On Rawls, Development and Global Justice: The Freedom of Peoples (International Political Theory)

John Rawls' text The Law of Peoples has inspired extensive scholarly debate in the field of international political theory, since its publication in 1999. Responding to the arguments of cosmopolitan theorists and Amartya Sen's recent critique, this new work presents a fresh appraisal of the debate, and argues that Rawls offers a persuasive and prescient moral perspective on issues of global poverty and development. By elaborating one of Rawls' core ideas, 'the duty of assistance', the book offers a unique theoretical response to the ideal of global justice. The duty is presented as a far-reaching principle of justice, one that advocates increasing the state capability of burdened societies, and aims to compel the most powerful states to reform international structures and provide aid, in a constructive and culturally sensitive manner. The aim of assistance is the strengthening of democratic, or 'decent' indigenous institutions and the promotion of the freedom of peoples. On Rawls, Development and Global Justice is an original contribution to current debates on international redistribution, democracy promotion and global poverty. Huw Lloyd Williams looks at the critical debate surrounding John Rawls' The Law of Peoples. He responds to the work of cosmopolitan theorists and Amartya Sen, arguing that Rawls offers a persuasive and prescient moral approach to issues of global poverty and development. In realizing John Rawls' principle of 'the duty of assistance', this book illustrates an original theoretical response to the ideal of global justice and looks at the critical debate surrounding Rawls' work on international political theory, The Law of Peoples. Responding to the work of cosmopolitan theorists and Amartya Sen's recent critique, Huw Lloyd Williams argues that Rawls' offers a persuasive and prescient moral approach to the real-world issues of international poverty and development. The duty of assistance is presented as a far-reaching principle of justice that aims to build the state capability of burdened societies, compelling the most powerful states to reform international structures and provide aid in a constructive and culturally-sensitive manner. The target of assistance is not the liberalization and democratization of developing societies, but the strengthening of decent, indigenous institutions, and the promotion of 'the freedom of peoples'. On Rawls, Development and Global Justice is an original contribution to current debates on international redistribution, democracy promotion and global poverty "Clear, judicious, well-informed, timely and argumentatively creative, this book advances Rawls scholarship, laying to rest influential misunderstandings of The Law of Peoples and imaginatively showing how to more fully and charitably specify the content of one of its core principles. What emerges is a principled vision of a robust program of assistance, aimed at building the institutional and political capabilities of impoverished societies currently at the margins of international society."--David Reidy, Professor of Philosophy, University of Tennessee, USA "This is an excellent, well-written, scholarly piece of work, developing an original argument and making a substantial contribution to Rawls' scholarship. There has recently been a greater willingness to see merit in Rawls's international theory, and Williams contributes in a constructive and original way to this trend. In developing a robust account of the duty of assistance, he explores a number of literatures and authors, weaving them together to tell a coherent and interesting story."--Chris Brown, Professor of International Relations, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Introduction....Pages 1-6 Front Matter....Pages 7-8 The Cosmopolitan Critique....Pages 9-33 Elucidating the ‘Libertarian’ Law of Peoples....Pages 34-57 A Duty with No Obligations?....Pages 58-76 Front Matter....Pages 77-78 Considering the Capability Perspective....Pages 79-105 Conceptualizing State Capability: The Freedom of Peoples....Pages 106-126 Actualizing State Capability....Pages 127-157 Front Matter....Pages 159-160 A Duty in Equilibrium?....Pages 161-178 Creeping Cosmopolitanism?....Pages 179-201 Conclusions....Pages 202-212 Back Matter....Pages 213-242