{{Short description|International relations policy holding that states should advance liberal interests}} {{use dmy dates|date=July 2023}} {{Liberalism sidebar}} '''Liberal internationalism''' is a [[foreign policy]] doctrine that supports international institutions, open markets, cooperative security, and [[liberal democracy]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ikenberry |first=G. John |date=2009 |title=Liberal Internationalism 3.0: America and the Dilemmas of Liberal World Order |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40407217 |journal=Perspectives on Politics |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=71–87 |doi=10.1017/S1537592709090112 |jstor=40407217 |s2cid=146430829 |issn=1537-5927|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jahn |first=Beate |date=2018 |title=Liberal internationalism: historical trajectory and current prospects |journal=International Affairs |volume=94 |issue=1 |pages=43–61 |doi=10.1093/ia/iix231 |issn=0020-5850 |url=https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/images/ia/INTA94_1_4_231_Jahn.pdf}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Deudney |first1=Daniel |last2=Ikenberry |first2=G. John |date=2021 |title=Misplaced Restraint: The Quincy Coalition Versus Liberal Internationalism |journal=Survival |language=en |volume=63 |issue=4 |pages=7–32 |doi=10.1080/00396338.2021.1956187 |s2cid=236504260 |issn=0039-6338|doi-access=free }}</ref> At its core, it holds that states should participate in [[Multilateralism|international institutions]] that uphold [[Rules-based international liberal order|rules-based norms]], promote [[liberal democracy]], and facilitate cooperation on transnational problems (such as environmental problems, arms control, and public health).<ref name=":1" />
Proponents of liberal internationalism argue that the adoption of this foreign policy orientation by the United States during the 20th century has improved American liberty at home and ensured [[American hegemony]] in world politics, as well as facilitated the spread of liberal democracy and markets.<ref name=":1" /> Critics of the foreign policy doctrine (such as [[Realism (international relations)|realists]] and proponents of [[retrenchment]]) argue that it tends towards military interventionism and contributes to disorder (for example, through [[democracy promotion]] and trade liberalization).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Desch |first=Michael C. |date=2007 |title=America's Liberal Illiberalism: The Ideological Origins of Overreaction in U.S. Foreign Policy |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/30130517 |journal=International Security |volume=32 |issue=3 |pages=7–43 |doi=10.1162/isec.2008.32.3.7 |jstor=30130517 |s2cid=57572097 |issn=0162-2889|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=":1" />
==History== [[File:Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston.jpg|thumb|upright|Liberal internationalism emerged during the 19th century, notably under the auspices of British Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister [[Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston|Lord Palmerston]].]] [[File:Thomas Woodrow Wilson, Harris & Ewing bw photo portrait, 1919.jpg|thumb|upright|Liberal internationalism was developed in the second decade of the 20th century under U.S. President [[Woodrow Wilson]].]] Liberal internationalism emerged during the 19th century. Prominent thinkers included [[Lionel Curtis]], [[Alfred Eckhard Zimmern|Alfred Zimmern]] and [[Norman Angell]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Persaud |first=Randolph B. |date=2022 |title=Ideology, socialization and hegemony in Disciplinary International Relations |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiab200 |journal=International Affairs |volume=98 |issue=1 |pages=105–123 |doi=10.1093/ia/iiab200 |issn=0020-5850|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
Among policymakers, liberal internationalism influenced British Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister [[Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston|Lord Palmerston]], and was developed in the second decade of the 20th century under U.S. President [[Woodrow Wilson]]. In this form it became known as [[Wilsonianism]].<ref>Stanley Hoffmann, "The Crisis of Liberal Internationalism", ''Foreign Policy'', No. 98 (Spring 1995), pp. 159–177.</ref> After [[World War I]], the foreign policy doctrine of liberal internationalism was retained (but it also suffered a "jolt"<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ikenberry |first=G. John |date=2018-01-01 |title=The end of liberal international order? |url=http://academic.oup.com/ia/article/94/1/7/4762691 |journal=International Affairs |language=en |volume=94 |issue=1 |pages=7–23 |doi=10.1093/ia/iix241 |issn=0020-5850}}</ref> in the words of John Ikenberry as a result of WW1, namely against the "optimistic narratives"<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ikenberry |first=G. John |date=2018-01-01 |title=The end of liberal international order? |url=http://academic.oup.com/ia/article/94/1/7/4762691 |journal=International Affairs |language=en |volume=94 |issue=1 |pages=7–23 |doi=10.1093/ia/iix241 |issn=0020-5850}}</ref> that liberal internationalism espouses) by the intellectual founders of the [[League of Nations]] and augmented somewhat with ideas from [[classical radicalism]] and the political party platform of the [[International Entente of Radical and Similar Democratic Parties]]. [[Daniel Deudney]] and [[John Ikenberry]] have also associated liberal internationalism with foreign policy ideas promoted by [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]].<ref>{{Cite web|last2=Ikenberry|first1=Daniel |last1=Deudney |first2=G. John|title=The Intellectual Foundations of the Biden Revolution|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/07/02/biden-revolution-roosevelt-tradition-us-foreign-policy-school-international-relations-interdependence/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=2021-08-04|website=Foreign Policy|date=2 July 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Drezner|first=Daniel|date=2021|title=Perspective {{!}} Roosevelt redux?|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/07/12/roosevelt-redux/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=2021-08-04|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> Paul K. MacDonald has linked diplomatic practices developed at the 1899 and 1907 Hague conferences as being key repertoires of subsequent liberal internationalism.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=MacDonald|first=Paul K.|date=2021|title="Parliament of Man, Federation of the World": Repertoires of Statecraft, the Hague Conferences, and the Making of the Liberal Order|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/09592296.2021.1996709|journal=Diplomacy & Statecraft|volume=32|issue=4|pages=648–673|doi=10.1080/09592296.2021.1996709|s2cid=246210893 |issn=0959-2296|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
==Theory== The goal of liberal internationalism is to achieve global structures within the international system that are inclined towards promoting a liberal world order (also referred to as "liberal international order"<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ikenberry |first=G. John |date=2018-01-01 |title=The end of liberal international order? |url=http://academic.oup.com/ia/article/94/1/7/4762691 |journal=International Affairs |language=en |volume=94 |issue=1 |pages=7–23 |doi=10.1093/ia/iix241 |issn=0020-5850}}</ref>). It foresees a gradual transformation of world politics from anarchy to common institutions and the rule of law. To that extent, global free trade, liberal economics and liberal political systems are all encouraged. In addition, liberal internationalists are dedicated towards encouraging democracy to emerge globally. Once realized, it will result in a "peace dividend", as liberal states have relations that are characterized by non-violence, and that relations between democracies are characterized by the [[democratic peace theory]].
Liberal internationalism states that, through [[multilateralism|multilateral]] organizations such as the [[United Nations]], it is possible to avoid the worst excesses of "[[power politics]]" in relations between nations. In addition, liberal internationalists believe that the best way to spread democracy is to treat all states equally and cooperatively, whether they are initially democratic or not.
According to Abrahamsen, liberal internationalism provides more opportunities to [[Middle power|middle powers]] to advance their economic, security, and political interests.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Abrahamsen |first1=Rita |last2=Andersen |first2=Louise Riis |last3=Sending |first3=Ole Jacob |date=2019 |title=Introduction: Making liberal internationalism great again? |url=https://doi.org/10.1177/0020702019827050 |journal=International Journal |language=en |volume=74 |issue=1 |pages=5–14 |doi=10.1177/0020702019827050 |s2cid=151226407 |issn=0020-7020|hdl=11250/2837725 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
==Examples== Examples of liberal internationalists include former British Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]],<ref>{{cite news|first=Timothy Garton |last=Ash |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/apr/26/comment.labour |title=Timothy Garton Ash: After 10 years Blair knows exactly what he stands for | Comment is free |newspaper=The Guardian |date=2010-01-08 |access-date=2011-09-19 |location=London}}</ref> U.S. President [[Barack Obama]],<ref>{{Citation|last=Suri|first=Jeremi|title=Liberal Internationalism, Law, and the First African American President|date=2018-12-31|url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.23943/9781400889556-015/html|work=The Presidency of Barack Obama|pages=195–211|editor-last=Zelizer|editor-first=Julian|place=Princeton|publisher=Princeton University Press|doi=10.23943/9781400889556-015|isbn=978-1-4008-8955-6|s2cid=158666358 |access-date=2021-08-20|url-access=subscription}}</ref>, British historian [[Timothy Garton Ash]], and then Secretary of State [[Hillary Clinton]], and former Secretary of State [[Antony Blinken]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=The Democratic foreign policy reckoning|url=https://theweek.com/articles/852094/democratic-foreign-policy-reckoning|access-date=2021-08-20|first=Conor|last=Lynch|date=15 July 2019|website=The Week|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Heinmaa |date=2022-08-29 |title=Can Antony Blinken Update Liberal Foreign Policy for a World Gone Mad? |url=https://summitfordemocracyresources.eu/can-antony-blinken-update-liberal-foreign-policy-for-a-world-gone-mad/ |access-date=2024-04-04 |website=News and Resources Portal for the Summit of Democracy |language=en-US}}</ref> In the US, it is often associated with the American [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://prospect.org/article/debating-liberal-internationalism|title=Debating Liberal Internationalism|work=The American Prospect|date=15 May 2008|access-date=2017-05-30|language=en}}</ref> Some liberal-leaning [[Neoconservatism|neoconservatives]] shifted towards liberal internationalism in the 2010s.<ref name=":0" />
Commonly cited examples of liberal interventionism include [[NATO]]'s [[NATO intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina|intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina]]; the 1999 [[NATO bombing of Yugoslavia]]; the 1999 [[International Force East Timor|UN intervention in East Timor]]; [[British military intervention in the Sierra Leone Civil War]]; and the [[2011 military intervention in Libya]]. According to historian [[Timothy Garton Ash]], these are distinct because of liberal motivations and limited objectives, from other larger scale military interventions.<ref>{{cite news|last=Ash|first=Timothy Garton|title=Libya's escalating drama reopens the case for liberal intervention|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/mar/03/libya-escalating-drama-case-liberal-intervention|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=14 June 2013|location=London|date=2011-03-03}}</ref>
Multilateral institutions, such as [[United Nations Development Programme|UNDP]], [[UNICEF]], [[World Health Organization|WHO]], [[IAEA]], and the [[United Nations General Assembly|UN General Assembly]], have also been considered prominent examples of liberal internationalism.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Abrahamsen|first1=Rita|last2=Andersen|first2=Louise Riis|last3=Sending|first3=Ole Jacob|date=2019|title=Introduction: Making liberal internationalism great again?|journal=International Journal: Canada's Journal of Global Policy Analysis|language=en|volume=74|issue=1|pages=5–14|doi=10.1177/0020702019827050|issn=0020-7020|doi-access=free|hdl=11250/2837725|hdl-access=free}}</ref>
To cite a country-specific example, according to [[John Ikenberry]] and Yolchi Funabashi, one of the key pillars of liberal internationalism in practice is the democratic constitution and trade-based prosperity of Japan, which makes Japan a major stabilizer of liberal international order in the [[Asia-Pacific|APAC]] region.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Ikenberry|first1=John|last2=Funabashi|first2=Yolchi|date=2019-04-01|title=The Crisis of Liberal Internationalism|url=https://www.brookings.edu/book/the-crisis-of-liberal-internationalism/|access-date=2021-12-13|website=Brookings|language=en-US}}</ref>
==See also== *[[Atlanticism]] *[[City upon a Hill]] *[[Cold War liberal]] *[[Cosmopolitan democracy]] *[[Empire of Liberty]] *[[Humanitarian intervention]] *[[Idealism (international relations)]] *[[Internationalism (politics)]] *[[Liberal hawk]] *[[Liberal Imperialists]] *[[Liberal international order]] *[[Institutional liberalism|Liberal institutionalism]] *[[Nation-building]] *[[Neoliberalism]] *[[Neoconservatism]] *[[Perpetual peace]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== * {{cite book |title=The Jungle Grows Back: America and Our Imperiled World |year=2018 |author=[[Robert Kagan]] |publisher=Knopf |isbn=978-0525521655}}
{{Liberalism}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liberal Internationalism}}
[[Category:Internationalism]] [[Category:Liberalism|Internationalism]] [[Category:Foreign policy]] [[Category:Foreign relations of the United States]] [[Category:International relations theory]]