Mearsheimer - Liberal Legemony (3)

John Mearsheimer says that Liberal Hegemony was defeated by Nationalism and Realism. There are several reasons for the failure of Liberal Hegemony.

• Nationalism was the main reason for the failure of liberal hegemony. Nationalism believes that human beings are naturally social animals. People are born into social groups or tribes. Loyalty to the groups takes priority over the individual. In the modern world, apart from the family, the nation is the most important group.

  A nation is a group of people with characteristics that distinguish them from other nations. Nationalism believer that a nation should have their own state, so their nationality can be preserved and not be squashed.

  Nations place tremendous on sovereignty, or self-determination. People will fight to protect their nation. Whereas liberalism prioritises the individual and their rights, nationalism prioritises sovereignty.

  The world is populated by nation-states, so liberalism must coexist with nationalism. These forces can co-exist, but when they clash, nationalism almost always wins.

  In a world where nationalism is the most powerful political ideology, self-determination or sovereignty matters hugely for all countries. Nations don’t want a great power telling them what kind of political system is best for them.

  Although the excise duties imposed by the British were trivial by modern standards, the American colonists wanted to be free from British control. Their desire for self-determination was not unusual. In the same way, the nations of the Middle East did not want their fate to be determined by the United States, even if its intentions were good. They wanted to determine their own fate.

  The Chinese don’t like the American navy running ships up their coastline.

  Brexit is a triumph of nationalism over international institutions.

• Liberalism’s emphasis on human rights means that countries should accept refugees seeking shelter, and that there should be few obstacles to individuals moving freely from one state to another. However, in a world where national identity matters, mixing different people together is a recipe for trouble.

• Fundamentalist religious groups rejected liberal democracy and chose to fight against the forces of Liberal Hegemony.

• Attempts to produce a liberal democracy in Iraq and Syria using military force failed, and instead produced ISIS. Similar attempts in Libya produced anarchy.

• Militaristic behaviour is almost certain to threaten its own liberal values. Liberalism abroad leads to illiberalism at home.

• The crusader mentality that underpins the building of a liberal international order poisoned relations with the nations it was supposed to help. Power behaviour pops out when least expected.

• People don’t always care about human rights, particularly in other countries. They care far more about the fate of their own nation.

• In many parts of the world, people have lost confidence in democracy. The 2016 presidential election contributed to that loss of confidence, because the system looked dysfunctional. The Chinese believe that their system produces better leaders.

• The Global Financial Crisis and the growth of inequality shook confidence in the American economic system.

• The hyper-globalisation that began in the late 1980s has produced impressive growth at a global level, but has caused major problems in many nations. Jobs disappeared quickly, throwing numerous people out of work. Many were unskilled workers who found it difficult to find well-paying alternatives.

• The emergence of regional powers, such as Russia, and more so, China means that the United States has had to shift to dealing with what are perceived to be emerging threats to US hegemony.

• Liberal foreign policy is not a formula for cooperation and peace, but for instability and conflict.

The election of Donald Trump signalled the defeat of Liberal Hegemony. He campaigned on policies to end interventions in other nations, avoiding international institutions, and putting America first.