October 9th - Liberal International Order

Topic 1: Understanding Internaional Order

  • What is International Order?

    • Stable expectations and patterns of behavior among states in a world without central global government. 

    • It’s about predicitability and stability in international relations. 

    • Maintained through rules, norms, and institutions that organizae state behavior. 

  • What is Order?

    • Regularized behavior and agreed norms that structure relations between countries. 

    • Who benefits? Typically great powers who shape and enforce it.


Topic 2: Historical Foundations of International Order

Colonialism (1492-2008)

  • European empires and the U.S. used a “standard of civilization” to justify imperial expansion. 

  • Two logics of imperial relations: 

    • Equitable interdependency between “civilized” powers

    • Paternalistic dependency for “uncivilized” peoples

  • This was an international order, but one based on hierarchy and exclusion 


Post-WW1 Order (1919-1930s)

  • Principles: 

    • Sovereign equality (mostly for Western powers)

    • Ban on agressive war 

    • Market-based global economy 

  • Instiutions: Leauge of Nations 

  • Collapse: Great Depression + rising protectionism → WW2

  • Axis Powers: Tried to build a rival order centered on authoritariansim and conquest 


Wilsonianism (Woodrow Wilson)

  • Proposed 14 points for peace: transparency, self-determination, League of Nations 

  • Criticism: 

    • Adovcated self-determination but only for white peoples

    • Rejected Japan’s Racial Equality Proposal

    • Legacy shows contradictions between liberal ideals and racial hierarchies 


Topic 3: The Liberal International Order (LIO) After WW2

  1. Defining Features:

  • Liberal Characterisitcs: Open, rule-based, restrained relations among states 

  • Liberal Values:

    • Economic interdependence

    • Human rights

    • Democracy 


  1. Historical Roots:

  • Bult by the U.S. and the U.K. after WW2

  • Designed to prevent another Great Depression and World War

  • Blends Westphalian Sovereignty (state independence) with liberalism (open markets, cooperation)


  1. Sedimentary Development

  • New threats → new institutions and rules (UN, Bretton Woods, NATO, etc.)

  • The order evolves layer by layer over time 


Topic 4: Key Principles of the Liberal International Order 

  1. Asymmetry: Who benefits the most?

  • Great (mostly Western) powers lead inclusion/exclusion processes

  • They enjoy priviliges (UN Security Council veto)


  1. Responsibility:

  • Great powers are expected to provide:

    • Global security and stability

    • Restraint in excercising power 

  • Liberals argue this asymmetry is based on consent, not coercion 


Topic 5: The Global South and the LIO

  1. Self-determination & Decolonization 

  • Leaders like Kwame Nkrumah and W.E.B DuBois linked colonial violdence to WW2 conflicts

  • Advocated self-determination as a way to reduce conflict and end racial hierarchies 


  1. Resistance from Imperial Powers

  • Claimed:

    • Human rights are individual, not collective

    • Self-determination is a duty, not a right

  • Developing states responded through:

    • Non-Aligned movement (1955, 1961)

    • UN General Assembly resolutions using majority votes to promote decolonization 


  1. U.S. and USSR Roles

  • Opposed colonialism partly to on principle, but also as power politics — removing old empires to gain influence


Topic 6: Global South Critiques of the LIO

  1. Common Problems for New States

  • Military: weak defense capabilities

  • Economic: dependent on foreign markets, aid, or technology

  • Political: Fragile instiutions, instability 


  1. Key Critiques: 

  • Global economy exploits developing countries

  • Great powers ignore sovereignty commitments

  • LIO is unequal—rules based for some, not all

  • Advocates for South-South solidarity (cooperation among developing nations)


Topic 7: Emerging Powers & the Future of the LIO

  1. Dissatisfaction

  • The order reflects outdated power distributions 

  • U.S. unilateralism and dominance are criticized


  1. Reformist vs. Revivisonist Powers

  • Reformist: Want gradual change (UN Security Council, IMF, voting reforms)

  • Revisionist: Want new order (BRICS, Belt and Road Initiative, New Development Bank)


Topic 8: Does the LIO Help People?

  1. The Human Dimension 

  • Promotes human rights and addresses humanitarian crises

  • But often focuses on states, not individuals

  • Liberal values can be used selectivly or controversially 


  1. Nonintervention vs. Humanitarian Intervention 

  • 1980s-1990s: Rise in civil wars and humanitarian cirses 

  • UN Peacekeeping Operations help lay peace foundations

  • Responsibility to Protect (R2P):

    • Proposed: 2001 (Canada)

    • Codified: 2005 (UN)

    • First Use: 2011 (Libya)


Topic 9: Does the LIO Help the Global North?

  • Many Western democracies now question the LIO

  • Critics argue it limits sovereignty and benefits elites 

  • Rise of populist backlash aganist globalization and multilateralism 


Key Concepts Summary:

International Order: predictable system of norms and institutions 

Liberal International Order (LIO): Post-WW2 U.S.-led, open and rule-based order

Westaphalian Sovereignty: State indepedence and noninterference

Wilisonianism: Idealistic internationalism rooted in democracy and self-determination 

Non-Aligned Movement: Coalition of developing countries resisting great power dominance

Self-Determination: right of peoples to choose their own government 

Responsibility to Protect (R2P): Global norm allowing intervention to stop atrocities 

Reformist vs. Revisionist Powers: Approaches to changing or replacing the LIO