Making liberal use of Kant? Democratic peace theory and Perpetual Peace

Bibliographic Data

ID4443986
AuthorsSavanah Simpson (0000-0001-5240-7206, University of Notre Dame, corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume33
Issue1
Pages109-128
Publication date2019-03-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Relations (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0047-1178 • E-ISSN: 1741-2862
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0047117818811463
OpenAlexW2902365874
LanguageEN
Citations received4

The work of Immanuel Kant has been foundational in modern democratic peace theory. His essay Toward Perpetual Peace gives three prescriptions for attaining peace between democracies: republican institutions, a pacific union between states, and an ethos of universal hospitality. Contemporary democratic peace theory, however, has warped the Kantian framework from which it draws inspiration: the third prescription has been gradually substituted for commerce and trade. I argue that this change in emphasis produces tensions between Perpetual Peace and the body of democratic peace theory literature it spawned. Moreover, I contend that a look back at Kant's essay sheds light on why this transformation occurred. Finally, I use this new look back at Perpetual Peace to reformulate the relationship between peace, democracy, and commerce so as to offer a new perspective on the democratic peace theory/capitalist peace theory debate

Democracy · Democratic Theory · Ethos · Hospitality · Liberalism · Peace and conflict studies · Peace economics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · Law · Peacebuilding and International Security · Political Conflict and Governance

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