French Revolution in International Relations Theory - Essay Example

French Revolution as the case of complex analysis in international relations theory Started in 1789, French Revolution was an unprecedented event in the international system of that time. In fact, it was the first case of mass revolution that forced the king to leave his throne and brought the leader who started the campaign against the key European countries. Moreover, the example of this uprising inspired numerous national revolutions throughout Europe. As a result, world political map and agenda setting were significantly changed. Thus, studying French Revolution is crucial for international relations theory in order to comprehend the political development of the most powerful continent in that time. In this context, key approaches of realism, liberalism, and critical theory provide different explanations of causes, features, and outcomes of such an event. And so, in this paper all these theories are analyzed in order to provide an in-depth understanding of French Revolution. For this aim, the historical background of its development is presented and characterized by these three theoretical approaches. To start with, in the context of economic crisis and mass dissatisfaction, the old-fashioned institutions such as Estates-General and newly formed National Assembly appeared in a political field of France (Acemonglu et al., 2009, p. 7). In fact, these processes can be considered as the attempt of powerful forces in French society to maintain the influence they failed to maintain in the context of revolutionary outbreak. In addition, on the international stage France started to lose its weight in the background of powerful Britain, Prussia, Russia and Austro-Hungarian Empire (Stone, 2002). Actually, this aspect made it complicated for French leaders to have any arguments of their importance for country. And so, the very appearance of French Revolution and its development were closely linked to French troubles both in domestic and foreign policies. Moreover, such a weakness encouraged popular leaders to start fighting for the right to rule the country. In fact, in the years of French Revolution significant actions were made in these crucial directions. Followed by the significant military success in the War of the First Coalition (1792), the huge transformation within French society had happened in that period in terms of mass empowerment (Acemonglu et al., 2009, p. 10). Nevertheless, these consequences were not complete enough in order to stabilize the situation in France. Actually, in the several years of the Terror within the country the execution of the main leaders of French Revolution (such as Robespierre and Saint-Just) happened in 1794 (Acemonglu et al., 2009, p. 8). Thus, after the years of uncertainty Napoleon finally took the power in his hands and caused significant changes in the European political map. In general, French Revolution was a turning point in the whole European history. On the one hand, it was the first mass revolution in the history. Therefore, the fact of its victory challenged the royal, elite, afnd religious authority in all the European countries. On another hand, the international consequences of the change of social and political structure in France were tangible for all the countries of continental Europe with the enormous ambitions of Napoleon. And so, the theoretic analysis of this event is different in the key international relations theories due to the complex outcomes of its occurring. In realist theory, the international relations are considered as a battlefield of selfish forces that struggle solely for their own interests (Walt, 1998, p. 31). In fact, realist scholars view the international system as a “structural anarchy”, or “the absence of central authority to settle disputes” (Holsti, 2004, p. 54). In this context, the inability of French king to resolve the hard conditions of his country caused the conflict as it is predicted by realism. In addition, French Revolution as a bloody event in French history fits such a pessimistic view of realist framework on the cooperation between radical groups within the society. Moreover, realism emphasizes on the competition in international relations that easily explain all the conflicts and alliances that happened in the previous centuries (Walt, 1998, p. 31). In fact, this theory has no optimism considering the peaceful resolution of the conflicts (Walt, 1998, p. 31). In particular, the weakness of French position in European context demonstrated by the war against it illustrates such an idea of pragmatism in international relations. In addition, alliances were included in the general explanation of realist approach of the necessity to survive in the given environment (Walt, 1998, p. 31) as choosing the least evil among all the other ones. In this context, leaders of French Revolution fit the view of Hans Morgenthau and Reinhold Niebuhr that found in all human structures the natural wish of dominance (Walt, 1998, p. 31). Furthermore, the background conditions of weakness of royal power and mass dissatisfaction provides the reason why the struggle between rising leaders and groups existed as they were in the same position in power vacuum. And so, they fit the explanation of the possibility of war given by theorists of offense-defense theory that it is “more likely when [forces] could conquer each other easily” (Walt, 1998, p. 31). In the context of liberal approach, the issue of democracy is crucial. Actually, French Revolution as the first mass revolution that stood for the establishment of rule of the majority is a significant fact for this theory. In perspective, the setting of democratic agenda in the global context enabled the current world peace as “democratic states are inherently more peaceful than authoritarian states” (Walt, 1998, p. 32). In addition, in the framework of liberal thinking the economic stability is vital in order to maintain quietude (Walt, 1998, p. 32). For instance, as the learned lesson from the history, the international finance institutions such as World Bank and International Monetary Fund were established in contemporary global world. In this case, French Revolution was the result of fiscal crisis and long-term hunger in French society (Acemonglu et al., 2009, p. 7). Moreover, the weakness of Estates-General that had never been working since 1614 (Acemonglu et al., 2009, p. 7) showed the necessity of collegial institution in order to guarantee the stability in international relations in general and in French society in particular. Therefore, states have to become less important actors in comparison to international institutions in order to guarantee the whole high level of welfare, modernization, and motivation (Holsti, 2004, p. 62). Correspondingly, the necessity of decentralization was crucial in prevention of the revolution in French society. In a framework of numerous critical theories, Marxism as a background theory of this approach that explains revolutionary events in their core is the most important in the case of French Revolution. More than liberals, this approach is centered on economic background of social relations. In particular, “rather than focusing on war and peace, these theories direct attention to quite different issues, including uneven development, poverty, and exploitation within and between nations” (Holsti, 2004, p. 65). And so, the driving force of French Revolution should be found in desperate conditions of suffering French population but not the activity of Estate-General or National Assembly. In this context, the gap between royal and aristocratic representatives and masses caused the appearance and the extent of French Revolution. Concerning the critical theory as the methodological formation on the base of Marxist theory, the social significance remains the key explanation of political transformations. In particular, “drawing away from current order, it asks what the origin of that order is and how it developed” (Leysens, 2008, p. 40). In this context, such a theory provide more “human” outlook on international development. Hence, the long-term social reality of leisured elite and desperate ordinary people was more significant in the very appearance of French Revolution than some institutional and political reactions. Evaluating all these approaches, the different aspects of their working are visible in the current analysis. In order to understand the causes of French Revolution, critical theory is the most important among them. In particular, it shows the deep social dissatisfaction that existed in pre-revolutionary France as a driving force for such a huge revolution. Moreover, in international perspective economic weakness of France was also the reason of such a systematic change. In contrast to rising powers in Europe, France rapidly became attractive for the military attacks from the other actors in international environment in the years of French Revolution. Nevertheless, in the development of revolution critical theory seems too centered on the social causes of the events to comprehend the fast changing processes in revolutionary years themselves. And so, the realist framework is more useful in this case. In particular, by stressing on the desire of dominance and pragmatic cooperation, the explanation of the struggle of numerous political leaders can be given. Moreover, the following Napoleon campaign after French Revolution can be also reflected in realist vision on human ambitions. But, in the modern world the core flaw of the whole type of European international system that operated in that time can be seen solely by liberal framework. In this context, the absence of independent decentralized institutions and democratic regimes was the main reason of the very appearance of numerous revolutions in the nineteenth century and the world wars of the twentieth century. Therefore, the perspective evaluation of the appearance of French Revolution can be given by liberalism. In order to sum up, the complex vision on the background, sequence of the events, and results of French Revolution is provided by this essay. In fact, the social troubles explained by critical theory are suitable in order to understand the causes of this revolution. Furthermore, the structural anarchy and will to overlord are the key concepts of realist framework that explain the “story-line” of French Revolution. Finally, the structural weaknesses of the international system set after the Peace of Westphalia are demonstrated by liberalism as the lack of institutional decentralization and wide participation in political life. Thus, applying several methodologies is crucial in the case of analyzing such systematic changes in international relations as French Revolution. Correspondingly, all the future European transformations should be considered in a same comprehensive manner. References: Acemonglu, D., Cantoni, D., Johnson S. and Robinson, J., 2009. The Consequences of Radical Reform: The French Revolution. Cambridge: National Bureau of Economic Research. Holsti, O.R., 2004. Theories of International Relations. In: M. Hogan and T. Paterson, eds. 2004. Explaining the History of American Foreign Relations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 51-90. Leysens, A., 2008. The Critical Theory of Robert W. Cox: Fugitive or Guru? New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Stone, B., 2002. Reinterpreting the French Revolution: a Global-Historical Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Walt, S., 1998. International Relations: One World, Many Theories. Foreign Policy, 110 (Spring), pp. 29-32+33-46 Read More