Benevolence in international relations

By making benevolence a component of international relations, this book offers a more sensitive view of our time and a toolbox for future political action. It also fills a gap in the academic literature that does not take into account broadly this dimension at the global level.
Benevolence does not rhyme with mawkishness, blindness, and good feelings. And it is not confined to neutrality or to the hegemony cultivated by certain States on the international scene. As a moral disposition, it is a sensitivity to calm and to the global environment, which is reflected in many contemporary diplomatic conducts (from commemorations to negotiations). As a practice, it promotes no-harm, temperance, and care for the vulnerable. This is evidenced by the evolution over time of international law regarding moderation in the use of force, the protection of global public goods, but also the use of public apologies acknowledging a past wrong. Or the consideration by ordinary people of hospitality towards migrants or sobriety in proximity. But it is above all at the heart of an ancient global political project, the solidarism, theorized by Léon Bourgeois, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1920. For a natural solidarity, in fact, links us all to each other, nations as well as individuals. Recognizing the effects of these interdependencies is crucial for all of humanity.
Exploring and describing these forms of benevolence in a lucid manner is a necessity. It is a gesture that opens ways to reinterpret the past, but also to act within our world, given the threats and risks that affect us, from pandemics to climate change.This topic is clearly connected to several theoretical issues or families in IR and International Political Theory: theories of recognition, logic of relationality, ethics of virtues, philosophies of care, philosophies of non-violence. It also has some links with recent developments of the English School of International Relations concerning the restraint of violence (as Linklater’s approach of civilization process in history) or the concept of global society.