Transcription
Two nations, USA and Canada. They share the world's longest land border, and yet, in over 200 years, there haven't been even a single war. But on the other hand, we also have nations like India and Pakistan. They are also neighbors, but in the last 75 years, both have engaged in major wars and numerous conflicts. So, what is the difference? Why have there been perpetual peace along the borders of USA and Canada, and there have been conflict rifts along India and Pakistan borders?
Well, the answer to this question lies with Emanuel Kant's essay on perpetual peace. Emanuel Kant was a prominent idealistic thinker who believed human beings as rational, capable of taking moral decisions, wanting to live in peace rather than engage in conflicts. So, in short, he viewed human beings with optimism. And to maintain perpetual peace in the world, he gave three conditions.
First, republican constitution. Republican constitution means a system of government in which the head of the state is elected by its people. And when the head of the state is elected by its people, then naturally, there will be a system of checks and balances because the leader will be accountable to its people. And we know, based on Kant, that people are inherently good. They want to live in peace. Therefore, they will not want to, they will not want their leaders to engage in conflicts or design policies that will result in potential wars. And the classic example of this condition is USA and Canada. Both are democracies, and I think that is perhaps why they are peaceful nations.
But wait, you might also ask, aren't US, isn't Russia and Ukraine? They are also democracies. So, where the fighting war? Well, let me tell you, Ukraine might be a democracy, but Russia is not. Russia has been evolved into, Russia has recently evolved into a fascist government where the powers have been, where the powers have been concentrated into the hands of few elites. We know that whatever Putin and his friends want, that only happens. There is a very, there is very limited freedom of press. People vote, but we always know what the results are. Putin comes out to be victorious. So, when the democracy is weak, the elites, they do whatever they like because they'll not be accountable to the people. And I think perhaps that is also why between India and Pakistan, we have seen many conflicts because in Pakistan, we also have the military controlling the internal affairs as well as external affairs of the state.
Now, the second condition is international cooperation. Emmanuel Kant believed that when nations share resources, cooperate, they are less likely to fight. And the classic example of this is the European Union. European Union, it was, it has evolved from a coal and steel union to a supranational organization, and it didn't happen overnight. It happened through a gradual process of cooperation and cooperation on mutual matters. And today, when you look at the European Union, you will see the nations that were rival states, that were enemies in World War II, they today have open borders. They have, they have been integrated today in such a way that you cannot imagine. You can travel with just a single passport. You can work in any country, and there is free flow of goods and services. And that is why I think when the countries are too much interconnected, we find very less conflicts in the European Union member states.
Now, the third condition is cosmopolitan right. This basically means that treating every person of the world with equality, with respect, and with dignity. Meaning, even the refugees cannot be treated with hostility. And the classic example of this is the Geneva Convention. Geneva Convention. It mandates the signatory states to treat p, treat civilians and prisoners of war, even during the conflict, with fairness and with respect. And in the 1971 war, India followed this convention. It arrested, I, it captured, I think around 70,000 plus soldiers, and it treated them with respect when they surrendered, and it let them go. It treated them fairly.
So, these were the three conditions. But not everyone agrees with Emmanuel Kant, especially the realist scholars like, like Hans Morgenthau and Kenneth Waltz. They, they believe that the international system is inherently anarchic, meaning there is no central authority to enforce rules. Therefore, countries are left on their own. They have to secure their interests first in order to survive. And this has been evident in many, this has been evident in many situations. The most recent is the USA and Iran war. USA has time and again violated the sovereignty of many nations. So, realist scholars argue that the nations first, they prop, first, they prioritize their own interests, and then they, and then these talks of the lofty ideas of peace, cooperation, then it follows. When we look at the Brexit example, this is, this also shows that a powerful nation, it prioritizes its own interest. And so, this is one of the limitations also in the European Union.
But nevertheless, despite the critics, Emmanuel Kant's framework on how to maintain peace, it continues to find relevance even today, and it provides us with critical tools to analyze the present world. And I think it is because of the idealists like Emanuel Kant and Woodrow Wilson that we have seen the establishment of organizations like the United Nations. And we know how remarkable the United Nations have been, even though there have been recent, recent talks of reforms in the United, in the UN Security Council. But despite that, it has done tremendous amount of work in its peacekeeping missions across Africa and in Southeast Asia.