Perpetual Peace in Kant's Political Thought: Rereading the Relationship between Domestic Politics and International Politics

Document Type : Original Independent Original Article

Author

Assistant Prof. at Department of Political Thought, Research Institute of Imam Khomeini (RA) and the Islamic Revolution

Abstract

Kant's idea of perpetual peace has long been the subject of much intellectual controversy; His realist critics, with the argument that the field of international politics is a place of power and anarchy, have come out against him and considered his idea as idealism. On the other hand, the idealists welcomed his idea and considered it as a goal that "must" be there, even though it is not currently there. The basic problem in Kant's idea is the relationship between domestic politics and international politics, which he himself tried to explain in a theoretical framework. In this article, the question has been raised that in the idea of perpetual peace, Kant has established a relationship between domestic politics and international politics? And what reactions have been encountered in the later theories of international relations? And which theories or schools have tried to use the idea of perpetual peace to establish a new relationship between domestic politics and international politics? The answer of this article to these questions is that Kant firmly believed that there is no possibility of perpetual peace without the relationship between domestic politics and international politics, and among the later theories, the critical theory of international relations and the approach of international society. By returning to Kant's idea, the international community has tried to use the theoretical possibilities of his thought to reconstruct this relationship. The method of this research is descriptive and analytical with a philosophical approach.

Highlights

1- Introduction

One of the most important questions of political thought has always been what is the relationship between domestic politics and international politics; One of the philosophers who entered this theoretical debate and in fact he can be considered one of the founders of this issue is Immanuel Kant. Kant's answer to the problem of the relationship between domestic politics and international politics by researchers and commentators of international relations theories is mainly placed in the category of idealism, and it is subject to the same criticisms that are generally on idealism. In this article, while rereading Kant's theory and his philosophical response to the relationship between international politics and domestic politics, we try to show that in some of the later theories such as the critical theory of international relations or the approach of the international community An attempt has been made to first provide a non-idealist explanation and interpretation of Kant's idea, and secondly, by reconstructing his views, they use his main idea in their own theoretical form. Contrary to realism and idealism, which are dogmatic and non-static, international critical theory is open, open and dynamic. In addition, in terms of political thought, Kant's theory was more in line with democratic political thoughts, which today are called the supporters of deep democracy, dialogic democracy or deliberative democracy, and the final victory of the democratic world depends on the application of the principles and Democratic rules are known to the international arena (see: Ansari, 2005).

2- Theoretical foundations: the idea of perpetual peace

As one of the famous philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment, Kant started writing separate treatises in the field of thought and political philosophy very late. His most important work in this regard is his treatise on perpetual peace, which, according to Gallie, was supposed to create a great "Copernican revolution" in political philosophy, along with Kant's theoretical philosophy (Gallie, 1372: 24); (Gallie, 1993: 24).

2-1- perpetual peace in the framework of Kantian philosophy

According to Kant, the worst evil of human societies is war; He even considers war as the source of all evils and moral corruption (Gallie, 1372: 34); (Gallie, 1993: 34). In this sense, war was an acute form of a common evil in human nature, which must first be curbed by the implementation of laws and then cured by moving towards civil status.

3- Internal politics: Republic and perpetual peace

In the first article of his Treatise on perpetual Peace, Kant clearly states that perpetual peace is possible only when governments have a specific political organization; Kant follows his discussion about political organization by emphasizing the type of constitution. Hannah Arendt points out in the speeches about Kant's political philosophy that Kant distanced himself from concepts such as history and human socialization and focused his attention on the constitution and the constitution of the republic. as the best type of government (Arendt, 1982: 15).

4- International politics

In his famous treatise Philosophical Project Towards perpetual Peace, he mentions the formation of a "federation of free countries". international governments" has used (Mahmoudi, 1385:142); (Mahmoudi, 2006: 142). Contrary to the view of some of its commentators, the concept of federation does not mean "super-state". By no means does it mean "universal republic" or even "federal government".

5- Rereading the idea of perpetual peace: moving away from the duality of realism and idealism

Kant's idea of lasting peace has been criticized mostly by the theory of realism in international relations. Realism extends the duality between ethics and politics to the distinction between domestic politics and international politics. Although it is possible through the law, moral progress can be made in the field of domestic politics, but the field of international relations remains fundamentally and inherently immoral. Idealism, as another important tradition in the field of international relations, believes that domestic politics and international politics can and should be analyzed in terms of common concepts and approaches. Therefore, in agreement with Kant, it is believed that like domestic politics, international politics can also be charged with reason.

5-1- Critical theory of international relations

In the critical theory of international relations, realism is based on maintaining a certain type of power politics and also preventing other ways of thinking about the world. According to them, realism ultimately serves the interests of those who benefit from the world as it exists; Realism has actually distorted the world by eliminating any possibility of change. At the same time, the critical theory of international relations makes sharp criticisms towards the theory of idealism; The idealist approach to politics is fundamentally ahistorical (see: Hutchings, 1996: 23-35).

5-2- The approach of the international community

The approach of the international community, in contrast to the realists who try to separate domestic politics from international politics, strongly believe that any attempt for such a separation is useless and impossible. Therefore, the behavior of governments cannot be limited to observable and measurable factors, and therefore, the relationship between governments should not be evaluated solely on the basis of the struggle for power, but these relationships are based on a set of rights. And commitments are firm (Ghavam, 2004: 5: 198-202).

6- Conclusion

As we discussed in detail, Kant's idea of perpetual peace was raised as a controversial project from the very beginning. Kant himself, unlike many of his commentators, did not see perpetual peace as a project that must be designed and implemented step by step, but according to Karl Jaspers, it was not an essential principle but a regulatory principle that mankind should Consider it as a kind of human mission for yourself. Also, in his treatise, Kant was able to show the relationship between domestic politics and international politics, which although great schools such as realism or even idealism tried to ignore it, but over time, it became the focus of the theory. has been placed later. Two critical theories of international relations as well as the approach of the international community, in opposition to the approach of the international system, have tried to in the light of the fundamental transformations that have taken place not only in politics but also in culture and global communication. has taken, to use the idea of perpetual peace in more up-to-date areas. Therefore, in a sense, it can be said that Kant's idea of perpetual peace reveals the possibility of rethinking the international order, especially the relationship between domestic politics and international politics, and the future theories cannot respond to This ratio will open new theoretical windows.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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