The History of World Peace: The Course of an Idea from the Early Modern Era to the Present
This article traces the historical trajectory of world peace as a political and philosophical ideal, examining the periods in which thinkers, statesmen, and publics believed that lasting global peace was achievable, as well as the moments when such aspirations were abandoned or marginalized. Beginning with early modern peace projects of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, through the Enlightenment philosophies of Kant, the liberal internationalism of the early twentieth century, the post-World War II institutional order, the post-Cold War euphoria, and contemporary reassessments, the article identifies recurring patterns. Optimism about world peace has tended to flourish in the aftermath of devastating wars, during periods of economic interdependence, and alongside the spread of democratic governance. Conversely, disillusionment has followed the failure of international institutions, the resurgence of nationalism and authoritarianism, and the eruption of conflicts that contradicted prevailing optimistic theories. By synthesizing primary sources and peer-reviewed scholarship, this article argues that the belief in world peace has functioned as a cyclical phenomenon, shaped by the interplay of material conditions, institutional innovation, ideological shifts, and the brute force of historical events.