Abstract

SANTIAGO OROPEZA, Teresa. Kant and the Laws of War: The Figure of the Unjust Enemy. Tópicos (México) [online]. 2023, n.65, pp.369-397.  Epub June 09, 2023. ISSN 0188-6649.  https://doi.org/10.21555/top.v650.2060.

This paper focuses on the Kantian conception of a law of war, in particular on the controversial figure of the unjust enemy from the “Right of nations” of the Rechtslehre, which has given rise to Kant being considered a just war theorist by some (e.g. Carl Schmitt and B. Orend). I reject this interpretation and defend that Kant cannot be assigned this label without distorting his critical view of war, which means understanding, on the one hand, its role in the progress of humanity, and, on the other hand, to accept the veto of practical reason that prohibits it. For this purpose, I return to Howard Williams’s argument against B. Orend and try to add force to his argument by incorporating the notion of “permissive law” into the right to war when dealing with an unjust enemy.

Keywords : laws of war; just war; permissive law; perpetual peace.

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