Basics of International Relations II

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), was a German philosopher and thinker who wrote “Perpetual Peace”, where he proposed to establish a peace federation based on the rational individual and Republican political order. The Kantian peace federation is based on three main aspects.

1.     FREEDOM OF ALL HUMANS- In Immanuel Kant’s view a war is in many respects a product of feudal relations and tyranny- lords fighting to seek new lands and wealth, and common men having no interest in military conflict. Kant, unlike other “pessimists”, believed in the good nature of humans.

2.     HUMAN RATIONALITY- According to Kant the peaceful relationship between people and their community will prevail in a free society. Personal safety and property are more valuable assets than prestige.

3.     CONSTITUTION BASED REPUBLICAN STATE- As all individuals are rational, they know that they will bear the cost of a war. In a republican state they can prevent their leaders from going to war. Spreading the new political institutions, free trade and the idea of republicanism worldwide would lead to perpetual peace.

Francis Fukuyama, in his book “The End of History and the Last Man”, highlights a very specific point of view of the German. Fukuyama writes “Immanuel Kant, in a 1784 essay, An Idea for a Universal History from a Cosmopolitan Point of View, outlined in general terms the mechanisms that would propel mankind to the highest level of rationality, represented by liberal institutions. It was not reason, but rather reason’s opposite: the selfish antagonism created by man’s ‘asocial sociability’, which leads men to leave the war of all against all and join together on civic societies, and encourage the arts and sciences so that those societies can remain competitive with one another.”

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), on the other hand, was more specifically interested in the common good, and firmly believed that all individuals are inherently good, but have been corrupted by civilization and society. “Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains.”

Rousseau was opposed to the idea of a representative democracy; he felt that citizens themselves should make the laws. His ideal state was one where the will of the public was the absolute authority.

In the book “American Dialogue: The Founders and Us”, author Joseph J. Ellis points us towards an intriguing story which is featured in the book “Discourses on Davila”, by John Adams. “There once was a young man who fell on hard times and became a pauper. He and his faithful dog were seen begging for food which he always shared with his dog. As he approached starvation, his friends urged him to stop sharing with his dog in order to avoid death. But the pauper refused to do so, asking rhetorically, “Who will love me then?””

The American Revolution gave an example of “working Republicanism”- the founding fathers of the United States of America were able to construct domestic institutions which still exist today.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights: that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are instituted by men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed….”

                      THE UNITED STATES DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, 1776

On the other hand, the bloody and contradictory consequences of the French revolution stimulated the rise of conservatism and counter-revolution reaction in Europe.

Henry Kissinger, in his book “World Order: Reflections on the Character of Nations and the Course of History”, explains concretely the ideology behind the revolution that would tbring he change and charter the path of Europe. Terming Jean-Jacques Rousseau as the ‘intellectual godfather’ of the revolution, Kissinger highlights the casus belli; “all monarchies were by definition treated as enemies; because they would not give up power without resisting, the Revolution, to prevail, had to turn itself into a crusading international movement to achieve world peace by imposing its principles.”

The origins of World War I can be described as the perfect embodiment of a classical Thucydides trap; German economy, after the unification, grew thrice and became the second largest economy in the world; the industrial potential surpassed that of the British. The growth of the German military and naval power threatened the old powers.

The Great War resulted in the collapse of three European empires; Russia, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire. 8 million military personnel lost their lives, and 7 million more were permanently disabled. Germany lost more than 15% of her active population; France lost about 10.5%.

And thus, began the post- World War I utopianism- an assumption that a state should base its foreign policy on internal political models. Woodrow Wilson, the 28^th President of the United States of America, led the charge for liberal idealism, presenting his famous 14 Points speech for establishment of a post WWI peace settlement which included the creation of an international organization- The League of Nations. His 14 Points speech included the establishment of the League of Nations, assurances regarding collective security, disarmament as a tool to weaken tensions, self-determination of nations and so on.

Liberals shared the belief in progress and assumed that democratic institutions, parliamentary procedures and rule of law may be effectively implemented on international level, to regulate relations between states.

However, according to realists, this idea that moral principles are superior to practical and pragmatical consideration is wrong and naïve, and would fail to serve as a guide for policy-makers. As Kenneth Waltz, in his article “Structural Realism after the Cold War”, surmises, “Realism reveals what liberal institutionist theory obscures:- that international institutions serve primarily national rather than international interests.”

The Treaty of Versailles, considered an initial success, collapsed. Woodrow Wilson was defeated at home, and the United States of America did not become a part of the League of Nations. A misbalance of power as well as the lack of involvement from the USSR and the US led to the League of Nations being paralyzed. This would become the catalyst for the greatest war ever.

                                                  

                                                                                - Based on a course in Coursera