The Cosmopolitan Ideal: Challenges and Opportunities

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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.

Reviews

Cosmopolitanism is coming of age. The editors of this volume have assembled an impressive series of cutting-edge contributions on the topic. Coming from different perspectives, the chapters seek to steer a path toward a "global critical cosmopolitanism" - where "critical" does not mean a rejection of the "cosmopolitan ideal" but rather a more self-reflective approach cognizant of the likely exclusion or repression of relevant "others" under prevailing power constellations. -- Fred R. Dallmayr, Packey J. Dee Professor Emeritus, University of Notre Dame
Committed to the cosmopolitan project, the authors of this book nevertheless pose a serious challenge to its purely normative definition. Byengagingin a wide range of analyses--fromhuman rights tobasic conceptualassumptions,fromconditions of intercultural communication to prospects and pitfalls of a globalized idea of democracy--thiswell-conceived volume aims to advance a critical cosmopolitanism by problematizing its Western roots.It admirably succeeds. -- Hans-Herbert Kgler, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, University of North Florida

Author Bio

Darren OByrne is reader of sociology and human rights at the University of Roehampton. Sybille de la Rosa is assistant chair in the Department of Political Science at the University of Heidelberg.