The following essay seeks to explain the relevance of the Liberal Order in the current international system based on the American hegemony as a facilitator of the cooperation and integration of the main industrial countries and the core convictions of the postwar American world project. In the same way, China will be analyzed, as a world power, because it has a realistic theory in its foreign policy. Finally, I consider it opportune to give my opinion regarding the importance of preserving the Liberal Order in the current international system.
Liberalism, in international relations, supports the export of democracy as the primary and relevant content of foreign policy, that is, the rule of political liberalism for the extinction of other countries. Furthermore, it is linked to the expansion of the market economy and the substitution of political-economic and market relations between states.
The law of international relations, for some liberals, is the fundamental principle of liberalism based on "democracies do not attack each other." This is understood from the fact that in liberal-democratic regimes the masses have great influence on the political elites. Since war is a burden on the masses, they always tend to lean towards peace. In the case of starting a conflict between two democratic states, mass pressure is directed at the government towards a peaceful and suitable solution to avoid war and influence the resolution of the conflict through an agreement. On the other hand, liberal regimes favor the opening of the State and permanent growth of the communication capacity between countries. Likewise,the principle of free trade balances the economies of all countries and gradually creates a common economic zone where a military conflict would be irrelevant and almost impossible to achieve.
The liberal order in the current international system is based on the principle of the world preponderance of the United States, that is, that it constitutes the main actor in the international system.
This system has the elements indicated in the previous paragraph such as: the purpose of the liberal order is peace and democracy, the solution of disputes between countries is through agreements, the existence of benefits to the States parties, economic protection by the principle of free trade and the guarantee of national and global security.
The importance of the Liberal Order in the current international system, then, is fundamentally due to two reasons: the US hegemony as a facilitator of cooperation and integration between the main industrial countries and the core convictions of the post-war US world project.
First, the American hegemony is constituted liberal by its characteristics of reluctance and institutionalization. Its purpose is to facilitate cooperation and integration between the main industrial countries. Unleashing balance and distancing is an issue that the US hegemony tries to avoid.
The relationships between liberal democracies based on an institutionalized political process and the durability of the institutions of US hegemony that comes from the phenomenon of increasing returns are important reasons why US hegemony achieved its purpose.
On the one hand, the United States in the institutionalized political process to achieve good relations between liberal democracies carried out a foreign policy strategy according to a bargain to the other countries: if the United States agreed to function within mutually acceptable institutions, thus silencing the implications of the asymmetries of power, the other countries would agree to participate of their own free will. The United States obtained the consent of the other Western States, and these in turn obtained the guarantee that the United States would not dominate or abandon them.
According to J. Ikenberry, the stability of this bargain comes from its underlying logic, that is, the hegemonic order is infused with institutions and practices that reduce the returns to power.
In the event of conflicts between states, the implications of winning or losing are contained and minimized. The losing state, in Western relations, does not care that the winner is able to use those gains to permanently dominate it.
The fundamental characteristic of the national liberal constitutional orders is a limiting guarantor: the winning party operates within well-defined limits, that is, it cannot take advantage of a condition to weaken or destroy the party of its opposition. The loser is guaranteed to accept his loss or prepare for the next election.
The open and penetrated character of the American political system and features of the postwar liberal order have mechanisms that offer similar guarantees to the United States' European and Asian partners.
On the other hand, the institutions of US hegemony that boast durability stemming from the phenomenon of increasing returns are based on the principles of openness, reciprocity, and multilateralism. The whole system around these principles has become increasingly connected with deep and broad institutions of politics and society within an advanced industrial world.
Rival states have difficulty introducing a set of principles and institutions because these institutions have become more entrenched in the current international system.
US hegemony has become highly institutionalized and trajectory dependent. The hegemonic order appears to be immune to its potential rivals. If a large corporation has interests in another type of order, the benefits have to be greater than those that flow from the current system.
Increasing returns are positive feedback. Initial institutions such as the United States were successfully established and generate confidence in their credibility and operation, so it is admissible that they have the power to make decisions that serve to strengthen the binding nature of the institutions.
The hegemonic or liberal order is relevant in the current international system because it has an open and perpetrated character that invites participation and creates confidence for a serious commitment. Likewise, its institutionalized nature offers mechanisms for conflict resolution and creates guarantees of continuity. Its stability is an essential trait as the returns to power are low and the returns to institutions are high.
Second, the core convictions of the postwar American world project reveal the importance of the Liberal Order in the current international system because they are the basis from which the system was constituted. Its purpose is the existence of an enduring community of liberal democracies insofar as these democracies possess the ability to cooperate.
According to Dean Acheson, secretary of the United States in 1949, "the democracies of the world share fundamental ties, the strongest ties, because they are based on moral conviction and the acceptance of the same vital values."
Interventionism, as a first conviction, holds that the United States to promote its economic, political and security interests you have to lead the world order and collaborate closely with the main regions of the world.
The construction of the liberal order reveals its importance, in this sense, because I reject the possibility of a world divided into competing empires, blocks and spheres of influence controlled by great hostile powers.
The US commitment to free trade, as a second conviction, holds that trade has played a fundamental role in US foreign policy. This is because it has strengthened the American economy and fueled the rise of the liberal democratic world.
The World Trade Organization, promoted by the United States, formulated complex rules and mechanisms for the resolution of disputes that make the system fair and equitable. The importance is revealed in the sense that it is a tool to defend against commercial conflicts.
The US world leadership in support of multilateral rules and institutions, as a third conviction, maintains that as a result of the creation of an international network of institutions and regimes, many countries joined this system before the rise of the United States as a world power.
The primary goal is to foster cooperation and gain allies, highlighting America's acceptable and enduring presence. The importance is the emergence of a liberal internationalist world system from the contribution to the international order and its legitimacy to resolve conflicts in common.
The core convictions of the postwar American world project are relevant to understanding the origin and the basis on which the Liberal Order was constituted in the current international system.
Based on the arguments presented in the previous paragraphs that reveal the importance of the Liberal Order in the current international system, China will be analyzed, as a world power, because it has a realistic theory in its foreign policy.
China is currently considered a rising country as an emerging power. It is the second largest economy in the world and its GDP is expected to exceed that of the United States in a few years.
In this sense, the realistic expectation is clear because the growth of China's emerging economy increases the influence in its region, international organizations and vis-à-vis other countries. The economic growth of this country generates power and influence. Because of this, it is possible for China to modernize and expand its armed forces.
As its economy expands, it is also possible that strategic alliances or balancing will be made. Therefore, with the emergence of China as a new power and other countries such as Brazil and India, the appearance of new balances in power is generated.
China has followed the realistic principles to be considered as an emerging power because it protects its autonomy, that is, it makes strategic alliances with countries in its Region and another such as the United States. In the same way, it tries to influence more important international organizations such as the UN and even seeks to modernize and expand its military apparatus.
According to A. Sotomayor, the emergence of the so-called BRIC points to the development of a less unipolar and more multipolar world. However, it should be noted that realism offers merely imprecise predictions. This is because the United States continues and will continue to be the imminent military power, and for China and any other country a game of deterrence against American power is difficult.
As mentioned above, China has strategic alliances with countries in its region and other regions such as the United States. It is part of international organizations and institutions such as the UN. However, for realism these efforts are merely soft or soft balances and cooperation is short-lived where only national interests exist.
In conclusion, the relevance of the Liberal Order in the current international system is due to two reasons: the US hegemony as a facilitator of the cooperation and integration of the main industrial countries and the core convictions of the US postwar world project. On the one hand, the hegemonic or liberal order is relevant in the current international system because it has an open and perpetrated character that invites participation and creates confidence in a serious commitment. Likewise, its institutionalized nature offers mechanisms for conflict resolution and creates guarantees of continuity. Its stability is an essential trait as long as the returns to power are low and the returns to institutions are high. On the other hand,the core convictions of the postwar American world project are relevant to understanding the origin and basis on which the Liberal Order was constituted in the current international system.
In my opinion, I consider that it is important to prevail the Liberal Order in the current international system for the reasons mentioned in the previous paragraph. Similarly, I believe that the existence of a liberal democratic community, if held together, becomes physically and economically more secure in which countries safely prosper. According to John Ruggie, this order is an ingrained liberalism in which there are international agreements based on which governments have discretion to regulate their economies and reconcile free trade with economic stability and policies aimed at guaranteeing full employment. At present, the liberal order spread to the whole world, bringing as a consequence a crisis because it lost its roots and its protective qualities.It is important to recover that essence as a security community, a grouping of countries united by common values, interests and vulnerabilities. Also, I consider it important to defend the prevalence of the liberal democratic world as long as the essence of the liberal order can be recovered. While it is true, new powers emerge and according to realism; with material resources you have the capacity to deter. If strategic alliances are made against the Liberal Order, a system must be presented that has the existing benefits of guardianship than the current one. This being the case, I think that creating a new system that is adequate and efficient is currently complicated.It would also be based on a bipolarity or multipolarity that would bring with it consequences such as the power struggle and of which we would find ourselves again in a state of nature (T. Hobbes). In an immediate solution, I consider it important to enhance the essence of the Liberal Order in the international system in the face of the current crisis.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ikenberry, GJ (2002). The great liberal strategy and the persistence of the hegemonic order of the United States during the postwar period. Politics and Government, 9 (1), 13-49.
Ikenberry, GJ (2017). Can the liberal order survive? Foreign affairs: Latin America, 17 (3), 50-57.
Sotomayor, A. (2013). Realism. Introduction To International Relations: Latin America And Global Politics,, 13-18.
