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TSR Wiki > Study Help > Subjects and Revision > Revision Notes > Politics > Context (Perpetual Peace - Kant)

Kant was writing just after the French revolution, and at the end of a century that had seen frequent wars. Previously, attitudes were that the best way of securing peace was through the domination of a particular power, as had happened with the Roman Empire. With the new set of wars, it was thought that a balance of power was the only way to secure peace, as well as the independence of individual states.

Although Kant does not make a historical argument, his argument is nevertheless historically situated, in that he is reacting against and rejecting contemporary assertions regarding the possibility of achieving peace.

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