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Outcomes somewhere in the middle might also be possible. A possibilistic research agenda
would seek to determine where along this spectrum one reaches the break point between the
feasible and the infeasible.
2. Possibilistic Idealism Does Not Assume Improvement Will Be Global or Encompass All Issues.
It is possible to hypothesize about progress in a variety of contexts, many of which would not
involve making progress universally. In terms of the actors involved, for example, a possibilistic
scenario might involve bilateral relations or apply to a particular region. The suggestion that
certain states might be able to improve the quality of their relations need not imply that all states
worldwide will make such progress. For instance, if an observer predicts that conflict resolution
could be successfully promoted between two adversaries, this tells us nothing directly about
whether peace could be achieved globally. It is not valid to use a proposition that world peace is
not possible to argue that a given pair of adversaries could not make progress toward more
peaceful relations.
The same applies to the range of issues involved. It is possible to envision the feasibility
of improving outcomes in a particular issue area without having to assume that progress is
possible on every issue. One could have a possibilistic hypothesis concerning an environmental
problem, but progress in this area might have no obvious implications with respect to war and
peace. In sum, possibilistic analyses might apply to a limited set of states or issues; there is no
requirement for them to suggest the possibility that improvement will be global or all-
encompassing. Hence, arguments against the feasibility of worldwide success in achieving some
ideal outcome do not automatically disprove the possibility of making progress in more limited
settings.
3. Possibilistic Idealism Is Not Teleological and Does Not Assume Success. Teleological
theories assert that human history is moving inevitably toward some particular, defined end-state.
Examples include Marx’s belief that communism would be the last stage of social development
and Fukuyama’s argument that liberal democracy will prove to the “the end of history.”
Possibilistic arguments do not need to be teleological. One can forecast the possibility of
improvement from a set of starting conditions without making any predictions about what the
final end of history will look like or assuming that history is driven to move toward an outcome,
Convention