Kant’s Political Philosophy – Theoretical Perspectives and Current Challenges

Abstract

This panel aims to address key aspects of Kant’s political thought against the background of current crises in international as well as domestic politics. On the one hand, international conflicts and wars seem to have reappeared on the stage of world politics. On the other hand, liberal democracy is successively under threat in the light of the global rise of populism. The idea of a strong international order, based on international treaties and republican constitutions of the States, is to be seen as probably most important legacy of Kant’s political thought. In particular, Kant’s strong demand for the establishment of an effective international order to avoid not only this or that war but rather war as such, has been without doubt influential on the intensification of international cooperation after the end of World War Two. Current crises show that cooperation on the basis of mutual agreement and the law is more and more replaced through the exercise of force – a development which shows also effects on domestic politics and the climate of political discourse. This panel will address the questions these crises cause against the background of Kant’s account of international politics, constitutionalism, and ethics.

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