Anarchy is a central concept in international relations theory. Both realism and constructivism, whilst divergent in nature, accept that the structure of the international system is anarchical. However, there is debate as to whether or not the effects of anarchy, such as self-help, can be overcome without fundamentally changing the structure of international politics.
The 1989 Tiananmen event presented the strongest challenge to the CCP’s monopoly of power. Although the CCP still hold dominance in Chinese politics, the influence of the media and the high number of participants and methods used by the protesters were all factors contributing the high level of reaction from CCP leaders.
This essay aims to discuss the ways in which liberal internationalism provides a more convincing account of international relations than class based approaches. Although the liberal international approach has been relatively successful in achieving its aim of protecting human rights and spreading democratic practices, it is possible to argue that this is a more convincing approach to international relations than class-based approaches.
It appears there is a trade-off between the security of some and the liberty of others. This perception of a trade-off between security and liberty is particularly convincing when evidence from the on-going war on terror is used to illustrate the argument. It is possible to argue that any trade-off between liberty and security is short-term and illusory.
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