In this book leading scholar Andrew J. Williams examines contemporary liberal thinking on the ending of wars and puts it into its historical context. Using a vast range of archival material, he examines the main strategies used by liberal states to consolidate their gains in the aftermath of war and prevent conflict re-occurring.

Considering historical wars from the nineteenth century to the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 and the war in Ukraine since 2022, Williams explores the continuities and changes within western liberalism in response to war and the encouragement of peace. These include, in recent times, the emergence of 'neo-liberalism', a growing revulsion against 'humanitarian intervention' and the evolution of legal attempts to control illiberal regimes. He shows how liberalism and the articulation of international norms and institutions sprang out of historical traditions linked to colonialism but also out of a desire to promote liberty and justice. He examines the attitudes and practices that have distorted liberalism's essentially emancipatory nature into one that has encouraged hubris in foreign policy and an increasingly divisive set of economic, political and social policies. He suggests that a new liberal impulse to encourage the spread of democracy and international justice is possible, one that returns to a more realistic approach to intervention in international conflicts.

The book will appeal to scholars and students of war, conflict and political theory interested in the historical perceptions at the heart of many of the mistakes made by liberalism in the ending of wars. It will also give hope to those who still believe that liberalism can be the organising feature of a just and equitable world order.

About the Author

Andrew J. Williams is Emeritus Professor of International Relations at the University of St Andrews. He is an international historian and conflict analyst. He has also acted in a consultancy role and as a trainer on courses for diplomats in mediation and conflict resolution techniques for various international organizations in Europe and Africa. Between 1993-2001 he was a member of a 2nd track conflict resolution team in the Moldova/ Transdniestria conflict.

Reviews

At a time when the so-called liberal international order seems to be under threat and shrinking like a peau de chagrin, this book on Liberalism and War could not be more timely. While Putin's Russia is waging a war of aggression against Ukraine, and China is challenging the underpinnings of the 'liberal West', Andrew Williams injects some much-needed realistic optimism into debates about liberalism. Through a combined intellectual and diplomatic history of liberal peace-making from the 19th century to the present, he makes a convincing case for the resilience, endurance, and continued relevance of liberalism. Based on extensive original research and firmly embedded in theoretical debates, this book could only have been written by such an exceptional scholar as Williams, who brilliantly navigates between and combines History and International Relations.

Marco Wyss, Professor of International History and Security, Lancaster University

Liberalism and War was a prescient tour de force when it was first published nearly twenty years ago. At that time, even despite the looming problems of peacebuilding across the world, as well as of liberal interventionism in Afghanistan and Iraq, it was rare that a scholar had the breadth or depth of analysis to be able to cast a calm and lucid eye over the then emerging evidence. Rereading this new edition in the light of the events of the last twenty years or so offers a chilling reminder that the signs of the collapse of the grand project to end war, which interested many scholars and policymakers during the twentieth century, were already present. Williams was sounding the alarm, and yet such critiques were ignored- until it was perhaps too late- as the continuing relevance of this updated and brilliant study illustrate.

Oliver Richmond, Research Professor of IR, Conflict and Peace Studies, University of Manchester.

In equal parts, this important volume combines history and theory to analyze the career of international liberalism from the nineteenth century to today. As the case with his previous books, Professor Andrew Williams is here elegant, incisive, and wide ranging. Long viewed as an expert guide for the perplexed, Williams here steers his readers through a maze of conceptual matters and key historical moments, understanding of which is made even more urgent by the twenty-first century's crush of emergencies. Both specialized scholars and the reading public will benefit as they follow Williams's judicious handling of questions centered on war, diplomacy, reconstruction, international organizations, reparations, and rival versions of justice. The book is marked by a command of diverse literatures, rich archival materials, and clarity of thought-a pleasure to read and ponder.

David Mayers, Professor History Department, Political Science Department, Boston University

The study of international relations without history is arid. Andrew Williams is both IR theorist and international historian. In this book he explores the complexities of liberalism as it developed from the nineteenth century in relation to the international sphere. He focuses particularly on how the leading liberal powers saw their principles applying in the context of major conflicts coming to an end during the twentieth century and up to the present, using reparations, reconstruction, retributive justice and restorative justice as his lenses. At a time when Western ascendancy is coming to an end, we gain a superb insight into how liberalism has played out in world politics.

Derek McDougall, Professorial Fellow in Political Science, University of Melbourne

What I love about Andrew Williams' revised edition of Liberalism and War is the way it brings the story right up to the current debate about 'reconstructing' Ukraine. The book shows how the challenges posed by the relationship between liberalism and war remain with us, even as it places them in an illuminating historical context.

Andrew Gawthorpe, University Lecturer, Institute for History, Leiden University.

Book Information
ISBN 9781032403472
Author Andrew J. Williams
Format Hardback
Page Count 452
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd