Liberal internationalism

Historical Trajectory and Current Prospects

Datos Bibliográficos

ID3687824
AutoresBeate Jahn (0000-0002-6764-6362, autor de correspondencia)
Año2018
Volumen94
Número1
Páginas43-61
Fecha de publicación2018-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaInternational Affairs (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0020-5850 • E-ISSN: 1468-2346
EditorialOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/ia/iix231
OpenAlexW2761440726
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas46
Referencias citadas29

Liberal internationalism has been in crisis for a while now. Yet, until recently its supporters have argued that its prospects are better than ever since the successful spread of liberal principles, practices and institutions in the international sphere provides the necessary basis for reform. Alas, recent political developments do not support these expectations. In fact, the Brexit vote, the Trump election, and the rise of populism more generally challenge liberalism in the domestic sphere and aim to unravel its international achievements. But the idea that these movements are therefore liberalism's nemesis does not quite follow. Providing a theoretical and historical analysis of liberalism, this article shows that the separation of domestic and international politics is constitutive of liberalism itself. The successful extension of liberal principles into the international sphere undermines this separation and thus liberalism itself. Ironically, therefore, the prospects of liberal internationalism are dependent on the reestablishment of a clear divide between domestic and international politics. And this, I argue, is precisely the goal of contemporary populist movements.

Classical liberalism · International relations · Internationalism (politics) · Law and economics · Liberalism · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Populism · Sociology · International Development and Aid · International Relations and Foreign Policy · Law · State Capitalism and Financial Governance