Kant and the European Union : cosmopolitan reflections

Abstract

In this paper the author will seek to evaluate whether the current political framework of the EU satisfies Kant’s cosmopolitan prescriptions. In doing so, the author will first give an overview of Kant’s account of cosmopolitanism and shed light on the reasons why Kantian cosmopolitanism is particularly relevant to the political developments that ushered the formation of the EU. Secondly, the cosmopolitan prescriptions set out by Kant in ‘Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch’ will be discussed in relation to the current framework of the EU, emphasising the reasons why although the EU seems to follow Kant’s cosmopolitan prescriptions, it does not completely fulfill Kant’s cosmopolitan requirements.