Republicanism within IR: A History of Liberty and Empire

Abstract

The republican tradition has long been influential within political theory, but has been less acknowledged within the discipline of International Relations (IR). Republican theorists and republican ideas of political liberty underlie many normative claims made by both liberal and realist schools of thought. The following examination of republicanism takes an interdisciplinary approach to argue the relevance of republicanism for IR theory. When republicanism is recognised within IR, it is often through a triumphalist reading of the early American republic and its founding. This article opens new ground by presenting a more critical account of republicanism. It does so by focusing on the connections between republican liberty and the history of republics to dominate those outside the polis. El republicanismo en el ámbito de las relaciones internacionales: Una historia de libertad e imperio

The real promise of federalism: A case study of Arendt’s international thought

“…For example, in Daniel Deudney’s (2007) global federalism, the complex and dynamic aspects of state agency that Arendt’s federalism maintains do not figure much. Relying on the change in material contexts produced by the development of weapons of mass destruction and affirming the efficacy of the early American model of federal power restraints, the security-oriented federalism, a la Deudney, envisions a Philadelphian moment on a global scale to establish a world constitution on which all states are federated (Blachford, 2019: 35–39).…”

The balance of power and the power struggles of the polis

“…The legacy of republicanism within balance of power theory is apparent in the way realism has adopted republican authors into the story of realism. Realists frequently compare America to the republic of Athens, but the presuppositions of republican thought are rarely explored (Blachford, 2019). Looking to the Venetian understanding of Thucydides shows a way forward for IR to engage with its neglected republican foundations.…”