Introduction

Many scholars have wondered if a non-Western theory of international politics founded on different premises, be it from Asia or from the “Global South,” could release international relations from the grip of a Western, “Westphalian” model in which self-interest (and opposition to the other) and system anarchy treat conflict and violence as natural and ethical behavior among states. As part of the emergent literature in Global International Relations, this monograph suggests that a Buddhist approach to international relations could provide a genuine alternative. Because of its distinctive philosophical positions and its unique understanding of reality, human nature, and political behavior, a Buddhist theory of IR offers a means for transcending the Westphalian predicament. This chapter situates a Buddhist approach to international relations within the sweep of traditional and recent international relations theory. It then outlines the subsequent chapters of the monograph that address the philosophical foundations of Buddhist IR; Buddha’s ideas about politics, economics, and statecraft; and the manifestations of Buddhist political principles in practice, one ancient and one modern, that illustrate this alternative approach.

Radical Interdependence: Buddhist Philosophical Foundations for Social Theory

This Chapter asserts that a Buddhist perspective provides a systematic and genuine alternative to Western models of IR not so much because it arose in Asia, but because it is founded on distinctive first-order philosophical principles or substructures that differ from those that dominate in the West. The chapter explains this fundamentally different worldview through the concept of “radical interdependence”—the basic Buddhist “truth” about the nature of our existence that departs from most Western understandings of reality and interdependence. Buddhism offers a different starting point for thinking about the world we live in, one it characterizes as deeply interdependent. Moreover, Buddhism maintains that the failure to appreciate the full extent of interdependence limits our human potential and is the ultimate source of all conflicts, up to and including interstate war, whereas an understanding the truth of radical interdependence is the key to imagining a different vision for politics and IR.

The Aśokan Empire

This chapter introduces the first case study that serves as empirical referent for a Buddhist approach to statecraft in ancient times by considering the early kingdom of Aśoka. This chapter and the one that follows offer “proofs of concept” for the possibility of applying Buddhist ideas in the practice of politics and statecraft. Aśoka governed according to the dharma, meaning principles and policies that reflect Buddha’s teachings, although Aśoka expressed his principles and policies in edicts written in nonreligious, nonexclusive language. Aśoka’s rule was characterized by the promotion of nonviolence; social welfare; environmental protection; religious tolerance; political pluralism; the fair and compassionate administration of justice; and sound and responsive public administration meaning transparency, accessibility, impartiality, and accountability. His foreign policy was founded on principles of nonviolence, nonaggression, conciliation, stability, and improved understanding among international actors through diplomacy and mutually beneficial commerce. Aśoka even practiced the exercise of “soft power” by establishing medical facilities in foreign lands, sharing beneficial plants, and installing infrastructure beyond his immediate borders as acts of goodwill toward neighboring countries. While these governing principles and policies may be commonplace today, Aśoka, it should be remembered, governed in Asia in the third century B.C.E.

A Buddhist Alternative

This chapter concludes with a summary of essential features of a Buddhist approach to thinking about the world, our role in it, and the type of political environments conducive to our higher nature. It notes that Buddhism has historically shaped a wide variety of societies in Asia and is adaptable to the Western world and to contemporary international challenges. Further, rather than being unscientific or otherworldly, Buddhist concepts are remarkably consistent with emerging findings in the natural and biological sciences.

Modern Bhutan’s Buddhist Statecraft

This chapter introduces the country of Bhutan and its unique pursuit of a Buddhist-inspired foreign policy during the modern era (1949–present). This chapter illustrates how a modern state implements a national security and economic development policy consistent with Buddhist philosophical principles and Buddha’s political and economic teachings and, like the prior chapter, it serves as proof of concept for the possibility of putting Buddhist ideas into practice. The cornerstone of Bhutan’s foreign and domestic policies is its pursuit of Gross National Happiness, a concept that endorses holistic progress in the material, spiritual, emotional, cultural, and environmental welfare of its society.

Buddha on Politics, Economics, and Statecraft

This chapter outlines doctrinal Buddhist political and economic theory including its notions about interstate relations, which are based on its unique understanding of the nature of reality. Some readers may be surprised to hear that there exists a theory of politics in Buddha’s teachings. But in fact, Buddha spoke extensively about politics, contrary to the assertion of Max Weber who famously asserted that Buddhism was “a specifically a-political and anti-political status religion.” Although the overriding goal of Buddha’s teachings is the liberation of individuals from pervasive suffering, Buddha considered politics as important, not so much for its intrinsic value, but because it created an external environment that can facilitate or impede an individual’s pursuit of happiness, defined as spiritual advancement and achievement of wisdom about the true nature of oneself and the world. Although best understood as an extension of his teachings on human liberation, Buddha was also an original social and a significant political philosopher. Buddha’s social teachings parallel modern democratic thought, mixed market economics, and cosmopolitan internationalism in the West. This chapter outlines Buddha’s political and economic theory, including his thoughts about statecraft and the possibilities for international order.