Introduction

Hegel's controversial views on war have been the main focus of interest in his theory of international relations as a whole, perhaps the most neglected area of Hegel's political thought. The controversy surrounding Hegel's discussion of war centres on the question of whether or not Hegel advocates war as a state policy. Earlier commentators, particularly in the aftermath of the Second World War, believed that Hegel defends a state eager to wage war. Thus, for example, Bertrand Russell says: ‘Hegel's doctrine of the State … [is] a doctrine which, if accepted, justifies every internal tyranny and every external aggression that can be possibly imagined’. In addition, Karl Popper argues: ‘War is not a common and abundant evil but a precious though rare good: – this sums up the views of Hegel and of his followers’.

Today, most contemporary interpreters, who are more sympathetic to Hegel's view, make a very different case: that Hegel does not, in fact, advocate war. These modern interpreters are divided into two camps. The first camp believe Hegel finds war a necessary evil; the second camp argue that Hegel is, in fact, a proponent of perpetual peace.

I want to defend the position of the first camp of modern interpreters. My view is that Hegel does not advocate war as a state policy nor does he endorse perpetual peace. Instead, Hegel claims no more than that conflict is inherent between states in an anarchical international sphere.