THE KANTIAN PEACE The Pacific Benefits of Democracy, Interdependence,and International Organizations,1885-1992 By JOHN R.ONEAL and BRUCE RUSSETT* TUST over two hundred years ago Immanuel Kant suggested that"re- publican constitutions,"a"commercial spirit"of international trade, and a federation of interdependent republics would provide the basis for perpetual peace.The alternative,even starker in the nuclear era than in 1795,would be peace of a different sort:"a vast grave where all the horrors of violence and those responsible for them would be buried." Consequently,Kant declared,we have a duty to work for peaceful in- ternational relations.Though he emphasized the absolute character of this moral imperative,he was no idealist;rather,he believed that natu- ral processes based on self-interest impelled individuals to act in ways that would eventually produce a lasting and just peace.Kant was also realistic.He acknowledged that war was inherent in the anarchic inter- national system and therefore cautioned that nations must act pru- dently until the federation of interdependent republics was established. But he also knew that the mechanisms of power politics produce only temporary respite from conflict,not lasting solutions. Over the past half century much of the world has been at peace.Un- derstanding that phenomenon,its causes and trajectory,is the funda- mental challenge for international relations scholars today.We seek to show that Kant's realistic statement of liberal theory provides useful guidance for this task.Most political scientists now agree that the con- temporary peacefulness can be traced in part to the so-called demo- cratic peace,wherein established democratic states have fought no We thank the Carnegie Corporation of New York,the Ford Foundation,and the National Sci- ence Foundation for financial support;Zeev Maoz for comments;and Jennifer Beam,Margit Buss- mann,Soo Yeon Kim,Yury Omelchenko,Brian Radigan,and Jacob Sullivan for data collection and management. 1Kant,Perpetual Peace:A Philosopbical Sketch,in Kant's Political Writings,ed.Hans Reiss (Cam- bridge:Cambridge University Press,1970),105.See also James Bohman and Matthias Lutz-Bach- mann,eds.,Perpetual Peace:Essays on Kant's Cosmopolitan Ideal (Cambridge:MIT Press,1997). World Politics 52(October 1999),1-37THE KANTIAN PEACE The Pacific Benefits of Democracy, Interdependence, and International Organizations, 1885-1992 By JOHN R. ONEAL and BRUCE RUSSETT* JUST over two hundred years ago Immanuel Kant suggested that "re publican constitutions," a "commercial spirit" of international trade, and a federation of interdependent republics would provide the basis for perpetual peace. The alternative, even starker in the nuclear era than in 1795, would be peace of a different sort: "a vast grave where all the horrors of violence and those responsible for them would be buried."1 Consequently, Kant declared, we have a duty to work for peaceful in ternational relations. Though he emphasized the absolute character of this moral imperative, he was no idealist; rather, he believed that natu ral processes based on self-interest impelled individuals to act in ways that would eventually produce a lasting and just peace. Kant was also realistic. He acknowledged that war was inherent in the anarchic inter national system and therefore cautioned that nations must act pru dently until the federation of interdependent republics was established. But he also knew that the mechanisms of power politics produce only temporary respite from conflict, not lasting solutions. Over the past half century much of the world has been at peace. Un derstanding that phenomenon, its causes and trajectory, is the funda mental challenge for international relations scholars today. We seek to show that Kant s realistic statement of liberal theory provides useful guidance for this task. Most political scientists now agree that the con temporary peacefulness can be traced in part to the so-called demo cratic peace, wherein established democratic states have fought no * We thank the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Ford Foundation, and the National Sci ence Foundation for financial support; Zeev Maoz for comments; and Jennifer Beam, Margit Buss mann, Soo Yeon Kim, Yury Omelchenko, Brian Radigan, and Jacob Sullivan for data collection and management. 1Kant, Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch, in Kants Political Writings, ed. Hans Reiss (Cam bridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970), 105. See also James Bohman and Matthias Lutz-Bach mann, eds., Perpetual Peace: Essays on Kants Cosmopolitan Zafe?/(Cambridge: MIT Press, 1997). World Politics 52 (October 1999), 1-37