Modernity and Peace. The Lessons of Kant’s Applied Enlightenment

Abstract

The article contains an analysis of the major lessons of Immanuel Kant’s philosophical project of perpetual peace in the context of development of contemporary political systems and international order. The author reviews the history of philosophical and legal accounts of perpetual peace, as well as the political context of Kant’s project. The third part of the article offers a detailed analysis of Kant’s proposals with regard to the institutional construction of constitutional republics and of a global federation of peoples. The author concludes that from the perspective of the ‘second Modernity,’ the experience of early Modern philosophers might assist in resuming a more active dialogue between philosophers and political leaders, as well as inviting contemporary philosophers to take a leadership role in the institutional construction of preconditions for civil peace and the prevention of wars in Eastern Europe.