Abstract:

Complex interdependence is the crucial concept of liberalism. If Liberalism believes in democracy, cooperation, mutual benefits, and human rights, then complex interdependence helps the states to achieve these ideals. Moreover, it also minimizes the chances of conflict and war. The military’s role as a tool of foreign policy is limited, and transnational actors take precedence. The core of liberalism and interdependence could be understood more clearly if one applied it to the European Union. With 28 member states, the EU is the most influential intergovernmental organization in the whole world. The EU member states are mostly democratic and can easily be described as welfare states. The multiplex interdependence is a unique feature of the EU which makes it stronger. The EU has different organs which are responsible for drafting the legislature and carrying out different functions of the organization.

Key Words:

Democracy, Complex-interdependence, Human rights, Cooperation, Mediation, Military Control

Introduction

Liberalism emphasizes extensive ties among states: this makes it both troublesome to develop national intrigues and lessen the readiness of military control. Liberalism formed within the 1970s, and a few researchers started challenging realism theory claiming that it was obsolete. Growing globalization, the fast rise in communications, and the increase in universal exchange meant that states might now not be contingent on straightforward control over the legislative issues to govern things. Liberal approaches to worldwide relations are moreover called theories of complex interdependence (Bell, December 2014).

Some of the main features of liberalism can be abridged as a belief which addresses the critical role of International Organizations in improving prospects for peace, order, unity, and equality which in the long run will help the state to flourish. The notion of a legitimate political order or in other words “democracy” is also attributed as a defining feature that pushes states towards cooperation and lowers the possibility of war. It also talks about the complex interdependence which increases cooperation among states. States have learned that they can only prosper through cooperation. Complex interdependence talks about the enhanced role of International Organizations. It further holds the view that states in non-security issues share authority with non-state actors like The WTO, WHO, chambers of commerce etc. They also have an impact and resolve conflicts which are mostly not resolved by the officials of the state. in addition, liberals believe that in some domains of the state’s life like trade, either all the stakeholders will benefit or none will gain anything. This is called a variable sum game - both can gain, both can lose (Minogue, Mar 09, 2018).

One of the proponents of liberalism, Emmanuel Kant, is of the view that threat of war could be eliminated through democracy, which means that if democracy is introduced among the states, they will avoid going to war with each other (Never at War: Why Democracies Will Not Fight One Another, 1998). He further believes that free trade among the states would additionally give incentives to all the states and various stakeholders within those states; thus cooperation instead of war would be promoted among the states. This aspect is known as positive peace. The third aspect which Emmanuel Kant mentioned in his writings is the development of international institutions. The idea behind international institutions is that when cooperation would take place among the liberal democracies, then their relations would become quite complex which would pave the way for the emergence of international institutions to address and regulate various issues, and these institutions would formalize the relations among states. The fourth aspect Emmanual Kant talked about is the nature of human beings. He believes that human beings are not selfish; they are peace-loving cooperative and soft. Not all humans have power maximizing as their ultimate goal; some want to live together in peace and harmony. Hence democracy as the prevailing system of government, free trade among democracies and establishment of international institutions to address the complexities originating due to enhanced cooperation are the core tenants of Kantian liberalism.

Liberal democracy, also known as ‘representative democracy’, has been the dominant framework of majority rule government in numerous Western nations for the past one to two hundred years. Michael Doyle claimed that there were three components that majority rule government followed which led to peace with other majority rule governments. One is the presence of national political societies based on serene struggle determination. Secondly, successful governments hold universal ethical esteem which leads to the arrangement of a “pacific union”; the enmity between vote-based systems is reinforced through financial participation and interdependence. And finally, popular governments don't go to war against each other it is because of multiple reasons; first owing to their residential culture of quiet strife determination, second their common ethical norms and values and their generally useful ties of financial participation and interdependency, and third that they are answerable to their public in a democratic form of government - if the public finds them guilty their time is over, so they are careful now. The component of answerability and accountability to their respective publics deters the leaders from jumping into war. The main costs of conflict are always borne by the people; hence people in a democratic system have the power to hamper any attempt at war.

The phenomenon of globalization has rendered governments and people susceptible to events occurring outside their national boundaries mainly due to augmented transnational ties among states and from top to bottom level of interdependence. The counter-argument given by the liberals to support their theory is that there is a complex division of labour in the international economy and because of the multiplex interdependence which exists between states daunts and reduces the chances of violent conflicts between states (Crescenzi, 1970). One of the main tenets of complex interdependence, which sets it apart from other ideas, is the significant role of multinational actors in the international stage. Moreover, the role of armed forces is back paddled, and the notion of a welfare state with a high tendency towards the rule of law takes precedence. Liberals argue that welfare of individuals is the top priority, not security, and they also highlight the fact that if states can use power to nourish themselves then individuals have the right to nourish themselves too through cooperation and interdependence. Hence, the world is more willing to adopt complex interdependence relations.

According to universal liberals, worldwide institutions are universal in nature; these are actually intergovernmental organizations. These institutions perform a wide variety of functions. However, most crucial is the designing of rules which administer the state’s activity in specific regions including aviation and maritime laws. Liberals cite the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and European Union as prominent examples of worldwide institutions. Universal liberals promote a behavioristic, sound perspective that states worldwide education and offers assistance, thus, advancing the participation of states to achieve a common objective, i.e. the welfare of the populace. Institutions aid in reducing core issues among states such as trust deficit and suspicion of the other’s motives. In this way, institutions exercise their control over many member states and make ensure the smooth follow up of policies designed by them which will ultimately benefit all.

The European Union

The European Union is an integration of European states that includes countries that have distinctive histories, institutions, political frameworks, and economies. The EU evolved from the European Community established in the 1950s. Its purpose was to enable cooperation economically and politically among the states of war-torn Europe. Decades after its inception the EU gradually accomplished its position of the prevailing administering financial body in Europe, and it presently influences almost all aspects of commerce of its member states.

In 1950, the vital development that ultimately led to the realization of the EU in its current form was the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). This was the groundbreaking leap towards the peaceful and prosperous post-war Europe. The ECSC came into being in 1951; its function was to overlook and administer the steel and coal business among Germany and France. This initiative is most significant in European history since for the first time a supranational entity was allowed to function. This also led to Germany’s acceptance into post-war Europe and served as the building block in the unification of Europe (Gabel, May 10, 2018).

European Union Members

The European Union members are Malta, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Italy, Austria, Luxembourg, Denmark, Spain, France, Cyprus, Slovakia, Hungary, Ireland, Poland, Sweden, Lithuania, Belgium, Finland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Poland, Germany, Estonia, Latvia, and the United Kingdom, the  Netherlands (europa.eu , 2019).

General Overview of the European Union

The European Union consists of a few overseeing bodies that manage distinctive viewpoints of the union's operations. In the expansion, each member state is elected chairman for six months, and sthe EC (European Commission) holds a chief imperative position among supervision bodies because it takes care of arrangements and is responsible for proposing enactment (other than the national governments of each state). Furthermore, the EC is responsible for overlooking the daily tasks and operations of the union and ensures that all activities are running as planned. Twenty commissioners comprise the European Commission, and the president is chosen by the EU members and is further authorized by the parliament. After the approval of enactment, the EC manages it by upholding it all through the union and looks for making strides in participation between governments. The committee is also comprised of priests, he speaks to the national governments of the fifteen-individuals of the union (Corner, 2014). Thus, making it a perfect example of cooperation among the states which is one of the basic principles of liberalism.

The power within the union is divided among the member states according to their contribution to the union. Italy, France, Germany, and the UK possesses ten votes individually in the Council; Spain has the responsibility of eight votes; Belgium, Greece, the Netherlands, Greece, and Portugal five votes each; Sweden and Austria are given four votes each; Finland, Denmark, and Ireland have two votes each; and Luxembourg has only one vote. A few problems, such as natural things, entail what is known as a qualified larger part (sixty-two votes) to pass. In any case, anything manipulating atomic prearrangement must be passed unanimously. Individuals of each country choose the members of the European Parliament; they use their free will while selecting the members whom they think will best represent them in the parliament, and each individual enjoys a five-year term. Whereas the parliament did pick up a few administrative controls from the Maastricht Arrangement, it mostly assists in the open gathering of the union, conducting discussions about imperious matters along with managing exercises of the board. At last, the Court of Equity is responsible for designing legislation, directions, and decisions in case of disagreements. Directives ordered by the court, which integrates fifteen judges and nine advocates, are in part authoritative.

Liberal Theory and the European Union

Liberal theory in worldwide relations predicts that states which are connected by exchange, enrollment in International organizations, and the shared equitable government will tend to end up progressively serene and cooperative.  Liberals also talk about domestic policies for them; they play a key role. If your domestic environment is correct, then you will enjoy foreign relations, and your country will leave an impact on others.

The most important thing to a liberalist perspective that all individuals of the European Union must be law-based (Dyer, 2012), and are consequently associated by participation in a moderately authoritative universal (supranational, actually) institution, and in most cases by a common advertise and currency. Liberalist predicts that these components will lead to expanding peace and co-operation, which is precisely what we see within the European Union (Carmichael, 2013).

Europe moved away from the battleground of the two most damaging wars, recorded in human history to the bastion of peace; mainly due to liberal components such as democracy, trade, and regulatory co-operation. The pre-1945 Europe was one of the foremost war-torn places on the planet, Europeans learned many things from both the bloody wars so, European states decided to devote much of their consideration to concocting and utilizing more current and more dangerous strategies and technologies to smash their foes. Control changed hands frequently and violently (Helperin, 2004).

When the states of Europe were not at war with one another, they were utilizing the brutal, efficient military personnel that they had practiced on one another to oppress states abroad, to whose generally immature equipped strengths they must have appeared like unstoppable juggernauts (Dyer, 2004). By the start of the twentieth century, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, the three most grounded states of the entire continent were at the loggerhead with each other, the former two making alliances against the latter, when the later ambitions for a war with the former got clear. However, at the end of the twentieth century

The primary move which paved the way for financial, military, and political integration was the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community which was formulated in 1950. The organization’s command and participation have both extended drastically, in case not continuously effectively, from six states into the 27-member law-based consolidation that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012 (Dyer, 2012). The European Union has bound together with the border security and money of most of its individuals, and a combined European Union government regulates a few of the continent’s collective household and foreign affairs. (Moravcsik, 1993).

It is worth mentioning over here that liberalism predicts that these variables will lead to expanding peace and co-operation, which is precisely what we see within the European Union. The European Union is, basically, one of the greatest proofs of Liberal theory, although there are elective clarifications proposed by other theories. One of the better ways for putting this is that states within the EU are currently illustrating cautious readiness to pool their sovereignty in ways that make completely no sense from a realist perspective.

The European integration on the sovereignty of European states is illustrative of another Liberal expectation which holds the view that the self-perpetuation of systemic elements that support peace (Dunne et al., 2010). Co-operation in coal and steel led to the cooperation in exchange in common, at that point to common advertising which led to the common currency. Financial co-operation requested political co-operation to direct trade, which come about within the political union of Europe through teach such as the European Parliament. Since the organization’s originators, accepting fascism to be at slightest partly responsible for both world wars, made vote-based system and regard for human rights prerequisites for enrollment (Dunne et al., 2010), any state which wishes to join the EU has to fulfill two conditions, first they have to become law-based and second they have  has to regard human rights, they should have a stable economy, and it must have the ability to take on and comply effectively the obligations of membership.EU participation has presently swelled to 28 countries (Dyer, 2012).

Numerous of these states, and others whose applications for enrollments have not however been endorsed, seemingly felt tremendous weight to reform their social orders to comply to section prerequisites, making the EU one of the modern world’s greatest promoters of majority rule government and human rights, subsequently the Nobel Peace Prize (Dyer, 2012). In this way, the monetary and political controls revered within the EU and its forerunners, actually, extended the organization’s beliefs.

There is no denying the fact that there are, certainly, some flaws in the liberal investigation of European integration. These concerns incorporate the thought that the EU was and is unimportant to territorial peace due to the Cold War and the control of the member States, the truth that EU states, in spite of the fact that peaceful towards one another, are still very inclined to savagery against non-members and members states, complaints of a ‘democratic deficit’ in Brussels, and of course the financial troubles relating to the Euro in Greece, Italy, and Spain. First, in spite of the fact that the thought of European Union states battling one another for all intents and purposes is not a new thing, but this does not halt European Union states, or coalitions thereof, from including themselves in military undertakings all over the globe. From the French mediation in Mali to the British interest within the intrusion of Iraq, to the NATO occupation of Afghanistan, European Union states have had a little share of these wars. Of course, this would barely be the first piece of proving to develop that challenged the thought that liberal vote-based systems were peaceful in common (Dunne et al., 2010); the reality remains that they are still exceptionally peaceful towards one another

Freedom of movement is one of the major standards of the European Union common advertise - and one of the more petulant, with fears over movement nourishing into a populist backfire. In any case, it is worth recollecting that within the EU nowadays over 500 million individuals enjoy living, consider or work in any of the EU’s 28-part states. Around 14 million EU citizens live in a diverse nation, concurring to insights from 2014. The EU moreover made the Schengen Range, which is now considered as the zone of passport-free, borderless travel that covers over 400 million individuals (Kochenov, 2017).

Besides work showcase versatility, the free development of products, reduction in tariffs for member EU states, administrations and investment resulted in EU’s status as the single supreme market in the world (Zimmermann, 2017). The EU always wanted to be a more integrated organization for that it took charge of deciding almost everything for the organization which will best serve to the purpose of the organization. Starting from the who will be the member, criteria of getting a membership, legislature, rewards and punishments for member countries, providing security to all the member states to designing even the minute policies for the members and they have to follow it. No choice was given to them. This was the drawback as many member states start feeling that their sovereignty is undermined somehow (Marks, 2001).

The EU is a multi-cultural organization that believed in equality for all. it made sure that the stronger states don’t exploit the weaker member states. Although the stronger states have more authority over decision making as they contribute a large amount of money from their GDP to the European Union. Despite this rule of the law was the same for everyone. EU made sure the trade done between the members states should have less tariffs so that more flow of technology, materials, product can do not only this, if a member state wants to do a trade business with the outer country who is not part of the European Union then EU will decide how much tariffs should be imposed on them. One positive point from all of this is that the money which is given to the European Union is used in making infrastructure and development projects of all the member states. If any member’s economy is derailing and it needs help, then European bank gives loans and to those countries to help their economies. It also makes sure that the EU should be the one, playing a key role in stabilizing there economy (Pes, 2015).

Significant waves of extension in 2004 and 2007 brought twelve nations, generally from central and Eastern Europe, into the overlay. Last year’s European Union's GDP was $16,5 trillion agreeing to the IMF, speaking to 22.8% of the world’s add up to (Parker, 23 March 2017).On a broader level, ease of doing trade gives a significant financial boost. It’s incomprehensible to evaluate absolutely since European integration took created close patterns in globalization, but financial analysts concur that evacuating obstructions to exchange makes wealth. “Of course, this is often productive since privately owned businesses look forward to opportunities which would expand their presence all over EU, as a consequence the buyers are presented with a range of options and that too at competitive costs. But there are still a few measures, rules and hones which stay at the national level and are still not harmonized. There is great trust for advance in spite of the fact that in specific with the advanced space,” said Francesca Bianchi, a pro in Exchange and Venture at the World Financial Gathering (Panchal, 12 January 2014). Liberalism predicts that these components will lead to expanding peace and co-operation, which will help the EU to work with full potential, which is precisely what we have noticed within the European Union.

Conclusion

Despite the fact that what the EU shows is barely the arrangement to all humanity’s fundamental issues and does not entirely demonstrate the legitimacy of Kantian liberalism. It tries to assist in reinforcing the relationship between a global exchange, International Organizations, and shared liberal-democratic standards, and peace. However, the example of the EU is the closest realization of Kantian liberalism in the international stage. One cannot ignore EU’s extraordinary status since half a century ago Europe’s most grounded members were waging wars against each other, and the entire continent was engulfed in bitterness. No one in their wildest dreams could have imagined that Europe would succeed in not only ending the vicious cycle of war but also establish a single currency, a passport-free travel zone and set the highest standard for human development and welfare. The beginning of the European Coal and Steel Community marks a near-complete break with past European conduct patterns, and Liberalism does have to persuade contentions as to why this can be so. When European leaders realized that they had to maintain a strategic distance from the war, they did so, by utilizing the advancement of democracy and financial integration through a universal organization, as Kantian liberalism prescribes. Despite the fact that European control legislative issues have not gone absent, and financial power continues to be worked out by more grounded EU individuals over weaker ones have become nonviolent in nature, and are being coordinated with designs of co-operation that distant exceed any verifiable point of reference.

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