Kant Perpetual Peace Summary

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Recommended: Critical examination of the philosophy of Immanuel Kant

Immanuel Kant on Perpetual Peace

Peace has always been a topic of discussion among international relations philosophers. Today, nation-states hold ties with each other through social and economic spectrums. In the social spectrum ties can be held through language, religion, ethnicity, etc. In the economic spectrum, ties can be held through the market. While these spheres can bring nation-states together, it can also cause them to fall apart. It is because of the intricacy behind establishing global peace that discussions about peace seem to be perpetual.
German Philosopher, Immanuel Kant presents an interesting approach to perpetual peace. Surely, considering the era in which Perpetual Peace was written, Kant’s ideas were progressive and innovative. Kant’s ideas have helped shaped and modeled some polities that we see in the world today. Unfortunately for Kant’s methodology, the world is in a hegemonic state that is ruled by powerful states. This hegemony has lead to foreign disagreement and conflict among actors, which produces a state of war among states and non-state actors (terrorist). This constant state of war makes …show more content…

In essence, without the consent of the people, there is no social contract with the new sovereignty and therefore that sovereignty has no legitimacy to rule. For the most part, the essence of this article is practiced today. It appears that a stable geopolitical map was important for Kant; which was difficult to achieve during his time as Europe’s geography was ever changing. Additionally, to this article Kant adds that foreign troops should not be hired to fight a war against a foreign nation “for the subjects are in this way used and abused at will as personal

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