Immanuel Kant’s “Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch” was published in 1795. According to Sheikh Google, Kant’s essay can be divided in two sections. In the first section, the author lays down the preliminary conditions for peace between states. It lays down some interesting points such as the fact that states should disband their armies eventually. It also mentions that nations should not interfere in the constitution or government of other states. Moreover, Kant also writes that no nation should be able to obtain another through ‘inheritance, exchange, purchase or donation.’ There are several other articles which he proposed, however these are ones I found most intriguing since none of them hold true today. Rather than abolishing armies, some states are spending an increasingly higher percentage of their total revenue to equip their armies with the latest and most lethal technologies. His next two points also do not hold true if one looks at how states function today. For example, after giving money to other countries as aid or as part of ‘mutually’ beneficial development projects, the weaker nation seems to be indebted to the stronger one of the two. In the sense that, the countries injecting money in a nation can be seen as ‘purchasing’ the alliance of the less developed state. And then eventually they demand ‘payment’ in the form of support in contentious international issues.
In the second section, the author lays down certain ‘definitive’ clauses which will lead to a state of affairs in which peace prevails. The authors work is written in the form of an international treaty. Its influence can be gauged from the fact that this work laid the foundations of peace and conflict studies in modern politics.
Links used:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpetual_peace
http://perpetualpeaceproject.org/resources/
On a completely unrelated note, I just realized that this is my second last blog. In lieu of this:
In the second section, the author lays down certain ‘definitive’ clauses which will lead to a state of affairs in which peace prevails. The authors work is written in the form of an international treaty. Its influence can be gauged from the fact that this work laid the foundations of peace and conflict studies in modern politics.
Links used:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpetual_peace
http://perpetualpeaceproject.org/resources/
On a completely unrelated note, I just realized that this is my second last blog. In lieu of this:
His ideas do seem largely unrealistic and utopian but I agree given how his theories have been used as a foundational basis for later one, his work will continue to be influential.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I KANT with the meme! It's hilarious hahaha
Nice post and the meme at the end was the clincher. And Rida is on point with her comment about how his ideas still influence us today. The power of ideas!
ReplyDelete