To what extent has the
imposition of liberalism today
affected people globally?
CH. 9 Lesson 2
Realities of imposing Liberalism
• “No political doctrine or ideology can represent the
full truth of human life” Do you agree?
• Read the excerpt at the bottom of p. 318-319. How
would you react to such a situation? Would other
countries be
Justified in
Intervening?
Imposing Liberalism for Self-Interest
• Globalization and the growing interconnectivity of our
world has created a situation in which communication,
trade flows, and political stability in one country is often
dependent on outside factors.
• Reasoning:
• 1. The imposition of Liberalism to eliminate or reduce
terrorist attacks will maintain the security of other
liberal democracies
• 2. or for reasons of economic self-interest. If liberalism
is fostered in countries where it is not present, it will
benefit the economy of that country and encourage
trade with other liberal democracies (mutual economic
benefits)
The War on Terror – 2001 - Afghanistan
• 9/11, 2001 - Terrorist attacks on U.S.A launched American
lead “military, political, and ideological” war on terror.
Britain, Canada, and many other countries support removal of
Taliban government in Afghanistan (known supporters of al
Qaeda).
• Read the comments by Tony Blair, George Bush – Do you
agree with their justifications?
Extending war on terror to Iraq
• The United States attacked Iraq in 2003 due to its
perceived threat to begin using weapons of mass
destruction to aid terrorist groups.
• Unlike the Afghanistan invasion though, the UN and
many other countries did not support this reasoning
(Canada and France did not support attack).
• The opposition to the war in Iraq argued that this was
a blatant misrepresentation of the need to impose
liberalism on non-liberal societies – it has been seen
my many as pure economic self-interest that guided
the removal of Saddam Hussein and establishment of
a Liberal Democracy in Iraq.
• Is Self –Interest
an acceptable
condition for the
imposition of
Liberalism?
Imposing Liberalism for Humanitarian reasons
• The imposition of Liberalism for moral or ethical
reasons such as to improve living conditions or stop
human rights violations.
• Read John Rawls comments on p. 322 about
imposing liberalism – What concerns him
about the imposition of Liberalism?
• Sometimes the altruistic argument (devotion to the
welfare of others) is used in combination with an
argument of self-interest to justify a foreign policy of
intervention to protect citizens from authoritarian
regimes. This is not always successful though.
Canada’s involvement in Afghanistan p. 323-4
• In groups of 3, read the 3 quotes on p. 323-4 and
discuss your responses to questions 1-3.
Why can Liberalism fail?
• Read p. 324-329 and compile a list as well as case
examples that express why Liberalism can fail:
What makes Liberalism successful?
• In groups, compile a list of conditions that need to
be present in a society for Liberalism to succeed: