Liberal Internationalism

Origins and Evolution

Although it can trace its history to eighteenth-century precursors, liberal internationalism emerged as a powerful ideology during the nineteenth century, primarily (though not exclusively) in Britain. Among its main proponents were politicians including John Bright and Richard Cobden, and philosophers including John Stuart Mill and Herbert Spencer. Critical of the violence and hypocrisy of the international system, these proponents proposed a variety of ways to transform the system. They started by challenging what they identified as the root of the problem: the interests and actions of the ruling aristocracies. The transition from mercantalism to free trade and the domestic move toward democracy presented an opportunity to overthrow this feudal legacy. Liberal internationalism has always been conjoined with a domestic reform agenda.

The relationship between liberal internationalism and imperialism is complex. Some internationalists (including Mill) supported the idea that enlightenment could be exported to “backward” countries. However, many of the most prominent liberal internationalists (including Spencer) were ardent critics of imperialism. Today, a common criticism of liberal internationalism is that it is a veiled form of Western imperialism.

Internationalists were split between those who believed that reform would come about mainly or solely through a shift in norms (international morality) and those who thought that the only feasible route was through significant institutional construction at the international level. The former (including Cobden) focused on transforming the values of society, and in particular they promoted democracy. The latter proposed the creation of a variety of institutional structures, including regional and global federations, and transnational organizations, including international arbitration bodies. World War I dashed the hopes of many internationalists. In the interwar period, internationalists focused on defending and then reforming the League of Nations and developing international law. World War II dealt a further blow to their ambitions, although the postwar fortunes of internationalism are mixed. For much of the Cold War, internationalism was surpassed by realism, but many new internationalist institutions, such as the United Nations, played a major role in global politics.

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