Must global politics constrain democracy? : great-power realism, democratic peace, and democratic internationalism / Alan Gilbert.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gilbert, Alan.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

International relations.

World politics--1945-1989.

World politics.

Democracy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xvii, 316 pages)

Edition:

Core Textbook

Place of Publication:

Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, c1999.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

As each power vies for its national interests on the world stage, how do its own citizens' democratic interests fare at home? Alan Gilbert speaks to an issue at the heart of current international-relations debate. He contends that, in spite of neo-realists' assumptions, a vocal citizen democracy can and must have a role in global politics. Further, he shows that all the major versions of realism and neo-realism, if properly stated with a view of the national interest as a common good, surprisingly lead to democracy. His most striking example focuses on realist criticisms of the Vietnam War. Democratic internationalism, as Gilbert terms it, is really the linking of citizens' interests across national boundaries to overcome the antidemocratic actions of their own governments. Realist misinterpretations have overlooked Thucydides' theme about how a democracy corrupts itself through imperial expansion as well as Karl Marx's observations about the positive effects of democratic movements in one country on events in others. Gilbert also explodes the democratic peace myth that democratic states do not wage war on one another. He suggests instead policies to accord with the interests of ordinary citizens whose shared bond is a desire for peace. Gilbert shows, through such successes as recent treaties on land mines and policies to slow global warming that citizen movements can have salutary effects. His theory of "deliberative democracy" proposes institutional changes that would give the voice of ordinary citizens a greater influence on the international actions of their own government.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Acknowledgments

INTRODUCTION. Power Politics, Antiradical Ideology, and the Constriction of Democracy

Part One. DEMOCRATIC INTERNATIONALISM AS AN INTERNAL CRITIQUE OF NEOREALISM AND REALISM

CHAPTER ONE. Must Global Politics Constrain Democracy?

CHAPTER TWO. Crossing of the Ways: The Vietnam War and Realism in Morgenthau, Niebuhr, and Kennan

Part Two. FORGOTTEN SOURCES OF DEMOCRATIC INTERNATIONALISM

CHAPTER THREE. "Workers of the World, Unite!": The Possibility of Democratic Feedback

CHAPTER FOUR. Democratic Imperialism and Internal Corruption

Part Three. DELIBERATIVE DEMOCRACY AND "GAMBLING FOR RESURRECTION"

CHAPTER FIVE. Deliberation as a Medium for Internationalism

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [279]-293) and index.

ISBN:

9786613380074

9781283380072

1283380072

9781400823284

1400823285

9781400811762

1400811767

OCLC:

614683391