Why Is There No International Theory?

In this essay Wight explained why there is no set of classic works regarding relations among states—what Wight terms ‘international theory’— analogous to the rich political theory literature concerning the state. In addition to works on international law, four categories of effort have populated the field: (a) those of ‘irenists’ advocating mechanisms to promote peace; (b) those of Machiavellians examining raison d’état; (c) incidental works by great philosophers and historians; and (d) noteworthy speeches and other writings by statesmen and officials. International theory works have been ‘marked, not only by paucity but also by intellectual and moral poverty’, because of the focus since the sixteenth century on the modern sovereign state, with the states-system neglected. Moreover, while there has been material and organizational progress within states in recent centuries, international relations have remained ‘incompatible with progressivist theory’. People who recoil from analyses implying that progress in international affairs is doubtful sometimes prefer a Kantian ‘argument from desperation’ asserting the feasibility of improvements and ‘perpetual peace’. Wight concluded that ‘historical interpretation’ is for international relations the counterpart of political theory for the state.

Mozi’s Doctrines of “Opposing Military Aggression” and “Impartial Love” and Kant’s “Perpetual Peace”

Mozi and Immanuel Kant are two of the best-known philosophers in history to have meditated on the topics of war and peace. Their philosophical outlooks on the origins of conflict and on ways to prevent war and preserve peace for all humankind are similar. But conceptual differences reveal the distinct cultures from which they emerged. Governed by a clear-cut opposition to war, Mozi’s thought remains unique. The propositions of “impartial love” and “opposing military aggression” are grounded in this belief, and so are Mozi’s effective defense theories and his practice of pacifism, as well as his rational and reflective approach to overcoming warfare – that is, how to go from a state of passive peace to active peace. Kant’s program of “perpetual peace” is similar in many regards to Mozi’s thinking, but it is also more revealing of the modernity of its own logic, especially because it refers to notions such as democracy, government, and institutions, which are in turn rooted in the more systematic theories advanced in Kant’s Three Critiques. The ideas of both philosophers profoundly influenced human history, and their value and brilliance are still celebrated today. However, many regions of the world remain afflicted by unceasing conflict between religious or ethnic groups. This is precisely why it can still prove valuable for us to carefully consider the intellectual legacy of two of the greatest thinkers in history. The limitations of their philosophies, especially when it comes to the new challenges now faced by humanity, offer an opportunity for pondering historical issues and modern solutions.

NEGARA DAN KEMANUSIAAN: SEBUAH ESAI REFLEKSI

Tulisan ini adalah sebuah esai politik yang mendiskusikan negara dan masalah kemanusiaan dalam perspektif ilmu hubungan internasional. Pendekatan yang digunakan dalam esai ini adalah pendekatan reflektif. Adapun, dalam ilmu hubungan internasional, negara adalah suatu konsep tentang entitas politik yang diakui keberadaaannya untuk menjalankan fungsi dan tujuan kepentingannya. Sedangkan, kemanusiaan adalah suatu konsep moral dan filosofis yang menjadi salah satu pijakan masyarakat modern. Tulisan ini hendak menelusuri hubungan reflektif antara negara dan kemanusiaan dalam dua pandangan utama dalam ilmu hubungan internasional yakni realisme dan liberalisme. Berdasarkan pembahasan dari tulisan esai ini disimpulkan bahwa kemanusiaan berada pada ujung tanduk kekuasaan negara atau aliansi negara. Sejauh negara menjadi unit-sentris sistem internasional, sejauh itu juga kita tidak mampu keluar dari jebakan-jebakan regularitas internasional yang anarkhis. Maka, sudah semestinya kita memikirkan jalan keluar bagi pembebasan kemanusiaan di luar batas konsepsi negara-wetphalian. Hal ini dikarenakan dunia jauh lebih kompleks dari esai ini. Sama kompleksnya pandangan tentang negara dan kemanusiaan disisi lain. Namun, yang terus berlanjut dan ditatap dengan optimisme sejauh kita memiliki keyakinan bahwa demokrasi dan institusi liberal-internasional (seperti LBB dan PBB) seperti dinyatakan Woodrow Wilson adalah tahapan sejarah lainnya, bukan percobaan sebagai usaha mencapai perdamaian abadi (The perpetual peace).

The Democratic Peace Theory: Is War a Means to Peace?

In the twenty first century, the idea of democracy has transcended its original conception of domestic governance to actively influence international relations. The nature of state—democratic or nondemocratic—has come to determine hierarchy, alliances, and status in international relations. It tends to bestow a degree of moral superiority to democratic states in dealings of international relations. This moral superiority in its most aggressive form, in the past two decades, has led to wars in the name of democracy. It has been used to justify military intervention in nondemocratic states by democratic nations. The use of force to bring about desired consequences has become the norm in inter-state relations. The focus is not on the action, but on its intent. This article studies the use of force and war by Western democratic countries to establish democracies through military intervention in other parts of the world. The article analyzes the widespread impact of foreign policies of the stronger nation-states and seeks to understand if the desired results are achieved or not. Beginning with the democratic peace theory that is held in high opinion by democracies of today, the article moves toward Immanuel Kant and his idea of perpetual peace. The democratic peace theory finds its base in Kant’s perpetual peace and finds an echo in Western democracies’ foreign policies. The article then sees how this theory is used to justify war, through the case study of Afghanistan, and what is the intention behind the wars. The article concludes that the desired aim of “positive peace” cannot be achieved via violent means. In the process of establishing peaceful and healthy democracy, Kant’s categorical imperatives are crucial.

The Essence of the Upanishad in T. S. Eliot's Poems and Plays

This paper attempts to explore the essence of the principal Upanishads of the Hindu philosophy in T. S. Eliot’s selected seminal poems and plays. The principal Upanishads are the Ishavasya, Kena, Katha, Prashna, Mundaka, Mandukya, Taittiriya, Aitareya, Chhandogya, Brihadaranyaka and Shvetashvatara. The famous poems are “Ash-Wednesday” and Four Quartets, and the famous plays are Murder in the Cathedral, The Family Reunion, and The Cocktail Party under scrutiny in this paper. The essence of the principal eleven Upanishads is that Brahman is source of all creations including the human beings, who get results according to their karma and are born again and again until they get moksha (liberation) through the self-realization of Brahman; therefore, our goal should be to attain moksha or Brahman, only through which we can experience perpetual peace and unbound bliss. Likewise, Eliot suggests that we should attempt to go back to our “Home” (Brahman, also a symbol of peace and bliss), for which we must attempt several times until we become qualified through the non-dual knowledge of “the still point” (Brahman) and its self-realization along with the spiritual practices of renunciation and asceticism. The practice of unattached action done without the hope of its fruit (nishkam karma) and unselfish devotion (Bhakti) are secondary paths to attain liberation. Since the path of spiritual knowledge can make us realize Brahman immediately, Eliot prefers this path of knowledge to the progressive or indirect paths of action and devotion. Thus, his texts reflect the essence of the Upanishads. The significance of this paper within the context of existing scholarship lies in its introduction to the new knowledge that Eliot’s poems and plays could be extensively interpreted by finding the essence of the Upanishads in his texts. Practically, the knowledge of the essence of the Upanishads can help us know the mystery of life and death, and Atman and Brahman, and get liberation from all kinds of suffering and misery, and the cycle of life and death as well before death.

The History of Fair Trade: Hugo Grotius, Corporations, and the Spanish Enlightenment

The early Spanish Enlightenment was shaped by debates over corporations, sovereignty, and the balance of power in Europe. Spanish officials, in this context, turned to the ideas of Hugo Grotius to establish joint-stock companies that could allow the Crown to regain control over its imperial domains and establish perpetual peace in Europe. This article recovers the writings of Félix Fernando de Sotomayor, Duke of Sotomayor (1684–1767), who drew on the works of Grotius, Samuel Pufendorf, and Charles Dutot in order to show that the history of these corporations chronicled the contestation and erosion of Spanish power and the diversion of European states from their true interests. Sovereigns, not merchants, argued Sotomayor, could guarantee fair trade and the equitable distribution of wealth. The study of Sotomayor’s views on trade, natural law, and alienation challenges traditional interpretations about the Iberian engagement with Grotius, the rise of capitalist hopes in Southern and Northern Europe, and Spain’s investment in the Enlightenment.

The Public Uses of Coercion and Force

The Kantian project of achieving perpetual peace among states seems (at best) an unfulfilled hope. Modern states’ authority claims and their exercise of power and sovereignty span a spectrum: from the most stringently and explicitly codified—the constitutional level—to the most fluid and turbulent acts of war. The Public Uses of Coercion and Force investigates both these individual extremes and also their relationship. Using Arthur Ripstein’s recent work Kant and the Law of War as a focal point, this book explores this connection through the lens of the (just) war theory and its relationship to the law. The Public Uses of Coercion and Force asks many key questions: what, if any, are the normatively salient differences between states’ internal coercion and the external use of force? Is it possible to isolate the constitutional level from other aspects of the state’s coercive reach? How could that be done while also guaranteeing a robust conception of human rights and adherence to the rule of law? With individual replies by Ripstein to chapters, this book will be of interest to students and academics of constitutional law, justice, philosophy of law, criminal law theory, and political science.

“YOU KANT DO THAT!”: AN ARGUMENT THAT KANT’S PRINCIPLES FOR PEACE MANDATE A FULLY SUSTAINABLE APPROACH TO THE CLIMATE CRISIS

This paper explores the work of Immanuel Kant in the context of the modern-day crisis of global climate change, to suggest principles that we should embrace as a global community to ensure a viable environment for future generations. Specifically, this paper focuses on three of Kant’s articles outlined in “Towards Perpetual Peace”, a treatise that proposes principles of conduct to ensure peaceable interactions between intrinsically opposed nations. In light of the certain trans-generational consequences of current climate inaction, this paper shifts the traditional geographical axis of Kant’s principles of coexistence, to examine their applications along a temporal axis. This method is paired with carefully researched evidence about the anticipated consequences of our present climate inaction to assert that we are not behaving peaceably towards future peoples. This paper concludes by suggesting three of Kant’s articles of peaceable conduct that can and should be embraced by the decision-makers of today to protect the autonomy and well-being of all future members of the social contract.