book chapter

Immanuel Kant’s Take on Civil Disobedience and the Most Noteworthy Examples of the Misuse of Kantian Reasons to Defy Authority: Political Philosophy and IR Theory in the Age of Cognitive Warfare

Pietrzak P.

Publication year: 2025
Source / journal: strengthening international relations through transformative theory and practice
Country of origin: Poland;Bulgaria
Language: English
Institution type: Academic, Think Tank
Authors’ affiliations: In Statu Nascendi Think Tank; Vistula University, Poland; Sofia University, Bulgaria
Academic discipline: Military Influence & Security Doctrine; Cognitive & Behavioral Sciences; Network Science (SNA / ONA); Human–Machine & Algorithmic Mediation; Ethics, Law & Normative Frameworks
Actors: NATO; Russia; Military / Armed Forces
Contribution type: Theoretical
Import source: Scopus export

Abstract

This chapter discusses four interpretations of Kant’s take on civil disobedience, not in the context of a genuine pursuit of wisdom but as an instrument for cognitive warfare. The discussion starts with the governor of Kaliningrad, Anton Alikhanov, who in 2023 implied Kant’s responsibility in the West’s determination to pursue the hidden anti-Russian goal of NATO’s eastward expansion and giving Georgia and Ukraine false expectations that their transatlantic aspirations would be fulfilled. Subsequently, we consider Roger Scruton’s 2003 assertion that, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Kantian reasons justifying the US intervention in Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein are legitimate. Next, Adolf Eichmann’s defense whitewashing his war crimes in his 1961 trial is examined. Finally, we analyze the alleged relationship between Kantian philosophy and the sense of duty of the Jacobin leader Maximilien Robespierre during the French Revolution. © 2026 by IGI Global Scientific Publishing. All rights reserved.

Author keywords

military applications; french revolutions; georgia; ukraine; war crimes; crime

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