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Kant's Perpetual Peace and Young Seek Choue's Oughtopian Peace Theory:A Three-Level Analysis

오영달 1 하영애 2

1한양대학교
2경희대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This article makes a comparative analysis of Kant’s treatise on “Perpetual Peace” and Young Seek Choue’s Oughtopian Peace Theory. The analysis is based on the three levels in International Relations, i.e., individual, state, and international. Kant pays keen attention to the maintenance of adequate free and equal relations among individual persons as the starting point for perpetual peace. In the level of state, Kant emphasizes the existence of republican constitution and representative system in which people’s freedom, equality and independence are guaranteed because people would not agree to the illegitimate and burdensome war. In the international level, the pacific federation of republican states are the key stone for perpetual peace. In addition, the cosmopolitan right to hospitality should be recognized for foreigners. s Young Seek Choue was influenced by the Enlightenment thinkers, he shows some common characteristics with them including Kant. Nevertheless, he demonstrates his own unique theoretical viewpoints which are differentiated from Kant’s. In the individual level, Choue also emphasizes the importance of free and equal relations and co-prosperity based on his human-centrism. In the state level, Choue advocates a universal democracy as a synthesis of what he calls freedom-centric political democracy and equality-centric economic democracy. Again, he emphasizes the importance of co-prosperity of all the peoples of the world on the basis of the universal democracy. In the international level, Choue argues that humankind are moving toward regional cooperation society and regional common society and global cooperation society and global common society beyond the existing nation-states. In this context, he contends that the UN should be strengthened and play a central role in maintaining world peace and prosperity beyond narrow national interest. Choue's life-long meditation on and efforts for world peace cannot be overestimated. It is expected that the theoretical elements of his vision for world peace will be a crucial guideline for the contemporary and upcoming humankind.

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