Grieco- Week 2 Substantive

Grieco’s critique of neoliberal institutionalism was more so a resounding stamp of approval for realism.

New liberal institutionalists argue that international institutions can help states cooperate. Neoliberal theory suggests that states with common political, economic, and military interests will be more likely to have political-economic cooperation. They agree with realists that anarchy impedes cooperation in the global system, but believe realists dramatically overemphasize conflict and the fail to give credit to institutions for their ability to promote cooperation between states. Neoliberalism suggests states seek to achieve maximum absolute gains and are indifferent to other states’ gains. They note states “cheating” in the system can potentially be a threat but contend new institutions eliminate that threat. These institutions are a stronghold of the international system. Other key actors include labor unions, interest groups, political parties, MNCs, and transgovernmental organizations.

Realists, on the other hand, believe that even among states with shared interests, the lack of a governing central authority fosters conflict and competition between states Realism, opposed to neoliberal institutionalism, does a far better job of addressing the issues of conflict and competition. According to Grieco, this means that realism is the most powerful theory of international politics.

Realists believe states are rational actors whose motives and actions are shaped by anarchy. In their point of view, states are preoccupied with the ideas of power and security. States are unwilling to cooperate because it may result in losing independence or security. Realists are also pessimistic about cooperation because they believe a state needs to focus not just on absolute gains but also maintaining a small gap in gains that are favorable for their partners. Due to the fact that realists address the uncertainties and risks of others actors, Grieco believe that realism provides a more comprehensive theory of the problem of cooperation than neoliberal institutionalism.

Although I agree with the majority of points in Grieco’s argument, I am reluctant to consider new liberal institutionalism as a void theory in international politics. The current international system and power structure encourages states to act in their own self-interest. If the costs of acting in such a manner ultimately began to dramatically hurt states, I believe states would begin to focus more on their absolute gains and less on the gap between gains from the respective partners.