Session 23: Kant’s Theory

Democratic Peace Theory revolves around the idea of maintaining peace around the world. Kant makes a correlation between democracies and peace on the grounds that democracies are less likely to go to war because they are opposed to the idea of an armed conflict and prefer to resolve issues through negotiation.

This idea is consistent with Defensive Realism since states are in a system where the power of some states is balanced by other states, allowing states to refrain from war since it bears negative repercussions for all. However, I do not agree with it since we have seen the development of regional and international hegemons that would anything within their power to establish themselves as the masters of the world.

Moreover, the people of states are opposed to the idea of war and thus pressurize the governments to refrain from war. This in the modern world has significant impact on political decisions given the pressure the media puts on the government. Similarly, the power within a country is divided among different bodies, which leaves room for disagreements over a particular decision.

This can be further explained using the stance of India during the Kargil conflict. The Indian military was in favour of waging a war against Pakistan but the Indian Prime Minister, Atal Bhiari Vajpayee, did not support the notion and thus the attack was not terminated. This can explain the Peace Democratic Theory that democracies are hesitant to go to war because they put the wishes and benefit of its peace before the wishes of the authorities.