The features of the international order and the drivers of its change are one of the most flourishing debates of contemporary IR literature. Sonia Lucarelli's book contributes to this debate by reconstructing the political trajectory of the liberal political order and inquiring the factors of its possible crisis.
Lucarelli defines the international order as ‘a set of principles, values, norms and (formal and informal) institutions that rule the practices of the main international actors as well as their relationships based on a shared narrative’ (p. 19). She clarifies that such a complex phenomenon can historically occur to a greater extent when its geographical scope is wider, because it is more binding over time and by issue area and thus it consists more largely of interconnected actors whose internal political order is consistent with the international order.
In the first part of the volume, Lucarelli recalls the normative foundations of liberalism and the historical evolution that has translated those values into political practices and institutions. This historical evolution has probably made the liberal order into a type of international order that meets fully the above-mentioned traits. Lucarelli argues this process started in the 19th century and has gone through three evolutionary phases that relate to the major wars in contemporary history.
In the first phase, the development of the international liberal order was substantially influenced by the Wilsonian program of peace, democracy and free trade. It consisted in the creation and diffusion of rules for building democratic practices, through the principle of self-determination of peoples as well as through open and accountable diplomatic practices, and of the rules for affirming the superiority of law over violence, through multilateral institutions of collective security and the rejection of war as a legitimate means of dispute resolution.
In the second phase, the international liberal order was strengthened thanks to the hegemonic role of the United States and to the consolidation of transatlantic relations during the Cold War. In the post-45 US-centred international order, the liberalization of international markets based on embedded capitalism and a thick cobweb of inclusive multilateral institutions contributed to manage international affairs and, in part, to spread the values of democracy and the state of the law.
The end of the Cold War triggered the third phase of the international liberal order. This phase was characterized by the creation of the European Union, the spread of democratic governance and the enlargement of Western institutions on a regional and global level. The further liberalization of economic activities also characterized this phase, but it was based on the principles of neoliberalism that had started dominating the shared narrative towards the end of the Cold War.
One might conclude the international liberal order is at the peak of its political trajectory. This is not to say, however, that the globalization of the Western order is without severe challenges. On the one hand, Lucarelli stresses that the liberal order has not been fully able to deliver on its promises. Civil wars and transnational terrorism are threatening international security; multilateral rules and institutions struggle to manage international change; the global recession and the shortcomings of neoliberalism have put widespread prosperity out of reach; populism has weakened democracy even inside the Western world.
On the other hand, it seems that the core elements of the liberal narrative are challenged by some fundamental processes that partly result from the liberal order's own success. In the second part of the book, Lucarelli focuses on these processes in order to understand their causes and disentangle their implications. These challenges relate to the globalization of economic activities, to the digital revolution and to the protection of individual rights.
First, Lucarelli emphasizes that the creation and the expansion of an open international market are among the most important achievements of the liberal order and have greatly contributed to increase global wealth. However, the deregulated form the globalization of economic activities took on since the last decades of the Cold War has triggered several factors that are more and more endangering the liberal order at the national and global level. To this regard, Lucarelli particularly elaborates on the rising domestic and international inequalities, the decreasing chances of mobility within and between generations and the weakening role of unions and political parties.
Second, the digital revolution has greatly contributed to fulfil key goals of the liberal agenda but, at the same time, it is weakening the legitimacy of democratic governance and the stability of the international liberal order. In fact, the digital revolution can be used by foreign powers and private actors to target the electoral process and the decision-making procedures of democratic countries; and, to expand the power and control over the population of (democratic and non-democratic) governmental actors. Furthermore, the digital divide combines with other forms of socio-economic inequality and the information technologies increase the vulnerability of the population of Western countries to terrorist attacks.
Eventually, Lucarelli maintains the inner core of the normative liberal narrative is at stake. The sphere of individual rights has been significantly compressed by emergency laws adopted to tackle the threat of transnational terrorism; it has been manipulated according to the politics of identity; it has been strained by the conflict between states' particularistic interests and the universalistic defence of individual rights, as happened in the case of migrants and refugees.
The volume Cala il sipario sull'ordine liberale? Crisi di un sistema che ha cambiato il mondo approaches the issue of the trajectory of the liberal order from a variety of perspectives. It combines history and political science, normative and positive discourse. It studies both the national and international factors of the liberal order; both the American and European contribution in forging the international liberal order and making it more resilient. The main contribution of this volume is to effectively make clear how fragile the liberal order is and why it is at risk. However, Lucarelli concludes, this is not to expect the liberal order cannot overcome its current challenges.
