Cosmopolitanism - by David Held (Paperback)

About the Book

This book shows that cosmopolitanism offers our best hope as a way of dealing with the urgent challenges faced by a world in which the fate of human beings can no longer be tied solely to the deliberations of self-enclosed moral and political communities.

Book Synopsis

This book sets out the case for a cosmopolitan approach to contemporary global politics. It presents a systematic theory of cosmopolitanism, explicating its core principles and justifications, and examines the role many of these principles have played in the development of global politics, such as framing the human rights regime. The framework is then used to address some of the most pressing issues of our time: the crisis of financial markets, climate change and the fallout from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In each case, Held argues that realistic politics is exhausted, and that cosmopolitanism is the new realism.

See also Garrett Wallace Brown and David Held's The Cosmopolitanism Reader.

From the Back Cover

This book sets out a philosophical and practical account of contemporary global politics from a cosmopolitan point of view. The volume begins by developing a theory of cosmopolitanism, explicating its core principles and justifications. The role many of these principles have had in global politics is then explored; they have been important in framing the human rights regime and several aspects of international law and politics. The book then examines how legal and institutional developments at the global level fall short of cosmopolitan ideals. The argument is that this deficit is not inevitable, and can be overcome over time through an ambitious and yet practical agenda of reform. In the second half of the book, chapters are devoted to some of the most pressing issues of our time - financial market crises, climate change, and the fallout from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In each of these areas, the author argues that realist politics is exhausted, and that cosmopolitanism is the new realism. In short, the book offers a novel approach to thinking about global politics and case studies of its application by one of the best known authors in the field.

Review Quotes

"A cohesive, articulate and powerful plea in favour of a deep transformation of the world order."
Survival

A comprehensive study of the phenomenon, illustrated by well-chosen examples."
Political Studies Review

"Held articulates a number of feasible reforms, sustained by universal ethical and political commitments, that can be undertaken to address specifically global problems. His deft and clear-eyed rendering of the changing trajectory of cosmopolitan thought makes this book an informative introduction to the topic."
Choice

"David Held formulates a robust cosmopolitanism and imaginatively applies it to the great faults of our international order: its lack of effective environmental-protection, peacekeeping, and global-finance regimes. The pragmatic reforms he envisions would undoubtedly make our world more democratic and just."
Thomas Pogge, Yale University

"David Held's new book gives the lie to those who regard cosmopolitanism as a vague set of indeterminate woolly ideals. This is as grounded and as comprehensive an account of the cosmopolitan agenda as one could wish for."
Jeremy Waldron, New York University Law School

"In a world beset by financial crisis, nuclear proliferation and climate change, our capacity for international co-operation and solidarity has rarely seemed so inadequate, or the need for them more urgent. In this book, David Held provides a powerful and persuasive analysis of this paradox of our times, and how cosmopolitan principles offer a way to overcome it."
Andrew Gamble, University of Cambridge

"National realpolitik is dead, long live cosmopolitan realpolitik! David Held's robust development and defence of cosmopolitanism provides a masterful framework for the urgent reorientation required - both political and cognitive - by an unevenly interconnected world."
Ulrich Beck, University of Munich

About the Author

David Held is Graham Wallace Professor of Political Science at the London School of Economics and Political Science.