Abstract

This dissertation explains two related things. First, the basis upon which Immanuel Kant argues for the necessity of international reform. Second, the reasons why there are conflicting understandings of Kant's international reform project at the heart of divisions within liberal internationalism. The dissertation is divided into two Parts that correspond to these problems. ;Part 1 explains the genesis, justification and nature of Kant's concern with international reform. My approach here is to place Kant's explicit statements on such reform within the context of his theory of justice and its justification of the sovereign state. I argue that reform of the states system is not a special application of his political philosophy but is, rather, an intrinsic component of his theory of justice. Nonetheless, Kantian international reform is made problematic and ambiguous because of the problematic terms of his "doctrine" of state sovereignty---a doctrine that is constructed from a close reading of his vision of justice. I demonstrate that Kantian international reform is a necessary condition for the elaboration of an individual freedom that can only be imperfectly constituted by the sovereign state---and is perpetually threatened by anarchy among such states. This interpretation places Kant's international thought in a more complex light. I highlight the ambiguities within its structure that are produced by an extremely uneasy effort to render politics increasingly compatible with his understanding of an autonomous morality. ;Part 2 places Kant's project for international reform within a historical and ideological context. I do so in two ways. First, I locate Kant's symbolic place within a more or less coherent tradition of "liberal internationalism." Here I explain why Kant is a foundational source for two very divergent strands in the historical development of liberal internationalism: one that is statist and another that conceives of the possibility of non-territorial governance. Secondly, I evaluate two recent and distinct research programmes that are animated by Kant's divided legacy: the "democratic peace" thesis and the "cosmopolitan democracy" model. Although Kant's international reform project is ambiguous enough to lend support to both contemporary interpretations of liberal internationalism, I argue that non-statist forms of this ideology are superior under globalizing conditions. The dissertation concludes by examining the reasons why liberal internationalism currently suffers from a foundational "crisis" and further claims that Kant is a useful model for both---explaining and seeking ways to overcome its underlying causes