A Critical Assessement of the Relevance of Immanuel Kant's Theory of Liberalism in the World of International Politics Today

Introduction

Though international politics today is driven by various motives - such as the sustenance of sovereign states, the harmonisation of free trade or for national security - Immanuel Kant's perspective of liberalism and how it affects international politics is hinged on various beliefs. One of such beliefs is that individuals are motivated to promote peace amongst themselves in the natural process of self-interest. Kant went beyond establishing that relationships between individuals are prone to conflict. His perspective stretches farther to realise that: although men are prone to conflict, individuals will naturally seek peace to satisfy self-interest, simply because no man is an island. This outstanding belief can be used to critically assess whether or not Kant's theory of liberalism is relevant in international politics today.