The Foreign Policy of the Social Contract

Because amour propre is a pre-rational sentiment, Rousseau looks beyond purely logical solutions. The institutions of the Social Contract work to moderate and direct the state’s passions and self-perception, thereby constraining competition and aggression. Human beings need political institutions that shape how they regard those outside their community. I argue that Rousseau uses self-preservation and pity as alternative sentiments to amour propre. He proposes civil religion and a just war doctrine to moderate national politics’ competitive and aggressive qualities. These institutions encourage respect for political pluralism and a humane view of those beyond one’s own state. By constructing healthier forms of political identity, Rousseau’s political thought constructs political identity through internal forms of civic participation rather than competition against external actors.