Ideologies in World Affairs

PGDIR Lecture
Dr. A.S.M. Ali Ashraf
Associate Professor
Department of International Relations
University of Dhaka
Email: aliashraf79@gmail.com
Friday, January 2, 2015

International Relations

Definition:
IR is an academic discipline that investigates the
interactions between various actors in international
politics.

Actors in international politics include:

State Actors:

Traditional Great Powers: China, France, Russia, UK, US

Middle Powers: Canada, Germany, Japan
Rising Powers (BRIC Countries): Brazil, Russia, India, China

Non-State Actors:

International Organizations (IOs): The United Nations

Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs): BRAC
Multinational Corporations (MNCs): BP, Conoco Philips, IBM
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Four Theoretical
Approaches to IR

Political Realism:

Liberal Internationalism:

International politics is not necessarily conflictual

States build international institutions to cooperate with each other
Institutions create norms and rules that states agree to follow

Radical Theory:

International system is anarchic

Domestic political system as well as the distribution of power in the international
system determine states behavior
International politics can be characterized as power politics

International system is a highly stratified capitalist system

Class differences determine individual actions and state behavior

Social Constructivism:

States are sociological actors, not strategic actors

States interests are not fixed, but malleable and changing
State system is not material but inter-subjective

Introduction to Ideologies

What is ideology?

A political belief system?

An utopia?
A threat to organized religion?
A rational way of thinking?
End of Cold War: End of ideology?
9/11: Return of ideology?

Example of grand political & economic ideologies:

Liberalism; Communism and Socialism; Conservatism

Nationalism & Revolutionary ideals
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Useful Readings

Cassels, Alan. 2003. Introduction: IdeologyConcept and Use. In

Ideology and International Relations in the Modern World, pp. 1-8.
London and New York: Routledge.

Steger, Manfred B. 2008. Introduction: Political Ideologies and

Social Imaginaries. In The Rise of the Global Imaginary: Political
Ideologies from the French Revolution to the Global War on
Terror, pp. 1-15. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press.

Introduction to Ideologies

Meaning of ideologies:

A political belief system?

An utopia?
A threat to organized religion?
A rational way of thinking?
End of Cold War: End of ideology?
9/11: Return of ideology?

Example of grand political & economic ideologies:

Liberalism; Communism and Socialism; Conservatism

Nationalism & Revolutionary ideals
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Meanings of Ideologies

Alan Cassels:

Manfred Steger:

Ideology has a whole range of useful meanings, not all of which are
compatible with each other.
Ideologies are political belief systems, with grand visions about the
world and the need for social change.

Conceptualizing ideology:

Science of ideas
Visionary speculation
Idle theorizing
False consciousness
Sophisticated thinking: Intellectualized knowledge
Unsophisticated thinking: Mass peoples belief system

Origin and evolution of

ideology

The French Revolution

Emphasis on reasons, and rationality

Western capitalism vs Soviet and eastern communism

Post Cold War

Emphasis on the exploitation of the mass people by the capitalists

Critique of the Nazi ideology and its effect on the outbreak of the WWII;
and the persecution of the Jews

Cold War

Destutt de Tracy
National Institute of Arts and Sciences, Paris

Derogatory punch by the Marxists and other radical scholars

challenge to the bourgeoisie society

Triumph of capitalism

Post-9/11 Era

Religious fundamentalism
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Characteristics of Ideology:

A set of closely related ideas held by a group

A broad interpretation of human condition
Simplistic, monocausal explanation of all the
past and future history
A doctrine with special claims upon the
attention of its believers
Dogmatic beliefs, hostility toward unbelievers
Links with power and political struggle

Major ideologies and their impact in

world affairs

Liberalism

Communism

Nazi Germany and fascist Italy before WWII

Terrorism

Arab uprising

Totalitarianism

China, Nepal

Nationalism

US policy

Various religious and non-religious groups and individuals

Developmentalism

NGOs, Civil Societies vs State

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Liberalism

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Three Cores of Liberalism

Moral

Political

Personal Liberty
Civil Liberty
Social Liberty
Individual consent
Representation
Constitutionalism
Popular sovereignty

Economic

Free market economy

Utility and utilitarian ethics

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Moral Core of Liberalism

Personal liberty

Civil liberty

Individual protection against government

Freedom to think, talk, and religion
Right to justice
Freedom of thought, action, and expression
Freedom of association and meaningful participation in social
and political sphere of the state

Social liberty

Proper recognition to allow people to flourish their capabilities

Recognition of collective rights and responsibilities for a group
of people
Equal opportunities and the elimination of discrimination
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Economic Core of
Liberalism

Market system:

Major philosophical thoughts

Adam Smith: the free market fundamentalist

Book: Wealth of Nations

Divine hand that operates the market
Theories of economic liberalism, free market, and competition

Jeremy Bentham: the utilitarianist

Freedom of contract
Freedom to produce, to employ, to lend, to borrow, to consume, and to invest

Book: Principles of Morals and Legislation

Each object has a utility, which is subjective; People always want to satisfy their
wishes, and they are free to maximize their pleasure

John Stuart Mill: the modified utilitarianist

Book: On Liberty
Redefinition of utility; emphasis on enlightened self-interest; priority of collective
interests over self-interest;
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Political Core of Liberalism

Individual consent:

John Locke: Two Treatise on Government

State is the custodian of the natural rights of men and women; natural rights
are: life, liberty, and property

Representation:

An elected legislature can make informed decisions in a given society

Political authority derives from people
Two conceptions of representation:

Constitutionalism:

Elitist: John Locke argued, only the property owners can be represented in the
government
Utilitarianisist: One man, one vote; any one can vote and can be voted

Written or unwritten constitutions; Separation of power in the government;

emphasis on checks and balances in the government
The government should be limited; and responsible

Popular sovereignty:

Rousseaus Social Contract; emphasis on majority rule

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The State and the

Individual

Two models of the state-individual relations:

Totalitarian: the individuals and civil society are controlled by

the state
Liberal: the individuals and civil society are not controlled by
the state

In his famous book, On Liberty, John Stuart Mill argued that every
restraint imposed upon the individuals is bad; and any increase in
the power of the state is harmful.
J.S. Mills distinguishes between self-regarding acts and other
regarding acts
Self-regarding acts: involve individuals and their lives; such acts
should not be controlled by the state
Other regarding acts: involve acts that harm other people; and
should be controlled by the state

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Capitalism in the United

States

Major thinkers:

Andrew Carnegie: Paternalistic capitalism

William Graham Sumner:

Market and competition will promote creativity, and individual skills

Successful entrepreneurs must use their wealth for public good
Equality will give way to the mediocre people; and survival of the fittest is the mantra of
capitalism

Basic tenets of capitalism in the United States

Individualism: Individual is at the heart of capitalism; an individual is an

economic being
Consumerism: Consumer demands will drive the supply of goods,
commodities and services
Free-marketism: Free market is an efficient mechanism for the
allocation of resources
Entrepreneurialism: Free enterprises be promoted to express human
creativity, supply, and demand
Minimal control: State should have less or no control over the market
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State-Market Relations: 3 possible

scenarios
Fig. 1 Minimal state interference

Fig. 2 Increasing state interference

Fig. 3 Massive state interference

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Radical Democracy

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Radical Democracy: Theory &

Practice

Radical democrats accept the moral and political core of liberalism; but
express some major reservations about the economic core of liberalism
Radical democrats question the effectiveness of free market economy;
and propose a more intrusive role for the state in market
Radical democrats suggest legislative and direct measures to correct
the evils of the market; and to control the market
While radical democrats prefer state intervention in providing the social
welfare services, they do not advocate for a socialist or centralized
economic system
Some early radical democrats in France led violent armed uprisings
and demanded the state to provide employment through state-owned
workshops
In England, radical democrats founded their roots with middle class
reformers aligning with the working class people

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Reconciliation between liberalism

and radical democracy

State intervention in the functioning of the market

State regulation of a growing number of economic activities

is deemed acceptable

The functions of the state are viewed not simply as

regulatory or supportive; but as complementary to that of
the state

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Socialism

Utopian Socialism:

Aversion to private property and the exploitation of the poor

A strong commitment to collectivism
Emphasis on the social nature of men and women, as opposed to the
individualist or utilitarian ethics of human being
Importance of education in spreading socialism
Human beings will achieve perfection under strong state control

Democratic Socialism:

Rejection of violence as a means to achieve a socialist state

Emphasis on electoral politics, and gradual social change
The Fabians (Fabian Society in England) emphasis on three forces for the rise of
socialism

Time: gradual change

Education: Persuading the elite and the masses about the effect of socialism
Political Action: Formation of socialist parties and participation in electoral politics

Socialism is defined as an advanced form of individualism

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Leninism:

Vladimir Lenin was a strong believer in Marxist ideology

Lenins key writings:

What Is to Be Done? (1903): It offered a theory of the

organization of the proletariat through the communist party

Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism (1917): It shows

how the highest stage of capitalism is linked to colonialism and
colonial wars among capitalist countries

The State and Revolution (1918): It explained the key concepts of

revolutionary take over of power, proletariats dictatorship, the
disappearance of the state in the final stage of communism, and
the abundance of wealth in a communist society

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Stalinism:

After Lenins death, Joseph Stalin emerged as Russias absolute leader and
a dictator

In 1929, Stalin undertook the Second Revolution, which focused on

collectivization of agriculture, socializing the means of production,
establishing a planned economy, and rapid industrialization through
massive capital investment

Under Stalin, communist ideology transformed from a revolutionary

ideology to a status quo ideology. This was because the revolutionary spirit
among the people had died due to the long years of civil wars, economic
hardship, and the declining morale of the revolutionary leaders. People
were looking for stability and reconstruction

Stalins rule saw the rise of Soviet economic and military power, and its
influence overseas

Stalin era is characterized by ruthless application of force and terror

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Titoism:

The term Titoism refers to the communist doctrine and

practices of Marshall Tito, who sought independence from
Soviet control
According to Adam Ulam, Titoism was a break between Tito
and Stalin
After the German forces occupied Yugoslavia in 1941, Titos
Communist Party organized the resistance movement, and
fought the Nazi occupation
After Titos communist party got political control of Yugoslavia
in 1948-1949, the communist leaders in Yugoslavia were united
to resist the Soviet attempt to dictate Yugoslav policies
According to Roy C. Macridis, the Yugoslav leaders were
disappointed to see the Soviet arrogance and interference in
their domestic affairs
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Crisis of democracy

Crisis of Ideology:

Crisis of Rising Expectations:

In many countries, people now doubt the extent to which the legislatures and
the elected people are the true representatives of the masses; centralization
versus decentralization remains a serious crisis

Crisis of Authority

Democratic states confront rising, and often competing expectations from states

Crisis of Institutions

Democracy offers a process to promote individualism; it provides a means for

achieving political freedom; but it does not tell what life is all about

The role of traditional authority structures, such as, the church, the mosque, the
family, the panchayet, the universities, and the social elites have declined; we
now see the rise of various interest groups

Crisis of Legitimacy

Repressive measures are used to establish regime security

Police controls and surveillance measures are used for counterterrorism
purposes
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Crisis of Socialism

Declining role of the state:

Increasing role of the market:

The Labour Party in UK and similar socialist parties in other

European countries had to slow down or abandon the massive
nationalization programs

The private sectors had to encourage for greater competition

and efficiency

Welfare policies as a reconciliation between socialist

ideology and market ideology:

The provision of employment, minimum wage, public works,

and public spending bridged the gap between the liberal state
and socialist ideology
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The Demise of Soviet Communism:

Glasnost (Openness):

Introduction of accountability within the Communist Party

Liberalizing the political regime by allowing greater public
debate
Reducing the press censorship
Promoting diversity of public opinion

Perestroika (Economic Reform):

A gradual movement toward a capitalist society

Dismantling the huge bureaucracy of centralized planning
Introduction of functional, regional and local units
Local and small units will enjoy the freedom to plan,
produce, secure labor and raw materials
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Nazism in Germany

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Various Themes in Nazi

Ideology

Negative Themes in Nazi Ideology:

Against class struggle: inconsistency with national unity

Against parliamentary government: to avoid fragmentation

Anti-trade union: to prevent sectarian and class interests

Against political parties: to prevent interest particularism

Against the Treaty of Versailles: to restore German status

Anti-Semitism and Racialism: guided by myths about Jews

influence in capitalism and communism, and world control

Anti-Communism: to eliminate the German communist party,

and to defeat the communist fatherlandthe Soviet Union
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Positive Themes in Nazi Ideology:

Nationalism and Racialism:

Expansionism:

The Nazis argued Germany was a young nation (compared to old

England and France), and it needed more living space for its growing
population

Communitarianism:

The Nazis claimed superiority of the German race and values, and the
desire to impose German superiority on other nations

The Nazis stressed that individual interest should be attached to the

interest of the whole German nation; and the Nazi Party

Leadership:

Free election and democratic representation was discarded; the Nazi

Party emerged as a monopoly party the single vehicle for peoples
representation
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The Subordination of the Society

The Army:

The Civil Service:

Jews churches were burned down; the Catholic and Lutheran Churches tried
to maintain distance with the Nazis; but most people supported the Nazis

Business Groups:

The federal and state civil servants found the Nazi ideology compatible with
their basic values of order and discipline

The Church:

The broken army saw Hitler as the savior; It strongly supported his Nazi
ideology as a means to rehabilitate the military institutions

Anti-labor and anti-trade union ideology of the Nazi Party was compatible
with the desires of the business groups

The Middle Class, Farmers, and Workers:

The farmers and the middle class supported the Nazis; only the workers
organized along the trade unions and communist or socialist partiesraised
some opposition
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Fascism in Italy

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Fascist Ideology in Italy:

Primacy of the State:

Importance of nation and nationalism:

The Fascist Party leader speaks for the party, and the State

Monopoly of the party:

Nationalism provides a spiritual glue to unite the people, and create a

nation

Absolute leader:

The state must subordinate the interest of all social activities and
individual interests; there is no place for liberal individualism

The Fascist Party leaders would control various state agencies, the
media, the educational institutions etc.

Creation of corporations:

The idea was to unite the workers and owners to create a corporate
culture in the economy; But in practice, the Fascist Party controlled all
strata of the economy
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Totalitarianism and Extreme Right

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Ten Theories of the

Extreme Right
Demand-Side Theories Supply-Side Theories
Single-Issue
Protest

Political Opportunity
Structure
Mediatization

Social Breakdown

National Traditions

(Reverse) Post-Material

Programmatic

Economic Interest

Charismatic Leader

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Country

Extreme Right Parties

Austria

FP,

Belgium

VB

France

FN

Germany

DVU

Italy

AN, and LN

and VP

Netherlands
Norway

FRP

Portugal
The United Kingdom

BNP

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Christian Fundamentalism and NeoConservatism

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Rise of Christian fundamentalism in UK:

Evangelical Christianity is on the rise, whereas

mainstream Christianity is in decline
The ultimate goal of the evangelical Christians is to build
up a society based on fundamentalist Christian faith
Some of the evangelical groups are strongly against
abortion, same sex marriage, and research on human
fertilization and embryology
Some Christian fundamentalist activists are found to
harbor anti-Islamic sentiments. They believe Muslims
are in general fanatics, who do not accept the existence
of non-believers.

U.S. Neo-Conservatives Urge Libya Intervention:

Neo-conservative think tank Foreign Policy Institute (FPI)

strongly advocated military actions against Gaddafis
brutal regime
The neo-cons asked President Obama to take specific
and immediate steps to bring an end to Gaddafis
murderous regime
The specifics in their proposal includes:

NATOs operational plan to deploy warplanes to prevent Gaddafi from

using fighter jets and helicopter gunships against civilians
Move naval vessels for evacuation purposes and to deliver
humanitarian assistance
To supply arms to Libyan rebels National Transitional Council (NTC)
To establish a no-fly zone

Hindu Fundamentalism in India

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The Ideological Foundation of Hindu

Militancy

Hindutva Ideology:

One Culture
One Nation
One People

Arya Samaj (Ariyan Society) Ideology:

Supremacy of the Aryans, who lived between the Himalayas

and the Vindya mountains
Aryans of the Vedic era were the chosen people (people
chosen by God)
Dayanandas writing The Light of Truth reveals the ideology of
the Arya Samaj. It stigmatizes Christianity and Islam, and
projects the supremacy of Hinduism

Founding Leaders of Hindu Fundamentalism:

V.D. Savarkar emphasized the unity of geography, culture,

and nation; defined Hindus as us, and Christians and
Muslims as them; argued that converts were still Hindus as
they had Hindu blood

Madhav Sadashiv Golawkar formed RSS to revive Hindu

nationalism

Keshav Baliram Hedgewar suggested that Hindus should

be united to create a Hindu Rashtra (Hindu Nation).
Following the totalitarian ideology of Nazism and Fascism
Hedgewar advocated the use of force to persecute the
Christian and Muslim minorities and establish Hindu
supremacy

Post-1947 Debate:

After the independence in 1947, some Hindu leaders

demanded the constitution to ban conversion
1954: Madhya Pradesh Inquiry Committee (Nyogi
Committee) Findings:

Christian churches with western money were engaged in

mass conversion of the backward tribes and low castes
Christian missionaries used schools, hospitals, and
orphanages as a means to promote conversions
Other states became alert and created laws to prohibit
conversion

1967: Orissa - Freedom of Religion Act

1978: Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Indigenous Faith
Act

The 1990s:

Hindu fundamentalists gained prominence

1998: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to
power at the center (New Delhi)
Counter-conversion strategies were adopted by
Shanga Parivar (Jana Shanga and BJP) and
RSS:
Reconversion program
Schools and welfare programs in tribal areas
Communal violence between Christians and Hindus

Zionism in Israel

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Reading # 2: Claudia Baumgart:

Zionism in Israeli Foreign Policy

Religious Zionism holds the belief that Jewish people are

the chosen people of God, and that there is a bond
between the Jewish people, and their promised land in
Israel
Religious Zionists reject the Israeli governments attempt to
disengage from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank
This is in stark contrast with Ariel Sharon and his successor
Ehud Olmert, who want unilateral disengagement as a
necessary step towards peace with the Palestinians
Interestingly, while Sharon and Olmert propose partial
disengagement from Gaza Strip and West Bank, they do
not want complete removal of the Israeli settlements from
Palestinian territories

Reading # 3: Israels Security and the

Holocaust

There are debates about the Jewish Holocaust.

Religious Jewish extremists, under the leadership of Rabbi

Zvi Yehuda Kook, argue that God had deliberately
decimated the European Jewish Diaspora to re-establish a
Jewish homeland in Israel

The author argues that the historical experience of

holocaust has at least two impacts:

On the domestic front, it offers a justification of Israeli settlements in

occupied Palestinian territories
On the external front, it justifies Israels national security policy, which
is premised on the existence of a small and professional army, and the
army reserves for wartime needs. It also provides justification for
Israeli nuclear deterrence

Islamist Fundamentalism: The Al

Qaeda Model

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Hoffmans conceptualization of Al
Qaeda:

Four dimensions of Al Qaeda movement:

Al
Al
Al
Al

Qaeda
Qaeda
Qaeda
Qaeda

Central;
Associates or Affiliates;
Local; and
Network

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Al Qaeda Central

Remnants of pre-9/11 Al Qaeda

Key leaders: Laden, Zawahiri, Hambali, Atef
Location: in and around Afghanistan and Pakistan
Past terrorist activity: 1998 East Africa Embassy
bombings

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Al Qaeda
Affiliates/Associates

Established terrorist or insurgent groups allied to Al Qaeda

Central

Groups benefited from Osama Bin Ladens spiritual

guidance, money, and training

Groups local agenda were used by Al Qaeda Central to

promote AQs global jihadi agenda

Affiliates: Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), Jemaah

Islamiah (JI), Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Laskare-Tayyiba (LET)

Location: Algeria, Indonesia, Morocco, the Philippines,

various Kashimir Mujahideen groups etc.
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Al Qaeda Local

Dispersed cells of Al Qaeda adherents

Two sub-categories

Individuals with previous terrorism/war fighting

experience in Afghanistan, Iraq, Algeria, the Balkans, or
Chechnya

Radicalized Muslim Immigrants with connection to Al

Qaeda Central or Affiliates

Example: Ahmed Ressam of Algerias Armed Islamic Group

(GIA)

Example: Siddique Khan and Shazad Tanweer (both Britishborn Pakistani origin radicalized Muslims), who were
involved in committing the July 7, 2005 London bombings

Command and Control of Al Qaeda Central: Not sure

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Questions for Discussion

Which ideology is more interesting and

why?

Is ideology relevant in analyzing

international politics?

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