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A Quest for Inspiration in the Liberal Peace Paradigm: Back to Bentham?

Flemish Peace Institute, Brussels, Belgium

It is a fundamental dictum in the canon of IR theory that `democracies do not wage war against each other'. The philosopher Immanuel Kant is given credit for having originally advanced this essentially liberal research agenda in his essay entitled `Perpetual Peace'. The present article intends to offer a reassessment of this view by examining Kant's critical proposition, confronting it with the contemporary liberal perspective of Jeremy Bentham, and evaluating its implications on policy recommendations that are based on Kantian ideas. We will see how fundamental epistemological and ethical perspectives are the formative principles of Kant's peace essay and how these are not compatible with a liberal point of view. Bentham's `Plan for a Universal and Perpetual Peace' provides for a more genuine liberal inspiration. The differences that exist between both philosophers will disclose a normative predicament.

Key Words: critical philosophy • democratic peace • ethics • liberalism • political violence

European Journal of International Relations, Vol. 14, No. 3, 431-453 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1354066108092306


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