This paper examines Immanuel Kant’s Perpetual Peace.
This paper summarizes Kant’s “Perpetual Peace,” which argues the accommodation of morality within political decision-making. A discussion of how through his work, Kant suggested various methods to handle international politics and relations. The author identifies the realist and liberal aspects of Kant’s work and discusses the compatibility of Kant’s ideas with classical realism.
“He maintains that a modern political state with established democracies cannot and should not work on power arrangements and strategies alone. As a moralist, Kant believes that politics should not be a function of material self-interest where the most consuming thought is to gain ones way at the expense of morals and in the end, peace. Instead, Kant suggests that there should be a limit to what politics should be allowed to do. This is applicable through a morally aware politician, who so interprets the principles of political prudence that they can be coherent with morality” (Kant, 1998) thus maintaining the “limiting condition of politics” (Kant, 1998).”