Kant S Cosmopolitan Theory Of Law And Peace

Publisher Description

This is the first comprehensive account of Kant's cosmopolitanism, highlighting its moral, political, legal, economic, cultural and psychological aspects. Contrasting Kant's views with those of his German contemporaries and relating them to current debates, Pauline Kleingeld sheds new light on texts that have been hitherto neglected or underestimated. In clear and carefully argued discussions, she shows that Kant's philosophical cosmopolitanism underwent a radical transformation in the mid 1790s and that the resulting theory is philosophically stronger than is usually thought. Using the work of figures such as Fichte, Cloots, Forster, Hegewisch, Wieland and Novalis, Kleingeld analyses Kant's arguments regarding the relationship between cosmopolitanism and patriotism, the importance of states, the ideal of an international federation, cultural pluralism, race, global economic justice and the psychological feasibility of the cosmopolitan ideal. In doing so, she reveals a broad spectrum of positions in cosmopolitan theory that are relevant to current discussions of cosmopolitanism.

The authors argue for the continued theoretical and practical relevance of the cosmopolitan ideals of Kant's essay "Toward Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch."

Kant and the Law of Peace is a critical examination of the jurisprudential aspects of Kant's international thought, with reference to the argument of his treatise Perpetual Peace (1795). Kant's international thought is situated in the wider context of his moral and political philosophy. Particular attention is given to explaining how Kant saw law as providing the basis for peace among men and states in the international sphere, and how, in his exposition of the elements of the law of peace, he broke with the secular natural law tradition of Grotius, Hobbes, Wolff and Vattel.

Why is there so much attention on Kant's global politics in present day law and philosophy? This book highlights the potential fruitfulness of Kant's cosmopolitan thought for understanding the complexities of the contemporary political world. It adopts a double methodological strategy by reconstructing a genealogical conceptual journey showing the development of international law, as well as introducing an interpretation of cosmopolitanism centred on Kant's theory of a metaphysics of freedom. The result is a novel focus on Kant's notion of the world republic. The hypothesis here defended is that the world republic stands as a way of thinking about international politics where the possibility of progression towards peace results from its use as a regulative idea.

The philosophy of Immanuel Kant is the watershed of modern thought, which irrevocably changed the landscape of the field and prepared the way for all the significant philosophical movements of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This 2006 volume, which complements The Cambridge Companion to Kant, covers every aspect of Kant's philosophy, with a particular focus on his moral and political philosophy. It also provides detailed coverage of Kant's historical context and of the enormous impact and influence that his work has had on the subsequent history of philosophy. The bibliography also offers extensive and organized coverage of both classical and recent books on Kant. This volume thus provides the broadest and deepest introduction currently available on Kant and his place in modern philosophy, making accessible the philosophical enterprise of Kant to those coming to his work for the first time.

In a new interpretation, Garrett Wallace Brown considers Kant's cosmopolitan thought as a form of international constitutional jurisprudence that requires minimal legal demands. He explores and defends topics such as cosmopolitan law, cosmopolitan right, the laws of hospitality, a Kantian federation of states, a cosmopolitan epistemology of culture and a possible normative basis for a Kantian form of global distributive justice.

This book challenges popular international relations theories that claim to be based on the political writings of Immanuel Kant, and sheds new light on the philosopher's perspective on peace. Through an analysis of Kant's philosophical work and political traditions of his time, as well as of neglected concepts and theory, this book reappraises modern perspectives on his work. Kant advocated a cosmopolitan community building perspective of peace and international relations that considered issues that are now significant topics of debate such as state sovereignty and unequal access to resources. This book reveals how Kant's political views translate into a vision of international relations that cannot be associated with the democratic and neoliberal theories of peace which until now have claimed Kant's legacy. While the democratic peace theory continues to inspire policy-making, Kant's predictions on war and peace ultimately prove to be most appropriate for the current issues of globalization and diversity. Offering new insights into the meaning of peace and war in international relations, Kant and International Relations Theory is an invaluable resource for students and scholars of international relations and political theory, as well as for those interested in Kant's scholarship.