Abstract
Kant argues in Eternal Peace that without a universal foedus pacificum (pacific federation) of republics there is no security anywhere for legal justice'; and in the Rechtslehre he adds that public legal justice perishes then it is no longer worthwhile for men to remain alive on this earth.2 This seems, then, to be a strong argument for some sort of federalism-at least in the international forum, between sovereign republics, if not necessarily within the structure of each of those republics. (One might think that any federalist would want to break down indivisible sovereignty by creating federal structures both beyond and within the national-state plane, and be a partisan of both domestic and international federalism3; but Kant's federalism moves mainly in one direction-beyond the national state.) A kind of international federalism, indeed, was more important to the political theory of Kant than to that of any other thinker, since for him the possibility of a public legal order on any plane was jeopardized by the absence of such an order on the broadest plane, the relations of independent states. Only an international peace (roughly) comparable to the peace which ought to be enjoyed by individual men in a particular state could guarantee state law.4
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
