This book is a comparative, historical analysis of dissident thought and practice for contemporary debates on cosmopolitanism. Divided into two parts, the editors and contributors explore the contribution of 'paradigmatic' dissidents like Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Havel, Sakharov, Mandela, Liu Xiaobo, Aung San Suu Kyi towards a post-uni
This book suggests that more can be said about cosmopolitanism than either the bold endorsement of a world state or the humble recognition of the equal moral worth of individuals, which makes everybody cosmopolitan. Identifying problems with the traditional concept and disentangling a variety of positions within the cosmopolitan paradigm, it introduces the more refined concept of cosmopolitanism as nonrelationism, which denies underived special duties among fellow citizens or other related individuals, such as family members or friends. Cosmopolitanism as nonrelationism promises to overcome an entrenched debate wherein everybody is a cosmopolitan, and brings back the radical character traditionally associated with the term. It portrays cosmopolitanism as a distinct and thorough position challenging classic proponents such as Barry, Caney, Nussbaum, and Pogge, and questioning their theories’ cosmopolitan character. Cosmopolitanism as nonrelationism has consequences for world politics without prescribing any unfeasible global order: It establishes normative criteria for evaluating institutions and provides guidance for the development of new ones.
This volume demonstrates that the debate between cosmopolitans and non-cosmopolitans has become increasingly sophisticated. It advances the discussion on many of the questions over which cosmopolitans and non-cosmopolitans continue to disagree.
In a period of rapid internationalization of trade and increased labor mobility, is it relevant for nations to think about their moral obligations to others? Do national boundaries have fundamental moral significance, or do we have moral obligations to foreigners that are equal to our obligations to our compatriots? The latter position is known as cosmopolitanism, and this volume brings together a number of distinguished political philosophers and theorists to explore cosmopolitanism: what it consists in, and the positive case which can be made for it. Their essays provide a comprehensive overview of both the current state of the debate and the alternative visions of cosmopolitanism with which we can move forward, and they will interest a wide range of readers in philosophy, political theory, and law.
Cosmopolitanism has resurfaced as a prominent perspective within philosophy and the social sciences. Its critics, though, suggest that contemporary cosmopolitanism is abstract and ultimately meaningless, or that it is the globalized expression of a very European, and modern, ideal. This book aims to develop a new cosmopolitanism: one that is critical, inclusive, and relevant for the twenty-first century. The first section considers why we should behave as cosmopolitans at all; why do we owe some concept of justice to those who are suffering some form of injustice around the world? The book then moves beyond normative debates, using empirical studies on practical concerns to explore the ways in which we can break with traditional structures, practices, and power inequalities that have been based on disregard and subordination. Extending the scope of cosmopolitanism to incorporate issues such as gender, asylum and identity, to draw on non-Western as well as Western influences, the book re-conceptualizes terms like democracy, refuge and representation, in order to develop more inclusive and cosmopolitan understandings of them.
Cosmopolitanism is the idea of humanity as a single community or polis. Beyond particularities, all human beings (and in some versions of cosmopolitanism certain non-humans) are part of a community, and have responsibilities, rights and the power to decide on a common future. Ideas of cosmopolitan vary from the purely moral to cultural, social, legal, institutional, political, educational and economic cosmopolitanism, or combine some or all of these facets. All of these different perspectives try to establish the basis necessary to create a true cosmopolitanism. This book provides an introduction to the ideality and reality of cosmopolitanism, presenting it “in genesis” and giving a point of departure to students and readers of cosmopolitanism from which to analyse its various contemporary versions and proposals, providing an additional tool for their thinking and judgments in the face of a huge amount of literature today. It also offers a sense of emergency to those matters, requiring a prompt legal, political and economic response, for the continuing existence of the planet and for cosmopolitanism to continue as a viable proposal for humanity. As such, this volume will, ultimately, provoke the reader into a new spirit and action, that of cosmopolitanism.
Globalization has been contested in recent times. Among the critical perspectives is cosmopolitanism. Yet, with the exception of normative theory, international relations as a field has ignored cosmopolitan thinking. This book redresses this gap and develops a dialogue between cosmopolitanism and international relations. The dialogue is structured around three debates between non-universalist theories of international relations and contemporary cosmopolitan thought. The theories chosen are realism, (post-)Marxism and postmodernism. All three criticize liberalism in the international domain, and, therefore, cosmopolitanism as an offshoot of liberalism. In the light of each school's respective critique of universalism, the book suggests both the importance and difficulty of the cosmopolitan perspective in the contemporary world. Beardsworth emphasizes the need for global leadership at nation-state level, re-embedding of the world economy, a cosmopolitan politics of the lesser violence, and cosmopolitan political judgement. He also suggests research agendas to situate further contemporary cosmopolitanism in international relations theory. This book will appeal to all students of political theory and international relations, especially those who are seeking more articulation of the main issues between cosmopolitanism and its critics in international relations.
Understanding the ancient and long sidelined concept of cosmopolitanism has suddenly found a fresh impetus and urgency. Globalization, international migration, multiculturalism and global social movements, as well as atrocities committed by those with narrow religious and ethnic identities, have led to reposing of two basic cosmopolitan questions: Can we ever live peacefully with one another? What do we share, collectively, as human beings? The term cosmopolitanism has attracted many understandings and uses over the years. Covering the global, national, social and personal levels of analysis, the authors consider the multiple meanings of the term in the past and in the present and develop new ways of conceiving cosmopolitanism. Through challenging old assumptions and advancing new analytical frameworks, the collection provides a full and representative set of views on the nature, definition and prospects of cosmopolitanism. Written by eminent scholars and publicly recognised intellectuals from a variety of cultural backgrounds, this book is the most comprehensive account of the theory and practice of cosmopolitanism yet attempted.
