Logic of Internationalism: Coercion and Accommodation

253 Pages·1994·0.85 MB·English

by  Kjell Goldmann

The Logic of Internationalism
Over the past few years the changes in the international political scene
have been enormous. The end of the Cold War, the debates over the
existence of a new world order and the arguments over a more united
Europe have led to dramatic changes in the way in which we look at the
international community. Kjell Goldmann’s fresh look at inter—
nationalism is, therefore, timely.
A theory of internationalism is outlined and is shown to have two
dimensions: one coercive (to enforce the rules and decisions of inter—
national institutions); and one accommodative (to avoid confrontation by
means of mutal understanding and compromise). Three problematic
features of the theory are then considered in detail: the assumption of an
effective international opinion in support of international norms and
institutions; the assumption that all international cooperation tends to
inhibit war; and the tension inherent in the joint pursuit of coercion and
accommodation.
The author seeks to examine the plausibility of internationalism under
present day political conditions, to focus on unresolved problems and to
establish a new agenda for research in the area.
Kjell Goldmann is Professor of Political Science and Dean of the Faculty
of Social Sciences at Stockholm University. He has published extensively
on the theory of international politics and foreign policy.
The New International Relations
Edited by Barry Buzan, University of Warwick and Gerald Segal,
International Institute for Strategic Studies.
The New International Relations
Edited by Barry Buzan, University of Warwick, and Gerald Segal,
International Institute for Strategic Studies, London.
The field of international relations has changed dramatically in recent
years. This new series will cover the major issues that have emerged
and reflect the latest academic thinking in this particularly dynamic
area.
International law, rights and politics
Developments in Eastern Europe and the CIS
Rein Mullerson
The Logic of Internationalism
Coercion and accommodation
Kjell Goldmann
London and New York
First published 1994
by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE

This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2003.

Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001

© 1994 Kjell Goldmann
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the
British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Goldmann, Kjell, 1937–
The logic of internationalism: coercion and accommodation/
Kjell Goldmann.
p. cm.—(The New international relations)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-415-09598-0: $59.95. –
ISBN 0-415-09599-9 (pbk.): $16.95
1. Internationalism. 2. International relations. 3. World
politics–1989– I. Title. II. Series.
JC362.G59 1994
327.1'01–dc20 93–46047
CIP

ISBN 0-203-42298-8 Master e-book ISBN

ISBN 0-203-73122-0 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0-415-09598-0 (hbk)
ISBN 0-415-09599-9 (pbk)
Contents
List of figures vii
List of tables viii
Series editor’s preface ix
Preface x
1 Introduction 1
The concept of internationalism 2
The roots of internationalism 5
Internationalism today 14
2 A theory of internationalism 18
The theory of internationalism: general features 19
Coercive internationalism 27
Accommodative internationalism 45
Additional features: democracy and dynamics 53
Three questions 56
3 International opinion and world politics 61
The concept of international opinion 64
The formation of international opinions 69
The impact of international opinions 79
The INF case 90
4 Cooperation and war 118
Introductory comments 119
Explicating the proposition 124
The weaknesses of the proposition 144
Conclusion 154
5 The ethics of internationalism 162
The claim and the dilemma as problems of research 163
Ethics and politics: three issues 171
v
vi Contents
The ethics of nuclear deterrence 174
The ethics of internationalism 185
Conclusion 193
6 Internationalism: an assessment 195
Internationalism as theory of international relations 196
The theory of internationalism and the post-Cold War
condition 202
Internationalism as obligation 207
Notes 210
References 219
Index 230
Figures
1.1 The concept of internationalism 2
2.1 The theory of internationalism: overview 21
2.2 Coercive internationalism 44
2.3 Accommodative internationalism 51
2.4 The endogenous dynamics of internationalism 55
3.1 Opinions and politics 62
3.2 Five types of opinion 65
3.3 The bargaining space between two actors, A and B 84
3.4 The direct and indirect impact of international opinions 114
4.1 Cooperation and war: framework of analysis 124
5.1 The Internationalists’ Dilemma 166
6.1 Internationalism as theory of international politics 196

vii
Tables
3.1 Opinions and politics: four contingencies 82
3.2 Propositions about the implications of international
opinions for peace and security 89
3.3 Views about nuclear weapons and the peace movement
in West Germany and the United Kingdom 95
3.4 The sort of people identified as protesters in peace
movement reports, October-November 1983 98
4.1 The cooperation-defection matrix 127
4.2 Outcomes as a function of own preferences
and adversary’s perceived preferences 134
4.3 Four ways in which cooperation may inhibit war 138
5.1 Views on how to respond to Iraq’s annexation of Kuwait 167
viii
Series editor’s preface
Part of the ‘new international relations’ since 1991 has been a wave of
liberal triumphalism centred on the defeat of communism and ‘the end
of history’. This wave has already begun to break on the rocks of
adversity in Bosnia, Somalia, Haiti, Iraq and North Korea, but it remains
a powerful influence in both thinking about, and in policy-making for,
the international system. Within this context, Kjell Goldmann has
produced a valuable and timely challenge to the mainstream community
of moderate liberal internationalists to put their intellectual house in
order. His challenge is comprehensive, raising fundamental questions
about the logical, empirical, philosophical and moral foundations of the
liberal internationalist position. He mounts an impressive enquiry that
exposes to rigorous scrutiny some of the major claims of rival positions
about what can and should be done in the international system.
Goldmann sets out very precisely what can and cannot be said with
authority on this topic and why.
His method is a meticulous and systematic unpacking of the whole set
of assumptions and ideas that underlie internationalism. He gives a clear-
eyed and relentless assessment of both the details and the package as a
whole, which is a welcome and long-overdue corrective to reams of both
well-intentioned polemic and narrower empirical work. While doing this
he retains a consistent position as a sympathetic, but detached observer,
following the arguments wherever they go. He is, in effect, cross-
examining a whole school of thought about its fundamentals, along the
way nicely pointing out the methodological assumptions that it shares with
its supposed realist rival. Goldmann has constructed a first-class
intellectual challenge here, while at the same time organizing and
clarifying much of the research agenda that is needed to strengthen (or
challenge) internationalism as a policy agenda.
Barry Buzan
University of Warwick
ix