Just War, Regular War, and Perpetual Peace

Kant characterizes war as the "barbaric way (the way of savages)" of deciding disputes. This opposition to war is paired with a discussion of right in war, with respect to each of going to war, the conduct of war, and the behaviour of the victorious party after a war. I explain how Kant can have a conception of right in war, against the background of his more general view that war is by its nature barbaric and to be repudiated entirely. Right cannot be decided by war, but can only be "found" in it if we suppose it can decide a dispute, and so in another sense resolve a question of right. Kant's solution has two pillars: an account of the distinctively public nature of a state, and an account of peace as the only condition under which disputes can be resolved on their merits.