Ethics and international relations

IT IS POSSIBLE TO TALK ABOUT AN ETHICAL PERSPECTIVE OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS?

It is possible to talk about an ethical perspective in the international relation field. The theory of the international relations born as a science with the WWI, when states asked about why states go to war? This question has an ethical meaning, because states are in conflict and war erupts leading massdestruction and ending with almost all the population. From here, one of the biggest preoccupation on international affairs appears, Security. One of the justifications of why to study international relations and which are the international issues that connect all the global population.

Each one of the theories about international relations has an ethical perspective in their foreign policy making andthe interest of the state. Into the foreign policies the states are confronted by an ethical and moral issues that they must analyzed to make decisions on global themes that affect their national interest as the global interest also. These themes are the just war theory and peace in which we find justice, international law, sovereignty of state, international cooperation, the humanitarianintervention, human rights that involves ethical debates in the field. Here are some analysis about the ethical analysis that this issues have and how is connected this field with a social science as ethics.

The realist theory of the international relations is based in 4 basic arguments as (Donnelly, 2008) says: Anarchy, Egoism, Groupism and Power Politics. Base on that, the anarchical of theinternational relations field has no part in the inclusion of moral values into the International Relations. A lot of Realist theorist say that the international relations is a practical exercise and not a moral because no ethical standards are applicable to relations between states, as each state being in a race of struggle for power to be more powerful and to rule the wreakers in the international sphereas not exist an international actor that punishment the struggle for power and the unethical actions between states in the international community. But this type of affirmations disappear when it is analyzed in the different actors that intervening in the international affairs. The states are conform, by people, and each person has their own moral principles with which they act in they daily lifeand they make ethical decisions every single day no matter if it is a good or a bad for the moral issues. In a superior level is the state, which always is looking for the good of the nation and the people in the nation. This interest, in theory is the interest of the nation, no matter if they are in the hands of their government, not in to the peoples hands. This governments are in charge ofmaking decisions for the good and wellbeing of the nation and the security of the nation, in which all the times, is confronted by their own moral values, and their own interest, in an ethical dilemma, between what they think is the best for their nationals and what is the best for them. In some occasions, the interest of a person or the interest of the state tent to the moral principles of theinternational society in general. Is then when the international law enters to the game. In their decisions of foreign policy, the states must argue which are the national actors and the international actors that they must combat to have and maintain the state security to guaranty, as the Colombian case, which part of their own foreign policy is specially to fight against terrorism, narcotrafic, guellilaas a problem that concerns all the states, the international community, because these problems can affect all the countries in the world. (U.S. 9-11 case). The states, at the time of making decisions that affect the people, no matter if they are national or international people, they must do an ethical reasoning in which they take into consideration, as (Reus-Smit, 2008) say, to act in the...