James L. Richardson

Contending Liberalisms: Past and Present

The claim that the ending of the Cold War signifies the triumph of Western liberalism — irrespective of whether this is celebrated or deplored — overlooks the extent to which the liberal tradition, as commonly understood, incorporated radical differences within it. These often shaped the major political cleavages of the time — between Whigs and radicals, Girondins and Jacobins, the liberalism of privilege versus the liberalism of egalitarian democracy. Similar tensions can be identified today — between the liberalisms of `globalization from above and `globalization from below, the liberalism of international business and finance and that of radical social movements, the liberalism of privilege and that of human rights in the full sense. Not all these espouse the same liberal principles, but they can be seen as contending over which of the rival liberalisms should be accorded legitimacy in the post-Cold War world.

New Perspectives on Appeasement: Some Implications for International Relations

Historical research since the opening of the British archives in the late 1960s has brought about a substantial revision of the image of appeasement that had generally been accepted after World War II. Yet the traditional image has scarcely been questioned in contemporary writing on international relations. This article examines some of the central themes in recent studies relating to appeasement: the “structural” approach, which offers a new overall interpretation; the economic, military, and intelligence “dimensions” of British foreign policy in the 1930s; and the breaking down of traditional stereotypes of the roles of Chamberlain and Churchill. This reappraisal has important implications for the discipline of international relations, its view of the origins of World War II, and theories of international structural change.

Cold-War Revisionism: A Critique

The writings of the so-called Cold-War revisionists have had a powerful impact in recent years. In the case of the new generation coming to political awareness, analogies drawn or suggested between Vietnam and the period of the origins of the Cold War carry immediate conviction: many others have had their image of contemporary history challenged or even shattered, and those not persuaded by the revisionist case would acknowledge that important questions have been raised. Undoubtedly circumstances have favored the revisionist critique.

Ethical Issues in North-South Relations

The debate on moral issues in North-South Relations is not one into which J. D. B. Miller has entered at length, but his general position provides a good starting-point for analysing the welter of conflicting claims, and his comments point the way towards a distinctive and humane approach. Other chapters have discussed his view of the state as the central reality (more than a mere ‘actor’) in international relations. The present chapter will inquire into its normative implixadcations for the relations between the West and the Third World.

New insights on international crises

International Crisis Behavior Series, edited by Michael Brecher, Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press. Vol. 1. Michael Brecher, with Benjamin Geist, Decisions in Crisis: Israel, 1967 and 1973, 1980. Vol. 2. Avi Shlaim, The United States and the Berlin Blockade, 1948-1949: A Study in Crisis Decision-Making, 1983. Vol. 3. Alan Dowty, Middle East Crisis: U.S. Decision-Making in 1958, 1970, and 1973, 1984. Vol. 4. Karen Dawisha, The Kremlin and the Prague Spring: Decisions in Crisis, 1984. Vol. 5. Geoffrey Jukes, Hitlers Stalingrad Decisions, 1985.

Australian Foreign Policy under the Labor Government

This article discusses the foreign policy of Australias new government, in particular the extent to which its policies, as is widely suggested, represent a sharp break with the past. Australia long accepted the role of junior partner, first of Britain, then of the United States. The change of government in December 1972 coincides with changes in the international system which necessitate a basic reassessment. It is argued that in the fields of national security policy and regional cooperation these have been changes of emphasis rather than of fundamental priorities, whereas new themes have been in troduced on racial and colonial issues and in economic diplomacy. The changes are overdue and offer some prospect of a more relevant and constructive Australian role in the emerging international system.

Comment on the special issue (July 2002) Australian Foreign Policy: New Challenges and Changing Practices

My first reaction, reading this from afar, was to welcome the journal’s devoting a special issue to a stocktaking exercise of this kind, and this was confirmed as I read the various articles, all highly informative and offering a wide range of expert judgments. However, I also felt a certain uneasiness, barely conscious, over the ‘message’ of the issue as a whole. This stubbornly refused to go away: on the contrary, it prompted me to return to reread the issue, either to banish the sense of unease or else to ascertain the reasons for it. In the event, the passage of a few months has reinforced my initial reaction and made it possible to formulate those reasons. Despite the merits of each individual article, the overall message comes across as relatively inward-looking and unresponsive to the concerns of the less fortunate 90 per cent or so of the world’s people. The issue has remarkably little to say on the dangers posed not so much by international terrorism as the character of the response to it. The perception that the world is becoming more dangerous, and that the way in which the ‘war on terrorism’ is being conducted is enhancing the dangers, may or may not be correct, but the failure even to mention this possibility suggests that something important is missing. Disregarding the nuances, the message is surprisingly sanguine. Australian foreign policy faces new and varied challenges, but by and large is on the right lines. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is responding creatively to expanding demands on its shrinking resources. Australia rightly remains committed to free trade and to market solutions—for example, in relation to environmental issues. It is right to resist all suggestions for new international regulations, as well as protectionism in all its guises. Although the priority it accords to ‘conventional’ territorial defence is contrary to the prevailing trends elsewhere, it is in accordance with Australia’s long-term security interests. (This thesis, however, unlike the others, is advanced only after searching analysis). The only discordant note is the treatment of asylum-seekers, which ‘has failed not only the people detained but also Australia itself as a nation’. The author of this last article, Don McMaster, quite rightly points to the need to ‘alleviate the root causes of people movement ... human misery, economic cost and political conflict’. However, this key issue is scarcely mentioned elsewhere. The exception, remarkably enough, is a statement by the Director of the CIA (quoted

History strikes back: The state of international relations theory

Jack Snyder, Myths of Empire: Domestic Politics and International Ambition (Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1991) pp.330.

The Post-Cold War Order: Diagnoses and Prognoses

US16.45 ISBN 0 8014 9764 7.

Australian Strategic Perspectives

The Cold War and its conclusion - conclusions for international relations theory, Fred Halliday liberal democracy. constitutionalism and the new world order, Andrew Linklater the end of geopolitics?, J.L. Richardson the Soviet break-up and the new Eurasian geopolitics, John Fitzpatrick alliances and the emerging post-Cold War security system, Joseph A. Camilleri nuclear weapons and the new world order, Paul Keal future hypothesis - a concert of powers?, Coral Bell sharing the burdens of victory - principles and problems of a concert of powers, Richard Leaver the future of the liberal trading order, Vinod K. Aggarwal the new disorder in the periphery, John Ravenhill America - the firsters, the decliners, and the searchers for a new American foreign policy, Henry S. Bienen where and how does Japan fit?, David B. Bobrow Japanese security policy after the end of the Cold War, Jiro Yamaguchi China and the new world order, Ian Wilson middle power diplomacy in the changing Asia-Pacific order - Australia and Canada compared, Kim Richard Nossal at the margin - the South Pacific and changing world order, Greg Fry key security issues in the Asia-Pacific, Andrew Mack.