Back from the USSR: Kant, Kaliningrad and World Peace

The year 2004 marked the bicentenary of Immanuel Kant’s death. This article evaluates the main arguments of Kant’s essay on perpetual peace in the light of developments in world politics since his time. How well have his ideas stood the test of time? Kant’s essay is placed in the context of his philosophy as a whole and through a close textual analysis the value of his propositions is assessed. The article looks at the Provisional and Definitive Articles in their mutual relation and places a good deal more emphasis than is usual upon the two supplements and appendix. Finally the article takes the complex circumstances of Kant’s home city, Kaliningrad, as a brief test case for his own theories