Kantian Political Theory and Global Change

Abstract

The significance of Kant’s political theory is most clearly visible in his later works, including the Metaphysics of Morals. This work has been examined seriously only more recently, having been for a long time underestimated as merely the result of Kant’s old age. Consequently, various aspects of Kant’s political theory and their implications for the various issues which confront us today are still in need of clarification. Papers in this panel have precisely this twofold aim: to illuminate some significant aspect of Kant’s political thought (for instance, the distinction between formal and material wrong, the relation between theory and practice, political obligation or prudence), and to examine its implications for some concrete challenging issue (for instance, the use of public spaces, racism, crisis situations, democratisation).