Interstate Federalism: Challenges from the History of Classical Liberalism

This chapter surveys the main ideas and tensions in the classical liberal treatment of defense, international relations, and war-making. This sets the stage for a discussion of the feasibility of interstate federalism by identifying key issues and challenges that such a system will need to address to be effective. In order to identify these issues and challenges, we review ideas of different liberal thinkers, past and present. Specifically, we discuss (1) the effects of defense and war on the economy, (2) the debate surrounding the ethics of foreign relations, and (3) the effect of defense and war-making on the growth of government at home. We conclude by summarizing the key issues that an effective system of interstate federalism must address.

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