"Sovereignty, Democracy, Human Rights: Dialogues on Perpetual Peace," a workshop to be held at the International Peace Institute (IPI) at United Nations Plaza in New York City, will take place on November 16, 2010. The capstone event of the Perpetual Peace Project, the symposium builds upon the active participation of all attendees. It has been structured as roundtable discussion around three key elements of Kant's essay:

-- Collective security and the implications for sovereignty;
-- Democracy, governance, and rule of law; and
-- Human rights and cosmopolitan citizenship.

With this workshop the Perpetual Peace Project aspires to stimulate a conversation on current obstacles to international peace and security, ways to overcome them, and the implications for sovereign states. This conversation included practitioners who work directly on the prevention and solution of violent conflicts, diplomats who have the power to truly make peace a sustainable reality, and scholars who engage with the idea of peace. The workshop also featured selections from the Perpetual Peace Project film initiative, which features conversations with renowned philosophers and practitioners reflecting on Perpetual Peace with reference to current international priorities and conflicts.

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Introduction and Keynote Remarks

Opening remarks by Warren Hoge (IPI), Aaron Levy (Slought Foundation), and Horia-Roman Patapievici (European Union National Institutes of Culture). Keynote address by Norbert Darabos, Minister of Defence and Sports, Government of Austria, with concluding remarks by Michael Doyle (Columbia University).

Session 1: Sovereignty and Collective Security

At the heart of Immanuel Kant's essay lies the idea that the natural state between nations is war, not peace. Peace, therefore, must be established by securing the right of all nations through the foundation of a federation of free states. "This league does not seek any power of the sort possessed by nations, but only the maintenance and security of each nation's own freedom." This session will focus on the key challenges of collective security and the implications for sovereignty. What is the current condition and future potential of global collective security? What reasonable constraints on sovereignty must states accept to exit their natural state of conflict in favor of establishing a global legal order with the goal of preventing war forever? Non-state actors also have a growing influence on global collective security. How should sovereign states engage with them?

Moderated by Edward C. Luck (IPI), with opening remarks by Robert Jervis (Columbia University) and Pedro Serrano (European Union)

Session 2: Democracy, Governance, and the Rule of Law

The first Definitive Article of Kant's Perpetual Peace states that every nation must have a republican constitution, which for Kant meant that it must have a government characterized by the rule of law and a separation of powers rather than "despotism." This session will focus on the relationship between international security and domestic governance. To what extent is collective security dependent upon the spread of democracy and the rule of law? What is the proper role of the international community in promoting good governance and the rule of law or in strengthening weak and fragile states? How should "illiberal" regimes be addressed by the international community? Are they necessarily an impediment to the establishment of lasting peace and security?

Moderated by William C. Banks (Syracuse University), with opening remarks by Pablo de Greiff (International Center for Transitional Justice) and Christian Wenaweser (Liechtenstein)

Session 3: Human Rights and Cosmopolitan Citizenship

The Third Definitive Article of Kant's Perpetual Peace relates to the establishment of a "cosmopolitan right" to hospitality based upon a sense of common ownership over the earth's surface. In simple terms, this relates to the right to travel to a foreign country and not be treated like a spy or enemy. But, significantly, this also relates to the legal establishment of individual rights that transcend any single nation-state. This session will focus on the complex relation between individual rights and state-based international law. In a time of heightened population movements, what obligations does a right to hospitality create for the care and protection of refugees and immigrants? Who must satisfy these obligations? Currently, to what extent do human rights and international humanitarian law establish a layer of cosmopolitan or global citizenship above and beyond--or in complement to--national citizenship?

Moderated by Gudrun Harrer (Diplomatic Academy Vienna), with opening remarks by Elazar Barkan (Columbia University) and Iain Levine (Human Rights Watch)