence

Question 8

Kant’s preliminary articles

Answer 8

1. no treaty of peace that keeps issues for a future war secret can be deemed valid (no secret treaties with hidden agendas)
2. no independent nation can be bought by another (they aren’t property)
3. standing armies must be abolished (provoke arms races and conflict)
4. no national debt should be created in connection with foreign affairs of a nation (eg. loan to finance war)
5. no nation is allowed to interfere with the constitution or government of another (foreign interference harms sovereignty)
6. even war should not inhibit the possibility of future peace (there are rules of war)

Question 9

complex interdependence

Answer 9

• multiple channels of action
• different actors (states, IOs, individuals)
• absence of hierarchy among issues (they are interconnected)
• minor role of military force (is useless in many settings)

Question 10

Sensitivity

Answer 10

• immediate response within policy framework is triggered
• degrees vary depending on the situation

Question 11

Vulnerability

Answer 11

• liability to suffer costs from external events even after adapting policies
• can be used as a tool in a bilateral relationship (eg Trump)
• can be symmetrical or asymmetrical

Question 12

politics under complex interdependence

Answer 12

• need other resources than just the interdependence to put pressure on smn
• agenda setting becomes more important (interdependence analysis as a key liberalist approach)
• transgovernmental and transnnational relations gain control when representatives are in direct contact (and not through foreign ministry)

Question 13

Institutions

Answer 13

• are crucial in Liberalist theory
• same as regimes

Question 14

implications for regimes

Answer 14

• create and spread information about the situation
• strengthen communication
• clarify common consensus
• reduce transaction costs (create a common ground)
• improve liability and responsibility

Question 15

Democratic Peace

Answer 15

• Focus on relevance of a states’ constitution and domestic politics
  -> democracies respect the wishes of their people who wouldn’t want to go to war
  -> wealth as a central human goal which wants to be protected

Question 16

Problems with democratic peace theory

Answer 16

• where is the threshold that defines a democracy?
• distinction at systemic level gives an argument to the democracies to attack the non-democratic states (second image analysis)

Question 17

principal actors

Answer 17

Individuals and groups

Question 18

Key interest

Answer 18

Wealth (economic self-interest)

Question 19

International environment

Answer 19

anarchy

Question 20

Consequences of individual rationality

Answer 20

cooperation

Question 21

Ethics

Answer 21

reciprocity, functional rules & norms

Question 22

Conception of order

Answer 22

institutions/regimes

Question 23

Main thinkers

Answer 23

• Kant
• Keohane & Nye