Overcoming Gangsterism and Geo-Political Anarchy

This book originates from critical reflections in political philosophy on the geographical boundaries of Hobbes’s Leviathan and Kant’s essay on Perpetual Peace. It argues that the contemporary world is increasingly marked by a permanent condition of conflict: an anarchic war of all against all. Although the volume was conceived before the tragic escalation of several violent conflicts, the widespread loss of civilian lives in recent years has given its argument an even more urgent and poignant relevance. The book proposes significant and radical institutional innovations, centred on the creation of a World Supranational Authority endowed with genuine executive powers, including the capacity to act against the most recalcitrant nation-states. While such a proposal may appear bold, it is presented as an indispensable preliminary step if humanity is serious about addressing the multiple and devastating conflicts that continue to threaten civil and prosperous coexistence. In this sense, the volume revives Kant’s insight that a truly civil order can only be built upon the foundation of perpetual peace. For readers seriously concerned with the establishment of a new and better world order, especially in light of the recognised decline and deterioration of the post-1945 geopolitical settlement, this book offers both theoretical reflections and practical suggestions.