Diacritica 25-2_Filosofia.indb - cehum - Universidade do Minho

THE RAWLSIAN IDEA OF DEMOCRATIC PEACE AS PEACE BY SATISFACTION
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international context of the 60’s, required the implementation of international
law; that is, the enlargement of the type of peace which is in place in
Western Europe, peace by satisfaction.
Rawls adapts this concept, removing it from the contemporary constitutionalist
realist discourse about the relations between states (see Doyle,
1977: 151s) and substituting this for the realistic utopia of the relationship
between peoples. His aim is to refute the vision based on historical accounts
and contingent interpretations, which evaluates the relationship between
states as the continuity of the state of war - the complex realism of Th ucydides
[4] . If peace among democratic peoples arises from the fact that they are
satisfi ed with the status quo for the right reasons, of their status as “satisfi ed
peoples”, then we can understand it as peace by satisfaction. Insofar as this
translates a situation which is made more stable the more it is generalized,
it is suitable to the guiding principle of liberal foreign policy, namely: “[to]
gradually to shape all not yet liberal societies in a liberal direction, until
eventually (in the ideal case) all societies are liberal” (Rawls, 1999: 60).
Th e ideal theory of the Law of Peoples probes the possibility of a “peace
zone” extending to peoples whose political culture is distinct from the
democratic culture, since it conceives a reasonable society of peoples that
includes decent hierarchical peoples - associationist societies, which treat
their affi liates as members of associations and not as free and equal citizens.
Th e Rawlsian description of “decent people” is situated in the hypothetical
domain, just as his description of a “liberal people”. Rawls wants to show,
on the one hand, the viability of a regime that, while not democratic, allows
for political discussion and is receptive to the structural reforms; and, on
the another hand, that “the liberal conception requires not only, from other
societies what they can reasonably guarantee, without the mastering or
degrading them “(Cabrita, 2009: 237).
In assessing the criterion of decent hierarchical societies, Rawls begins
by pointing out that this type of society is non-aggressive - unlike the outlaw
states - and resorts to peaceful means, such as diplomacy and trade,
to achieve its legitimate purposes (see Rawls, 1999: 64). Th is means that
the normative horizon of decency, according to its common good idea of
4 Th e interpretative insights of complex realism are based on the following assumptions: “First,
the international scene is properly described as an anarchy - a multiplicity of powers without
a government. Second, the primary actors are independent states whose domestic hierarchy
(sovereignty) complements international anarchy. Th ird, the lack of a legitimate international
source of controlling authority means no restraint - whether moral, social, cultural, economic,
or political - is suffi ciently strong or general either to eliminate completely or to manage reliably
confl icts of interest, prestige, or value”, in Doyle, 1997: 45.
Diacritica 25-2_Filosofia.indb 101 05-01-2012 09:38:23