International Relations: Liberalism Schools, Ideas, Theories

Subject: Politics & Government
Pages: 2
Words: 358
Reading time:
2 min

Analysts and scholars, such as Immanuel Kant, developed three schools of liberalism: reciprocity, identity, and interdependence. The first idea reveals that states can develop rules and organizations that have the potential to facilitate cooperation. The consideration of such federations ensures that countries are willing to cooperate. The concept that forms the basis of this school of thought is of reciprocity. Due to the accuracy of this ideology, different scholars could present additional thoughts to support it.

The second idea is that of identity and it describes how peace depends on the effectiveness and structure of governments. The idea supports liberal republics that have legislative branches to hold those in power accountable for their actions. When this kind of identity becomes a reality, chances are high that the country will become more peaceful. The effectiveness of such an idea is what led to the development of the democratic peace theory. This kind of argument or thought has become an ideology since it has the potential to meet the demands of more people. The realities observed in successful democracies explain why the model has become acceptable in different parts of the world.

The third outstanding school of thought is the idea that trade has the potential to promote peace and increase the level of global interdependence. Governments involved in this form of cooperation will share ideas and resources and eventually maximize the well-being of people. More countries will find it easier to solve emerging challenges or obstacles promptly. Such nations will handle conflicts efficiently before they can disrupt the process of globalization since it is capable of maximizing wealth.

The above three schools of thought managed to develop and become effective and practical theories for describing or analyzing international relations and affairs. Such models that emerged from the ideas include republican liberalism, interdependence liberalism, and liberal institutionalism. Immanuel Kant claims these three theories present liberalism as an effective theory for a foreign policy agenda. The accurateness and validity of the above three thoughts explain how the three theories guide more nations to establish meaningful relations.