Liberal Internationalism and the Decline of the State: The Thought of Richard Cobden, David Mitrany, and Kenichi Ohmae (The Palgrave Macmillan History of International Thought)

Liberal international thought contains a long-standing tradition of portraying the imminent decline of the nation-state. After all, some thinkers claim, national governments can no longer control their individual economies, as a result of economic globalization. The nation-state has become an anachronism. It stands in the way of a peaceful and prosperous cosmopolitan world order. It is a war organization, levying excessive and unfair taxes, hampering international communication and exchange. This volume identifies three prominent liberal proponents of this theme, Richard Cobden, David Mitrany, and Kenichi Ohmae. It criticizes their ideas by analyzing the coherence of their thought. It also takes special note of the implications of state failure to control economic growth and market exigencies for international relations. The book is divided in three sections. The first analyzes Cobden, Mitrany, and Ohmae's empirical claims, the second takes stock of their normative judgments, and the third examines their predictive assertions. Contrary to how the notion of state decline has been interpreted, this study shows that it is more of a desire than an objective description of an empirically verifiable fact. This book provides a critical analysis of the liberal ideas of the decline of the state through a historical comparison. It takes special note of the implications of state failure to control economic growth and market exigencies for international relations. The book is divided into three sections. The first analyzes Cobden, Mitrany, and Ohmae's empirical claims, the second looks at their normative judgements and the third looks at their predictive assertions. It concludes that the three primarily propose normative arguments for less state involvement in economic and international relations but conceal them in empirical and predictive assertions. The liberal idea of the decline of the state is more of an ideological statement in response to political, social, and economic trends than an objective observation of an empirically verifiable fact. "Liberal international thought contains a long-standing tradition of portraying the imminent decline of the nation-state. After all, some thinkers claim, national governments can no longer control their individual economies, as a result of economic globalization. The nation-state has become an anachronism. It stands in the way of a peaceful and prosperous cosmopolitan world order. It is a war organization, levying excessive and unfair taxes, hampering international communication and exchange. This volume identifies three prominent liberal proponents of this theme, Richard Cobden, David Mitrany, and Kenichi Ohmae. It criticizes their ideas by analyzing the coherence of their thought. It also takes special note of the implications of state failure to control economic growth and market exigencies for international relations."--Jacket Front Matter....Pages i-xii Introduction....Pages 1-10 Brief Biographies....Pages 11-25 The Decline of the State: The Empirical Claim....Pages 27-52 The Obsolete International System....Pages 53-83 Prescribing the Decline of the State....Pages 85-113 The Case Against the Nation-State System....Pages 115-139 The Predictive Element....Pages 141-169 Conclusion....Pages 171-180 Back Matter....Pages 181-226 In recent years, an increasing number of voices have been raised about the decline of the state.