What Is Classical Liberalism?

N owadays, the term liberalism can mean one thing or its opposite; therefore it is necessary to take time to introduce “classical liberalism.” It may perhaps appear odd to start a book on IR theory with a description of “domestic” classical liberalism. However, this is both logical and necessary. Classical liberalism is a “bottom-up” theory, which regards international relations as an outgrowth of politics in the domestic or national political arena. Only by looking at the classical liberal idea “behind the border,” are we able to move closer to comprehending its meaning “beyond the border.” 1 These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.