Hegel, History, Hostility: The Persistence of War in Hegel’s Political Philosophy

The return of war in Europe has renewed the urgency of understanding war’s role in the interstate system. Although many theorists take a progressive view in which war is withering away, others argue war remains a recurrent feature of political life. This article contributes to theoretical debates about war’s ongoing significance by systematically reconstructing Hegel’s theory of war and its relevance for understanding war’s persistence. Historically, Hegel thinks war has taken increasingly rational forms over time, though, contrary to optimistic interpretations, this points to enmity’s distillation rather than its elimination. Causally, Hegel suggests war occurs because the lack of a power above states capable of adjudicating conflicting rights and the consequent struggle to enforce one’s formally valid claims against those who could substantively deny them. Ethically, Hegel holds war is a necessary evil which, abstractly, ought to end. However, since war teaches citizens that their good is tied to the good of the community as a whole, thereby restraining civil society’s encroachments on the political, Hegel denies the end of war would be an absolute ethical good. By systematically reconstructing Hegel’s views on war, this article sheds new light on war’s role in the system of European states.