PSIR: Write & Rise - 13
Q. What are the core assumptions of Idealism as an approach to the study of International Relations? Discuss its continuing relevance in the contemporary world. (15 Marks)
How to Approach
Explain core assumptions clearly first, then assess contemporary relevance with examples. Small critical note in conclusion only — don't give failures a full paragraph. Use Hedley Bull for the bridge between assumptions and relevance.
Answer
Idealism emerged after World War I when scholars and statesmen sought an alternative to power politics. Rooted in optimism about human nature, it argued that war was not inevitable and that international cooperation could build lasting peace.
Idealism rests on four foundational beliefs.
First, human beings are naturally rational and capable of moral progress. States can learn to cooperate rather than compete.
Second, war is caused by specific conditions: imperialist ambitions, authoritarian regimes and absence of collective security, not by human nature itself.
Third, international institutions can manage conflict. Woodrow Wilson's League of Nations embodied this, creating forums where states resolve disputes through dialogue rather than force. Wilson described institutions as transforming the “jungle into a zoo.”
Fourth, democracy, international law and free trade reinforce peace. Democratic states rarely fight each other and economic interdependence raises the cost of conflict.
Despite E.H. Carr's critique of Idealism as utopian after World War II, its core assumptions remain alive in contemporary world politics. Hedley Bull acknowledged that institutions helped shift international relations from complete anarchy toward an “anarchical society” where rules and norms genuinely shape state behaviour.
The United Nations, WTO and Paris Climate Accord are all built on idealist foundations. The European Union represents idealism's greatest practical success, former enemies building lasting peace through shared institutions. On climate change, AI governance and global health, multilateral cooperation remains the only viable approach — precisely what idealists always argued.
Idealism correctly identified that institutions, law and cooperation matter in world politics. While power politics still shapes daily international reality, as Russia-Ukraine and the 2025 tariff war demonstrate, idealism sets the aspirational architecture without which global governance would be impossible.
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