Beyond democracy promotion: Kant, Rawls, and a liberal alternative

Williams, Huw ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7577-8816 2021. Beyond democracy promotion: Kant, Rawls, and a liberal alternative. Public Reason 13 (1) , pp. 21-46.

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Abstract

This article argues for a more radical philosophical approach to the problems of democracy promotion, one which is grounded in John Rawls’ view of international politics. His circumspect, Kantian perspective contrasts with other attempts to justify an adventurist, interventionist foreign policy, also sometimes labelled as Kantian. With respect to democracy promotion, Rawls’ view contrasts significantly with a reformist ‘critical’ perspective, and suggests we should move beyond this policy paradigm entirely. Indeed, it is claimed this Kantian perspective offers a robust alternative liberal narrative, which takes tolerance and recognition of non-democratic ‘decency’ as a more apt starting point for Western foreign policy. This is a gradualist philosophical perspective that potentially encourages greater international security, more stable development – and possibly more democratization in the long term.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	English, Communication and Philosophy
Subjects:	J Political Science > JZ International relations
Publisher:	Faculty of Philosophy, University of Bucharest
ISSN:	2065-7285
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	12 July 2022
Date of Acceptance:	16 May 2022
Last Modified:	03 May 2023 20:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/150722

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