Liberal Institutionalism and Realism (Christine Porcaro, Week 4, Substantive)

In the article “Anarchy and the limits of cooperation: a realist critique of the newest liberal institutionalism” there were many points that made me think of the United Nations. The United Nations is an international institution that is just full of contradictions that highlight the arguments of both realists and neo-liberals. As a security institution, the UN has shown that cooperation among states is possible. One example alone would be the collective action of UN members after Iraq invaded Kuwait. This demonstration of collective action gives neo-liberalism an edge but the success of collective action with the help of the UN throughout history has not been a reoccurring act. This thus goes to show the realists point of view on how cooperation is not the likely course of action.
This UN also shows a contradiction in its formation because though it was formed to create cooperation within the international system the creation of the security council just goes to prove realisms thought that “states in cooperative arrangements also worry that their partners might gain more from cooperation than they do.” The “superpowers” that comprise the Security Council are willing to be apart of the United Nations but only on the condition that they are given the veto and that they are the group that is the final word on any collective action. So the creation of the UN itself supports neo-liberals thinking but the inner workings of the institution just go to show the actions of states support realist theory.
Finally neo-liberals feel that institutions “make it easier to punish cheaters”. The UN has a way to punish its members through sanctions and fines BUT has NO way of enforcing them. The only way neo-liberal thought can hold up here is if there was an international institution that could actually have “teeth” which in this case there are none. So I am not sure what side I am favoring, I guess I am just pointing out that in a world where international institutions do exist, the realist and neo-liberalist thought are able to make valid claims.