Abstract

The development of the global system has given rise to a class of moral problems which can best or only be resolved by establishing cooperative arrangements among nations. Some of these problems are as old as states, many are of recent origin. They include the loss of biodiversity, the degradation of the atmosphere, nuclear deterrence and proliferation, persistent regional conflict, Third World poverty and malnutrition, resource depletion, and many others. ;The dominant school of thought on international normative politics has been Political Realism, a doctrine which upholds the priority of national interest against the often conflicting demands of impartial morality. This study aims to justify greater order in international relations, but assumes that in the absence of global problems, National Autonomy has moral priority over International Order. Where self-restraint or unilateral sacrifice are not enough to prevent or resolve global problems, restrictions on national autonomy are to be based on the weight of risks or harms to all which may emerge from the free interaction of nations. ;This work proposes an alternative to normative Political Realism for the sphere of global problems. An account of the Global Good is developed in terms of Rawls' notion of Primary Goods. Normative principles of international cooperation are proposed and defended as moral criteria for the tasks of establishing and maintaining international order. It is argued that these principles can be endorsed by agents who are rational and at least minimally benevolent. It is also argued that global moral problems can be characterized as collective action problems, and that rational and benevolent agents will recognize the principles of cooperation as promising moral solutions to them