'The power of the pen': Liberalism's ethical dynamic and world politics

Millenium

Volumn 27, Issue 3, 1998, Pages 643-667

  MacMillan, John ^a  

^a KEELE UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 0040529143     PISSN: 03058298     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/03058298980270030301     Document Type: Article

References (87)

1. Stanley Hoffmann, Duties Beyond Borders: On the Limits and Possibilities of Ethical International Politics (New York, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1981).
2. This is not a position that Hoffmann himself adheres to, for he was well aware of the 'collision between man as a citizen and man as a human being'. In particular, he advocates the duty of citizens, particularly in nontotalitarian countries to reflect upon moral questions and seek to influence their respective governments. Further, he stresses the importance of moral education as enabling 'the individual both realize what he owes the group and emancipate himself from group bondage'. Ibid., pp. 141, 85, and 9. Nevertheless, in contrast to the ethical dynamism of the 1990s (and despite domestic protests over Vietnam that are barely mentioned in Duties), the notion of the citizenry and civil society as perhaps the key force for political change is not considered.
3. See, for example, Ronnie D. Lipschutz, 'Restructuring World Politics: The Emergence of Global Civil Society', Millennium: Journal of International Studies (Vol. 21, No. 3, 1992), pp. 389-420, and Paul Wapner, 'Politics beyond the State: Environmental Activism and World Civic Polities', World Politics (Vol. 47, No. 3, 1995), pp. 311-40.
4. See, for example, Ronnie D. Lipschutz, 'Restructuring World Politics: The Emergence of Global Civil Society', Millennium: Journal of International Studies (Vol. 21, No. 3, 1992), pp. 389-420, and Paul Wapner, 'Politics beyond the State: Environmental Activism and World Civic Polities', World Politics (Vol. 47, No. 3, 1995), pp. 311-40.
5. Hoffmann, op. cit., in note 1, pp. 57 and 192.
6. Jan Aart Scholte, 'The Globalization of World Polities', in John Baylis and Steve Smith (eds.), The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to International Relations (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997), p. 14.
7. While the term 'reflectivity' and 'rellexivity' are often used interchangeably, the use of the former avoids getting unnecessarily embroiled in the debate over the meaning of 'reilexivity'; see Ulrich Beck, Antony Giddens, and Scott Lash, Reflexive Modernization (Cambridge: Polity, 1988), and Ulrich Beck, Democracy Without Enemies (Cambridge: Polity, 1988).
8. While the term 'reflectivity' and 'rellexivity' are often used interchangeably, the use of the former avoids getting unnecessarily embroiled in the debate over the meaning of 'reilexivity'; see Ulrich Beck, Antony Giddens, and Scott Lash, Reflexive Modernization (Cambridge: Polity, 1988), and Ulrich Beck, Democracy Without Enemies (Cambridge: Polity, 1988).
9. Immanuel Kant, 'What is Enlightenment', in Kant: Political Writings, Second Edition, ed. H. Reiss (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991), p. 54.
10. Ibid.
11. This radical and direct engagement belies the republicanism of Kant's liberalism, apparent elsewhere in, for example, his advocacy in the preliminary articles of Perpetual Peace of a citizen's militia rather than a professional army.
12. Immanucl Kant, 'Theory and Practice', in Reiss (ed.), op. cit., in note 7, pp. 85-86.
13. John Stuart Mill, On Liberty (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1987), pp. 99 and 80.
14. Hannah Arendt, 'Truth and Polities', in Peter Laslett and Walter G. Runciman (eds.), Philosophy, Politics and Society (Oxford: Blackwell, 1967), Third Series, p. 115.
15. Ibid., p. 116.
16. John Rawls, 'Kantian Constructivism in Moral Theory', The Journal of Philosophy (Vol 77, No. 9, 1980), pp. 515-72 and 525. See also John Rawls, Political Liberalism (New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 1996), pp. 48-54.
17. John Rawls, 'Kantian Constructivism in Moral Theory', The Journal of Philosophy (Vol 77, No. 9, 1980), pp. 515-72 and 525. See also John Rawls, Political Liberalism (New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 1996), pp. 48-54.
18. Thomas M. Scanlon, 'Contractualism and Utilitarianism', in Amartya Sen and Bernard Williams (eds.), Utilitarianism and Beyond (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982), pp. 103-28, and 116-18. Scanlon clarifies his use of the term: 'reasonably, that is, given the desire to find principles which others similarly motivated could not reasonably reject'. Ibid., p. 116.
19. Thomas M. Scanlon, 'Contractualism and Utilitarianism', in Amartya Sen and Bernard Williams (eds.), Utilitarianism and Beyond (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982), pp. 103-28, and 116-18. Scanlon clarifies his use of the term: 'reasonably, that is, given the desire to find principles which others similarly motivated could not reasonably reject'. Ibid., p. 116.
20. Onora O'Neill, 'Political Liberalism and Public Reason: A Critical Notice of John Rawls, Political Liberalism', The Philosophical Review (Vol. 106, No. 3, 1997), pp. 411-28 and 426.
21. Rawls, 'Kantian Constructivism', op. cit., in note 14, p. 534.
22. This is not to say that its re-negotiation will necessarily be equitable, as the political nature of this process will lead it to be highly contested.
23. Rawls, 'Kantian Constructivism', op. cit., in note 14, p. 539.
24. Ibid., pp. 519-20.
25. See John Gray, Liberalism (Milton Keynes: Open University Press,-1986) for a fuller discussion.
26. Kant, 'Perpetual Peace', in Reiss (ed.), op. cit., in note 7, pp. 107-108, emphasis in original. The developing structure of moral consciousness is a theme pursued in Andrew Linklater's work. He argues that ethical frameworks that fail to recognise our obligations beyond the state were in contradiction with our humanity' and that the experience of living in and among sovereign states could, at best, produce only a 'fragmented moral experience'. See Andrew Linklater, Men and Citizens in the Theory of International Relations, Second Edition (London: Macmillan, 1990), pp. 27 and 37.
27. Kant, 'Perpetual Peace', in Reiss (ed.), op. cit., in note 7, pp. 107-108, emphasis in original. The developing structure of moral consciousness is a theme pursued in Andrew Linklater's work. He argues that ethical frameworks that fail to recognise our obligations beyond the state were in contradiction with our humanity' and that the experience of living in and among sovereign states could, at best, produce only a 'fragmented moral experience'. See Andrew Linklater, Men and Citizens in the Theory of International Relations, Second Edition (London: Macmillan, 1990), pp. 27 and 37.
28. Michael Ignatieff, The Warrior's Honor: Ethnic War and the Modern Conscience (London: Chatto & Windus, 1998), pp. 11-12.
29. Certain much publicised episodes in the recent Gulf crises provide instances of such a disequilibrium. First, film footage of the aftermath of the bombing of the Amiriya civilian shelter in the 1990-91 War led to the greatest dip in Western public support for the war. Second, footage of the plight of the Kurds near the end of the 1990-91 provoked public opinion in the West to push reluctant governments to establish the so-called 'safe-havens'. Third, in the February-March 1998 crisis both sides had realised the potential power of publicity. Iraq permitted reporters greater freedoms than in 1990-91, realising that media coverage of war could be an important propaganda tool against a militarily powerful but politically vulnerable adversary. And the US administration's awareness of the fragility of public opinion, particularly in the face of visual representation of suffering, contributed to its efforts to pursue-and be seen to pursue - a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
30. Dwayne Winseck and Marlene Cuthbert, 'From Communication to Democratic Norms: Reflections on the Normative Dimensions of International Communication Policy', in Annabelle Sreberny-Mohammadi, Dwayne Winseck, Jim McKenna, and Oliver Boyd-Barrett (eds.), Media in Global Context: A Reader (London: Arnold, 1997), p. 164.
31. Peter Dahlgren, 'TV News and the Suppression of Reflexivity', in Elihu Katz and Tamás Szecskö, Mass Media and Social Change (London: Sage, 1981), p. 104.
32. Winseck and Cuthbert, op. cit., in note 25, p. 168. See also Jürgen Habermas, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere (Cambridge: Polity, 1992).
33. Winseck and Cuthbert, op. cit., in note 25, p. 168. See also Jürgen Habermas, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere (Cambridge: Polity, 1992).
34. Edward S. Herman, 'The Media's Role in U.S. Foreign Policy', Journal of International Affairs (Vol 47, No. 1, 1993), p. 25.
35. See ibid., p. 25-26.
36. See, for example, Maggie O'Kane, 'Bloodless Words Bloody War', The Guardian (16 December 1995).
37. Sreberny-Mohammadi, Dwayne Winseck, Jim McKenna, and Oliver Boyd-Barret, 'Editors' Introduction-Media in Global Context', in Sreberny-Moliammadi et al., op. cit., in note 25, pp. xii and xiii, emphasis added.
38. Corporations such as Sky under Rupert Murdoch have launched an assault upon the public service sector. See The Guardian (7 April 1998). The broader question of the relationship between the state and such corporations is more ambiguous, given the recent disclosures of tactical cooperation between the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, and Murdoch, and the election of the media mogul, Silvio Berlusconi as the Prime Minister of Italy. See The Guardian (25 March 1998).
39. Corporations such as Sky under Rupert Murdoch have launched an assault upon the public service sector. See The Guardian (7 April 1998). The broader question of the relationship between the state and such corporations is more ambiguous, given the recent disclosures of tactical cooperation between the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, and Murdoch, and the election of the media mogul, Silvio Berlusconi as the Prime Minister of Italy. See The Guardian (25 March 1998).
40. See, for example, Johan Galtung and Richard C. Vincent, Global Glasnost: Toward a New World Information and Communication Order? (Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press, 1992), and Mark D. Alleyne, International Power and International Communication (London: Macmillan, 1995). The West's rebuttal of the developing world's case with the argument that their proposed reforms would serve to insulate dictators or non-representative leaders from criticism now appears very dated. The spread of democratic norms and the increasing dynamism of civil society globally lend strong weight to arguments for greater equity in the communication and information order on liberal internationalist and cosmopolitan grounds that would be difficult to contest. In terms of the better argument, at least, the door is open to proceed beyond the stalemate that characterised the earlier debate.
41. See, for example, Johan Galtung and Richard C. Vincent, Global Glasnost: Toward a New World Information and Communication Order? (Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press, 1992), and Mark D. Alleyne, International Power and International Communication (London: Macmillan, 1995). The West's rebuttal of the developing world's case with the argument that their proposed reforms would serve to insulate dictators or non-representative leaders from criticism now appears very dated. The spread of democratic norms and the increasing dynamism of civil society globally lend strong weight to arguments for greater equity in the communication and information order on liberal internationalist and cosmopolitan grounds that would be difficult to contest. In terms of the better argument, at least, the door is open to proceed beyond the stalemate that characterised the earlier debate.
42. The Guardian (4 March 1998).
43. See Srebemy-Mohammadi et al., op. cit., in note 25, p. xxi. See also 'ITV failing quality standards says report'. The Guardian (26 January 1998) as evidence of the 'dumbing-down' phenomenon in British television.
44. See Srebemy-Mohammadi et al., op. cit., in note 25, p. xxi. See also 'ITV failing quality standards says report'. The Guardian (26 January 1998) as evidence of the 'dumbing-down' phenomenon in British television.
45. Anthony Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity (Cambridge: Polity, 1990), pp. 18-19.
46. While it is important to recognise the state as a complex rather than a unitary actor, and that certain state agencies including voices within the legislature may well have shown a morally responsible concern for state actions abroad, these were nevertheless usually marginal voices in the prevailing ideological or imperial context.
47. Stanley Aronowitz, 'Is a Democracy Possible? The Decline of the Public in the American Debate', in Bruce Robbins (ed.), The Phantom of the Public Sphere (Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 1993), p. 81.
48. Arendt, op. cit., in note 12.
49. See Hamid Mowlana, 'Towards a NWICO for the Twenty-First Century?', Journal of International Affairs (Vol. 47, No. 1, 1993), pp. 17-28, and Mark D. Alleyne, International Power and International Communication (London: Macmillan, 1995) p. 2.
50. See Hamid Mowlana, 'Towards a NWICO for the Twenty-First Century?', Journal of International Affairs (Vol. 47, No. 1, 1993), pp. 17-28, and Mark D. Alleyne, International Power and International Communication (London: Macmillan, 1995) p. 2.
51. See Aronowitz, op. cit., in note 38, p. 81.
52. Ibid., p. xxii.
53. Sreberny-Mohammadi et al. (eds.), op. cit., in note 31, p. xiii.
54. Ibid., p. xxv, emphasis in original. Certainly, non-mainstream channels of communication-such as specialist magazines, pressure group reports, the world wide web and, in future specialised/gheltoised digital television channels-will be important for communicating and mobilising among activist groups. However, this article is primarily concerned with the broader societal equilibrium and processes of communication and information through mainstream channels (national and local channels, national and regional television and, again, to the extent that the notion of 'mainstream' television is challenged, specialised/ghettoised digital television channels) that filter through to the wider societal consciousness.
55. Ronald J. Deibert, Parchment. Printing, and Hypermedia: Communication in World Order Transformation (New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 1997).
56. Hamid Mowlana, Global Information and World Communication, Second Edition (London: Sage, 1997) p. 225.
57. John Keane, The Media and Democracy (London: Blackwell, 1991 ) p. 9-10.
58. James Lee Ray, 'The Abolition of Slavery and the End of International War', International Organization (Vol. 43. No. 3, 1989).
59. Richard T. Shannon, The Crisis of Imperialism (London: Hart-Davis MacGibbon, 1974), p. 209. In turn, this greater awareness and rise in concern, coupled with greater political organisation and enfranchisement of the working classes, led the 1905-14 Liberal administration to introduce a large-scale programme of social reform which was itself the precursor to the post-1945 welfare state.
60. James Mayall, Nationalism and International Society (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990), p. 46.
61. 'Before and alter the Brent Spar case (1993, 1995 and 1996), MORPs polls show public confidence in "scientists working in industry" was significantly lower (about 30 per cent) than those "working for environmental groups", and for "scientists working for government" the figure was even worse, falling to less than half that for environmental groups by 1996'. Quoted in Greenpeace, Consequences of the Brent Spar Victory (advance copy, January' 1998, to be published in book form), p. 46. It should be noted, however, that Greenpeace's own scientific credibility was widely perceived to be damaged through the Brent Spar case and that the loss of public confidence in governmental information since the case is most probably due, primarily, to the BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) or 'mad cow' scare.
62. Ibid., p. 34, emphasis in original, discusses the case in much detail.
63. The first occupation commencing 30 April 1995 had been removed by Shell workers and police on 23 May, but the platform was reoccupied on 16 June.
64. In the 1994-95 preparatory meetings for the fourth Ministerial Conference for the Protection of the North Sea, the Greenpeace representative asked whether the United Kingdom had granted a licence for the dumping of an offshore installation at sea. The UK delegate rebuffed the question, answering that he felt no obligation to answer the question of an NGO, and that he would provide information only if asked by the representative of another state. None showed any interest, until the next meeting, not long after Greenpeace had started its occupation of the platform. A number of delegations had been instructed by their ministers to include a section on the offshore industry, and specifically that the dumping of offshore installations be prohibited. In a striking affirmation of the importance of direct engagement with the consequences of one's acts, ministers realised that 'dumping of offshore installations at sea was no longer a liability that their successors would have to face in some distant future, but it was real and immediate'. Greenpeace, op. cit., in note 51, pp. 16-17.
65. See Polly Ghazi and Adam Sage, 'Greenpeace Wins War of Words', The Observer (3 September 1995). Indeed, a survey in Le Parisen, backed this finding with 56 per cent of those polled feeling the decision to resume nuclear testing was wrong and only 25 per cent backing the decision. See Alex Duval Smith, 'Nuclear Doubts', The Guardian (3 August 1995).
66. See Polly Ghazi and Adam Sage, 'Greenpeace Wins War of Words', The Observer (3 September 1995). Indeed, a survey in Le Parisen, backed this finding with 56 per cent of those polled feeling the decision to resume nuclear testing was wrong and only 25 per cent backing the decision. See Alex Duval Smith, 'Nuclear Doubts', The Guardian (3 August 1995).
67. See Greenpeace, op. cit., in note 51, p. 101. See Kamal Ahmed, 'TV Green Series grossly Unfair', The Guardian (2 April 1998).
68. See Greenpeace, op. cit., in note 51, p. 101. See Kamal Ahmed, 'TV Green Series grossly Unfair', The Guardian (2 April 1998).
69. These weaknesses include the fact that not all states signed (including the United States, claiming the defence of South Korea as a special situation, China, and Russia) and claims by some that the treaty may deflect attention away from the importance of mine-clearance (although there is no logical reason why this should be so).
70. See, for example, Frank Faulkner and Lloyd Pettiford, 'Complexity and Simplicity: Landmines, Peace and Security in Central America', Third World Quarterly (Vol. 19, No. 1, 1998), pp. 45-61.
71. Richard Price, 'Reversing the Gun Sights: Transnational Civil Society Targets Land Mines', International Organization (Vol. 52, No. 3, 1998), p. 621.
72. In reference to the brightly coloured mines of this shape that have been particularly responsible for maiming children.
73. Price, op. cit., in note 59, pp. 613-44.
74. See Paul Vallely, 'Queen of Hearts Meets the Heart of Darkness: Small Charities Enlisted the Help of the Great and the Good to Campaign for a World Ban on Land-mines, which Kill or Maim 2,000 a Month', Independent (15 January 1997).
75. Price, op. cit., in note 59, p. 624.
76. See, for example, Ruaridh Nicoll, Rebecca Smithers, and Kamal Ahmed, 'Diana Dons Armour as Tory Attack Continues', The Guardian (16 January 1997).
77. Ethical Consumer (No. 50, 1997-1998), p. 3.
78. One of the main problems campaigning groups have faced is to get firms to agree to independent monitoring of their practices.
79. Roger Cowe, 'Short in Fair Trading Row', The Guardian (I September 1998), p. 22. See Roger Cowe, 'Rich Pickings', The Guardian (9 September 1998), pp. 4-5.
80. Roger Cowe, 'Short in Fair Trading Row', The Guardian (I September 1998), p. 22. See Roger Cowe, 'Rich Pickings', The Guardian (9 September 1998), pp. 4-5.
81. An irony of this pluralism is that, while one branch of government has put itself at the forefront of the campaign, another, the Department of Trade and Industry, strongly supports the Multilateral Agreement on Investment which, if adopted, could lead governments of developing countries to 'withdraw environmental protection measures restricting the activities of foreign investors in extractive industries'. Moreover, there is currently concern over the implications for 'eco-friendly' or fair-trade goods of the rules of the World Trade Organisation that prevent differentiation in product labelling on the basis of how they are produced. See Kevin Watkins, 'Green Dream Turns Turtle', The Guardian (9 September 1998), pp. 4-5.
82. A term used by Julian Saurin in 'Global Environmental Degradation, Modernity and Environmental Knowledge', Environmental Politics (Vol. 2, No. 4, 1993), pp. 46-64. See also, Timothy W. Luke, Ecocritique: Contesting the Politics of Nature. Economy and Culture (Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 1997).
83. A term used by Julian Saurin in 'Global Environmental Degradation, Modernity and Environmental Knowledge', Environmental Politics (Vol. 2, No. 4, 1993), pp. 46-64. See also, Timothy W. Luke, Ecocritique: Contesting the Politics of Nature. Economy and Culture (Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 1997).
84. The Ecologist, Whose Common Future? Reclaiming the Commons? (London: Earthscan, 1993).
85. Ken Booth, 'Human Wrongs and International Relations', International Affairs (Vol. 71, No. 1, 1995), and Richard Falk, On Human Governance: Towards a New Global Politics (Cambridge: Polity, 1995).
86. Ken Booth, 'Human Wrongs and International Relations', International Affairs (Vol. 71, No. 1, 1995), and Richard Falk, On Human Governance: Towards a New Global Politics (Cambridge: Polity, 1995).
87. See Hoffmann, op cit., in note 1, p. 2.