Like neorealism, liberalism views the international as an anarchic realm, although liberalism seeks to project values of order, freedom and justice. Cobden suggests that war is unnecessary because globalization ensures free trade, which in turn creates a more peaceful world by bringing mutual benefits to all. Therefore, globalization has established peace because, after the First World War, peace is not a natural condition but must be built and requires “consciously conceived machines”. Liberals think that the best way to ensure this peace is through interdependence. Woodrow Wilson thought that the creation of the “League of Nations” would preserve the coming peace and regulate international anarchy. “Collective security” is part of the League system which invoked the neorealist principle of self-determination of all nations. This required that nations act, if necessary, against states they considered friendly and, in a way that might endanger their national interests, to support states with which they had no moral affinity. A difference between the two theories is evident when considering the distribution of capabilities. Neorealists assess that there are three possible systems defined by the number of great powers within the international system; a unipolar system containing a single great power; a bipolar system containing two great powers and a multipolar system containing more than two great powers. Neorealists conclude that a bipolar system is more
tags