Democratic Peace Model and Cultural Diversity

Subject Areas :

Mehdi Baratalipour ¹ (استادیار دانشگاه خوارزمی گروه علوم سیاسی و روابط بین الملل)

Received: 2015-10-30 Accepted : 2016-03-01 Published : 2015-03-01

Keywords: Cultural Diversity, Democratic Peace, John Rawls, the law of peoples, reasonability, political overlapping consensus, just war,

Abstract :

Abstract: John Rawls model of “democratic peace” by recognizing “peoples” and distinguishing between the “democrat liberal”, “hierarchical nobles”, “Burdened”, “Benevolent Absolutism” societies and outlaw governments in international arena visualizes international justice in line of “reasonability” and not rationality in relations among the countries. This concept of justice puts aside universal moral foundation in favour of “political overlapping consensus”. Now the question is whether this model of democratic peace recognizes cultural diversity in international arena. The critical argument of the present paper is this model is trying to recognize this diversity with taking advantage of the concept of reasonable pluralism, but eventually it also leads to a dream of universal utopian image of the moral foundations necessary for well-ordered international community, in a way which can proceed to humanitarian intervention and just war against the detestable “other”. The finding of the study is that by certain modifications in “democratic peace model” we can consider it successful in recognition of cultural diversity. Therefore, on the basis of this modification democratic peace by offering a “minimal approach”, “conceptual essentialism” and “realistic-utopian view” neutralizes cultural radical relativism and universalistic liberalism in world policy making.