With particular reference to one of the themes studied in the module critically assess the capacity of that theory to further our understanding of the practices of post cold-war international politics.

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Alex Rowell                                  International Politics                           07/05/2004

With particular reference to one of the themes studied in the module (i.e. Liberalism or realism or Marxism or reflectivism) critically assess the capacity of that theory to further our understanding of the practices of post cold-war international politics.

The practices of post cold-war international politics is very complex as there are many commentators and theorists who have campaigned the causes for liberalism, realism, Marxism and reflectivism.  With the spread of liberal democracies in the post Cold-War years does this suggest that liberalism is becoming more dominant?  However though there are other theories to assess as realism was dominant throughout the post Cold-War years because it provided simple but powerful explanations for war and was constant with the rivalry between the Americans and Soviets.

It can be argued that the demise of soviet communism at the beginning of the 1990’s certainly boosted the weight of liberal theories in international politics.  Former US State Departmental official, Francis Fukuyama has asserted this claim, and believes the fall of Eastern Europe and Gorbachev’s changing of ‘traditional’ Soviet ways of thinking, and eventual discarding of Eastern Europe is an indicator that liberal democracy has no serious ideological competitor.  It was ‘the end point of mankind’s ideological evolution’ and the ‘final form of human government’.  It is an argument that has been strengthened by recent transitions to democracy in Africa, East Asia and Latin America (cited in Burchill et al, 2001, 30).  Fukuyama refers to ‘liberal capitalism’ which is a type of political economy and believes the end of the Cold-War signifies the eventual change universally to liberal capitalism.  These appraisals made by Fukuyama have been outlined with the potential for peace in the post-cold war age by people such as President George Bush.  Although slightly ironic, as he made these statements after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, he declared to both houses of Congress that the threat posed by Saddam to the Middle East posed a very real possibility of building a ‘new world order’ based on a combination of US military power, collective action by all the major powers, and an enhanced role for the United Nations (cited in Baylis and Smith, 2001, 113).  This shows even though Bush went to war and against the liberal ideal of peace, he knew it would benefit peace in the long term.

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The conclusion that Bush and Fukuyama draw to is that liberalism will mean there will be essentially no conflict between one and another.  This is because democracies do not go to war against each other, and with the huge growth of democracies in the post cold-war years this would mean therefore peace should be more likely than that of war.  Furthermore peace will be maintained by the role of multilateral institutions such as the United Nations, the World Bank etc. they would bring together different states and countries, again contributing to the foundation of peace.  The role of the ...

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