Liberalism in Western Europe
Lecture 11
Variations on a Liberal Theme

One Might Say that Liberalism on a Global Scale,
as Embodied in the UN, Has Not Successfully
Transformed International Politics.
 The Liberal Vision Designed and Implemented at
the End of World War II Was a Victim of Realism
– The Cold War
– North-South Conflict

Can Liberalism Work in Less Than Global
Contexts?
The Transformation of
Western Europe

From 1865 to 1945 Western Europe Was Either
Preparing for or Engaging in War.
 In 2001 It Is Hard to Imagine Any Scenario in
Which West European Governments Go to War
Against Each Other.
 Thus, During Last Fifty Years International
Politics in Western Europe Have Been Profoundly
Transformed
 How Do We Explain This Transformation?
– Liberals Versus Realists.
A Brief History of European
Integration
The Marshall Plan, 1947-1952



George C. Marshall
U.S. Concern: Economic
deprivation likely to lead
to growing support for
Communist Parties in
France, Italy
Solution: Aid Oriented
Toward Economic
Reconstruction
Condition: Intra-European
Cooperation—The OEEC.
The Schuman Plan, 1950


Robert Schuman

Problem: Who Would Get
German Ore and How
Much Steel Would
Germany Be Allowed to
Produce?
Solution: A Common
Authority Governing Coal
and Steel Production in
Germany, France,
Benelux, and Italy
The European Coal and
Steel Community (ECSC)
The Treaty of Rome, 1957

Creation of Common
Institutions
– European Commission
– Council of Ministers
– European Court of Justice
– European Parliament

Focus on Economic
Integration, Particularly
Creation of a Customs
Union.
Jean Monnet
Widening Membership

Original 6: France,
Germany, Italy, Belgium,
Luxembourg, Netherlands
 1972: Britain, Denmark,
and Ireland Join.
 1985-6: Greece, Spain,
and Portugal Join.
 Early 1990s: Austria,
Sweden, and Finland Join
 Currently: “Eastern
Enlargement”
 From 6 to 15, Perhaps to
26.
Deepening of Integration




Completion of the
Customs Union in 1972.
Creation of Single Market
in 1992.
Creation of Monetary
Union in 1999.
Introduction of Single
Currency (the Euro) in
2002.
The EU Embedded in Wider
Institutional Framework
The “Atlantic Community”
 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
– “Keep the United States in, Keep the Soviet Union out,
and Keep the Germans Down.”
– NATO Solved the Security Dilemma Caused By
German and Soviet Power.

Organization of Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD)
– Origins lie in Marshall Plan (OEEC), focus on
economic cooperation
– Fostered Economic Cooperation Between EU, U.S.,
Japan
Atlantic Community Embedded
in International Institutions

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
(GATT)
 Bretton Woods
 The United Nations
 In Short, International Politics, Both
Economic and Security, in Western Europe
Became Highly Institutionalized.
Integration and the Liberal
Peace in Europe
Three Problems Needing Solutions:
 1. Pervasive Distrust—Particularly France
and German Rivalry.
 2. Economic Deprivation and Scarcity
 3. Political Instability
 Process of European Integration Helped
“Solve” these Problems.
EU Institutions

Created a stable framework for repeated
interaction.
 Helped Transform Franco-German
Relationship from Hostility, Suspicion, and
Distrust into Friendship and Cooperation.
 Framework was used to Promote Economic
Integration.
Economic Integration





Opening of National Borders to Flows of People,
Goods, and Capital.
Created the Most Highly Integrated Regional
Economic System in the World.
Created Clear Economic Benefits for all Member
Countries.
EU Framework Ensured that these Benefits were
Reasonably Equitably Distributed.
Thus, all Governments had a Stake in Supporting
Integration.
Democracy and Political
Stability

Postwar Prosperity Generated By Economic
Integration Stabilized Democratic Political
Systems.
 Democratic Politics Distributed Prosperity
Relatively Equitably Within Countries.
 People, therefore, had a Stake in Economic
Integration.
 Equitable Income Distributions Further Stabilized
Democratic Politics.
The Virtuous Cycle
Integration Delivered Prosperity and Political
Stability.
Prosperity and Political Stability Stimulated
Further Integration.
Further Integration generated Yet Greater
Prosperity and Further Stabilized Political
Systems.
The Realist Critique
(or, “Why We Will Soon Miss the Cold War”)

Liberalism is a “shallow construct” that stands up to
“neither logical nor historical analysis” (John
Mearsheimer).
Realism Caused Peace in Postwar Europe

Bipolarity
 Nuclear Weapons
 Need to Maintain Alliance Solidarity.
 In Other Words, Peace a Product of Cold War.
After the Cold War, Europe Will Fall Apart



Shift to Multipolar System, which is Less Stable
No Need to Maintain Alliance Solidarity.
Result in More Fluid and Less Secure State System.
So What?

Provides Clues about Causes of War and Peace
Elsewhere.
– War is Less Likely Where the Conditions We See in
Europe are Present, and More Likely Where These
Conditions Are Absent.

Can the European Transformation be Replicated?
– Is Postwar Europe a Model that Can Be Applied to
Conflict in Other Parts of the World Such as the Former
Yugoslavia or Africa?