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Towards democratic internationalism in a post-
exceptionalist era?
2012 December 16Book reviews, English, Global governance2
Commentsby Oliver StuenkelLike15 Retweet8
G. John Ikenberry (author ofLiberal Leviathan) and Daniel
Deudney have written a thought-provoking
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policy paperarguing that the United States should initiate a new
phase of democratic internationalismbased on the "pull of success
rather than the push of power" that "deepens democracy globally,
preventsdemocratic backsliding, and strengthens and consolidates
bonds among democratic states." Today, theyargue, the United States
is no longer as exceptional and indispensable largely because of
its success increating a free world order in which so many states
are liberal, capitalist, and democratic. The triumphalistunipolar
moment, according to the authors, is over.
Therefore, the US needs to reinvigorate liberal internationlaism
by once again embracing democracypromotion, but based on a strategy
of attractionthe pull of success rather than the push of power.
Thisnext phase of democratic internationalism would return liberal
internationalism to its roots in socialdemocratic ideals, seek to
redress imbalances within the democratic world between
fundamentalistcapitalism and socioeconomic equity, and move toward
a 'posthegemonic system' of global governance inwhich the United
States increasingly shares authority with other democracies. As a
consequence, thispaper dedicates a surprising amount of space to
domestic issues - how to deal with inequality, health care,and
fiscal imbalances to assure that democracies become 'middle-class
societies' again and arefundamentally seen as more successful
countries than non-democratic regimes.
ll together now
Democracies, the authors assert, "must develop a stronger sense
of community to face today's challenges."They correctly point out
that today's democracies do not face an ideological threat similar
to communismduring the Cold War. Neither China, nor Russia, nor any
other state or non-state actor is capable ofarticulating any
narrative that can seriously challenge liberal democracy. Yet it is
precisely because of theabsence of such a threat that democracies
are unlikely to unite in the way Ikenberry and Deudney wouldlike to
have it. The Soviet threat made Atlantic cooperation a necessity
that no longer exists today.
In addition, countries like India are democratic, but they are
extremely reluctant when it comes todemocracy promotion or to join
a 'democratic alliance'. Many scholars argue that democracy is a
"non-issue" for Indian foreign policy. India-Brazil ties, for
example, are unlikely to grow very strong justbecause both
countries happened to be democracies - other issues, not related to
democracy, matter just asmuch. Brazil defends democracy in its
neighborhood, but mostly because it aligns with its project
ofregional hegemony, not because it cares about an international
community of democracies. In the sameway, neither Turkey, South
Africa nor Indonesia have been keen democracy defenders or
supporters.
Ikenberry and Deudney argue that the time has never been better
to realize the democratic internatioanlistproject - yet what
exactly can the United States do to convince democracies such as
Brazil and India tostart thinking and acting in the framework of a
community of democracies? The paper is conspicuouslysilent about
Brazil's and India's motivations to join the United States in such
an endeavor.
The authors argue that "rather than automatically building
larger transnational or supranational bodies and
organizations, the democratic community should explore networks,
private-public partnerships, andinformal groupings as frameworks
for managing interdependence." Yet isn't this what democracies
shoulddo with non-democratic regimes as well? As I have argued in a
recent post, democracies must engageChina's civil society to
overcome the barriers its non-democratic regime erects between the
Chinesepeople and the rest of the world.
Speaking about the United States relation to non-Western
democracies, the authors' assertion that"civilizational
differences" that will overshadow ties and that "human rights and
political democracy arenot just Western in origin but Western in
character, and their realization is incompatible with the
corevalues of non-Western civilizations" is unlikely to find much
approval among readers in Istanbul, Jakarta,New Delhi and Pretoria.
Ikenberry and Deudney are right that the United States must become
a 'normal'democracy (and no longer an exceptionalist one), but they
say little about how to contain the UnitedStates' exceptionalist
impulses, which includes allowing emerging powers such as Brazil
and Turkeyassume greater responsibility regarding issues formerly
monopolized by the US - such as the Middle Eastconflict.
http://www.postwesternworld.com/2012/03/09/brazil-and-turkey-towards-a-strategic-partnership/http://www.postwesternworld.com/2012/10/05/blocked-in-china/http://www.cfr.org/united-states/democratic-internationalism-american-grand-strategy-post-exceptionalist-era/p29417
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The paper ends on an ambiguous note - while Ikenberry and
Deudney argue that the United States shouldbecome a
post-exceptional country, they also hope to "extend the American
century" - from a Brazilian orIndian perspective, a stronger US
commitment is necessary that the United States is not opposed to
theirrise and stronger projection of power in global affairs. In
addition, many policy makers in risingdemocracies will be reluctant
to use the authors' liberal rhetoric for fear of creating an
'insider vs. outsider'dynamic between democracies and
non-democratic regimes.
Still, Ikenberry and Deudney make a courageous attempt to
introduce new issues into the public debate -it is easy to
criticize their recommendations, but much harder to develop new
ideas about how the UnitedStates should position itself in a
post-Western world.
Read also:
Book review: No Ones World by Charles A. Kupchan
Book review: American Democracy Promotion: Impulses, Strategies
and Impacts
2040: US military supremacy vs Chinese economic leadership
Who will make the rules in tomorrows world?
2 Responses leave one!
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1. Book review: "Responsibility to Protect: Cultural
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2. Advocating a Liberal World Order? | Post Western World
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