The problem of peace in Kant's philosophy of history

The paper deals with Kant's peace project seen in a broader philosophical-t heoretical context of the 18 century. The author focuses not only on Kant's essay Towards an Eternal Peace, but he examines also his other works confi rming his deep interest in this issue. He argues, that the problem of peace is a constitutive part of Kant's philosophy of history and it might be see n in a sense as its culmination point. Following the contemporary philosoph ical interpretations of the issue (E. Cassirer, K. Jaspers, G. Funke, G. Pi cht), he refuses to see Kant's endeavour as a program of establishing the e ternal peace. Rather, Kant points out just the principles and outlines poss ible ways of the ethical-political development of nations and states toward s the establishment of the international law and thus also of the lasting p eace. In the author's view Kant's ideas could be of help in articulating th e criteria, according to which we should understand and explain the contemp orary politics.