Peace and the Theory of Natural Law - a Historical Perspective
Peace and the Theory of Natural Law - a Historical Perspective

Summary/Abstract: The theory of natural law dominated the field of political science and political philosophy for almost two thousand years, before entering a steep decline in the early part of the 19th century. Up until this time, it formed the basis for much of the systematic work performed on understanding man and society. Yet today the theory of natural law is somewhat misunderstood. My intention here is to correct what I see as a historical misperception of the science of natural law: namely the use and the importance of the concepts of peace and war. It is my contention that the notion of “war” was privileged in the analysis of natural law theories and the writings inspired by these. I will aim to show that the notion of “peace” has an equally important place in the theory of natural law. Moreover, I plan to demonstrate that many writers of this theoretical persuasion could be read as theorists of peace. This essay describes some of the work I performed during the fellowship I held between 2004 and 2005 at the New Europe College Institute for Advanced Study in Bucharest and indicates some of the lines of my present and future research.

• Details
• Contents