The Einstein Visiting Fellowship was affiliated to the Cluster of Excellence “Contestations of the Liberal Script (SCRIPTS)”. Within this cluster, the internal and external challenges facing liberal democracies were researched. The 'liberal script' was understood broadly in the cluster, meaning that a wide range of ideas, practices and institutional orders were included. This included international organizations and other facets of what is known as “global governance”, which is currently under intense scrutiny. These questions are raised by local actors in the form of nationalist parties as well as by opponents of globalization. International relations have also evolved in ways that further weaken the 'liberal script' and institutions of 'global governance', such as the growing rivalries between the major powers and the inequalities and instability that capitalism brings with it. In addition, there are new forms of political and social mobilization, often linked to new communication channels and technologies.
During the fellowship period, the prospects for the existence of a global order have deteriorated markedly, which significantly increases the relevance of our research question and our approach. The complexity of the current global order and the likely future developments are closely linked to the interaction between “old” and “new”. On the one hand, we face global challenges leading to global constraints, as well as the impact of new technologies and new knowledge on the economy, weapons, network capabilities and their patterns. On the other hand, there are the “old” patterns of thought and dynamics, in particular the dynamics of internal political competition, geopolitical rivalries, insecure regimes, nationalist assertions and armed struggles.
Given this combination of the understanding of the 'liberal script' practiced in the cluster and the current crisis of global order, Andrew Hurrell felt it appropriate to voice his criticism of the narrowness of mainstream, liberal ideas in the subject of 'International Relations'. Liberalism is a complex and diverse tradition of political thought and practice. However, when liberalism is discussed on an international or global level, the debate is often limited to the so-called “global liberal order” after the end of the Cold War. The rich and diverse history of liberal ideas on international order is thus reduced to a historical, contingent episode. Within the Cluster, the focus of the Fellowship was to look beyond the 'global liberal order' of the post-Cold War years to open up a broader range of liberal thought to the members of the Cluster. In retrospect, we see how the exposure and exposition of liberal concepts lead to a much more pluralistic version of the “liberal script”. This emphasizes profound diversity, absence of domination and self-determination, effective political participation and balance of power. For the future, this means that it is not helpful to think about alternatives such as a new West-centered liberal order on the one hand and a return to the Westphalian order on the other. Instead, we need to understand what possibilities for order exist in a world that is no longer so West-centered and confronted with strong geopolitical conflicts. Part of this search is also understanding how to identify and reinforce the liberal aspects and values actually shared by all.
Closely linked to the forms of liberal pluralism is the need to understand that the global level is constantly changing. The reactions to the war in Ukraine and Gaza have drawn public attention to this problem. This is precisely what Andrew Hurrell's research group has sought to explore and explain: The current situation in international politics can only be understood if we look at it in context, as part of the historical process in which European or Western international society became global. Much of what is seen as the international liberal order is not the result of American or Western hegemony. Rather, it is the result of competition, social transformations and revolutionary upheavals that took place outside the West during the struggles against Western domination and during a conflict-ridden Cold War.
For these reasons, the research group has explored the following themes: the challenges of modern international society during decolonization and the emergence of what came to be called the Third World and the Global South; how a variety of languages and demands that echoed liberalism developed and eventually came into conflict (a conflict that existed both from the perspective of Western governments and those who questioned their rule); and the current struggle over the nature of international and global order that is evident in the international relations of developing and middle-income countries in the postcolonial world of the present. This struggle encompasses possible visions of the future, both liberal and non-liberal. To explore these issues, the research group has selected Latin America as the region where the contributions from outside the North Atlantic to the existing and future liberal order can best be identified.
(Translated from the original version in German.)