Towards Perpetual Peace in Rawls's 'Law of People'?

Abstract

John Rawls’s "The Law of Peoples" has recently been the subject of more considered and constructive discussion following the rather dismissive initial critique by cosmopolitan liberals. It has featured increasingly prominently in discussions on human rights, international law, just war and international redistribution. One legacy of the initial criticisms, however, seems to have been a reluctance to view the text in light of the explicit connections with Kant's "Perpetual Peace", despite Rawls’s implying that he is presenting a contemporary version of the work. The panel will focus on questions such as the difference in their views on just war, whether Rawls rather than the cosmopolitans is the true heir to Kantian international relations, how Rawls's Society of Peoples and the concept of decent peoples fit with Kant's republican ideal, whether Perpetual Peace may be read 'back' through the Law of Peoples in revealing ways, in regard to issues such as intervention or redistribution, and perhaps most importantly, the extent to which the Law of Peoples may be understood as a contemporary interpretation of "Perpetual Peace".

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