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Kant and the Theory and Practice of International Right

Georg Cavallar author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:University of Wales Press

Published:1st Mar '20

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Kant and the Theory and Practice of International Right cover

• This book favours an ‘embedded’ approach: Kant is not the philosopher who has his head in the clouds, but the philosopher trying to bridge the gulf between the ideal and the real. • The book paints a rather unconventional picture of Kant’s philosophy of international right. • Kant’s theory combines two elements, the idealistic and normative element focusing on principles and the goal, as well as reflections on how to attain this goal and put these principles into practice. • Kant goes beyond various ‘schools’ in IRT with his anticipatory realism: international relations different from our present ones are a real possibility and a proper goal of human endeavour.

Kant is not the philosopher who has his head in the clouds, but the philosopher seeking to bridge the gulf between the ideal and the real in international relations.This book argues that Kant’s theory of international relations should be interpreted as an attempt to apply the principles of reason to history in general, and in particular to political conditions of the late eighteenth century. It demonstrates how Kant attempts to mediate between a priori theory and practice, and how this works in the field of international law and international relations. Kant appreciates how the precepts of theory have to be tested against the facts, before the theory is enriched to deal with the complexities of their application. In the central chapters of this book, the starting points are apparent contradictions in Kant’s writings; assuming that Kant is a systematic and profound thinker, Cavallar seeks to use these contradictions to discover Kant’s ‘deep structure’, a dynamic and evolutionary theory that tries to anticipate a world where the idea of international justice might be more fully realized.  

"This is the definitive source on Kant’s international relations theory and it has played a significant role in informing my own thinking. Updated and expanded, this new edition adds considerable material to an already powerful first edition, including an expanded analysis of Kant’s practical politics, his thinking in response to his contemporaries, key political and legal methodological considerations, and how Kant might be best understood within modern global debates." -- Garrett Wallace Brown, University of Leeds
"Georg Cavallar’s new book is a skillful and sophisticated linking of Kant’s theory to humanitarian intervention, democracy and peace, cosmopolitanism and patriotism, among other topics. An original argument is refined by a serious and impressive engagement with two decades of debate framed by the book’s first appearance in 1999." -- Antonio Franceschet, University of Calgary
"When the first edition of this book came out just over two decades ago it quickly became a must-read for anyone who was interested in Kant’s ideas about the theory and practice of international relations. This new edition brings it up to date, and adds material that will make it a necessary reference in the decades to come." -- John Christian Laursen, University of California, Riverside

ISBN: 9781786835529

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

288 pages

2nd New edition