Is it possible for international politics to become more peaceful over time? In this essay this question will be answered with reference to two theories: the Democratic Peace Theory and to Classical Realism Theory. The Second World War ended in 1945 and for many decades following the war, the dominant theory for explaining the world order was realism. It was the theory that provided the most relevant and powerful explanation to the state of war, which was the current condition of the world at that period in the international arena. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the realist theory started to lose credibility as the theory failed to foresee the end of the Cold War. The other theory that will be discussed in this essay is
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Doyle is known for formulating what is known as “Doyle’s law”, a prediction based on Kant’s, Perpetual Peace. He said that liberal states do not go to war with each other. Also that liberalism is becoming a rule rather than exception. To begin with, liberal states are peaceful only in relations with other liberal states. For example England and France fought expansionist, colonial wars throughout the 19th Century. In the 1830s and 1840s against Algeria and China. Similarly the United States fought a similar war with Mexico in 1848 and intervened again in 1914 under president Wilson. In ‘Kant, Liberal Legacies and Foreign Affairs’, Doyle wrote that liberal states are as aggressive as any other form of society in their relations with non-liberals states. Doyle supports Kant’s “Perpetual Peace”, which predicts the ever-widening pacification of the liberal pacific union. Doyle interpreted the pacific union expansion as a process of “federalization”, a gradual extension to all states, leading to eternal peace. It explains how this pacification will occur and also explains why liberal states are not pacific in their relations with non-liberal state. He further explains that perpetual peace will be established only when all nations metaphorically accept three definitive articles of peace. The first one holds that the constitution of the state is republican and thus has a representative government and separation of powers. Also all citizens have to be legally equal. The second article explains that liberal republics will eventually establish peace amongst themselves by the “pacific union”, and would expand when new liberal regimes appear. Then wars between liberal and non-liberal states would disappear because non-liberal regimes would disappear. The Third definitive article for perpetual peace establishes a cosmopolitan law to be enforced together
Doyle is known for formulating what is known as “Doyle’s law”, a prediction based on Kant’s, Perpetual Peace. He said that liberal states do not go to war with each other. Also that liberalism is becoming a rule rather than exception. To begin with, liberal states are peaceful only in relations with other liberal states. For example England and France fought expansionist, colonial wars throughout the 19th Century. In the 1830s and 1840s against Algeria and China. Similarly the United States fought a similar war with Mexico in 1848 and intervened again in 1914 under president Wilson. In ‘Kant, Liberal Legacies and Foreign Affairs’, Doyle wrote that liberal states are as aggressive as any other form of society in their relations with non-liberals states. Doyle supports Kant’s “Perpetual Peace”, which predicts the ever-widening pacification of the liberal pacific union. Doyle interpreted the pacific union expansion as a process of “federalization”, a gradual extension to all states, leading to eternal peace. It explains how this pacification will occur and also explains why liberal states are not pacific in their relations with non-liberal state. He further explains that perpetual peace will be established only when all nations metaphorically accept three definitive articles of peace. The first one holds that the constitution of the state is republican and thus has a representative government and separation of powers. Also all citizens have to be legally equal. The second article explains that liberal republics will eventually establish peace amongst themselves by the “pacific union”, and would expand when new liberal regimes appear. Then wars between liberal and non-liberal states would disappear because non-liberal regimes would disappear. The Third definitive article for perpetual peace establishes a cosmopolitan law to be enforced together