The current mechanisms and agents of humanitarian intervention are inadequate. As the crisis in Darfur has highlighted, the international community lacks both the willingness to undertake ...humanitarian intervention and the ability to do so legitimately. This article considers a cosmopolitan solution to these problems: the creation of a standing army for the United Nations. There have been a number of proposals for such a force, including many recently. However, they contain two central flaws: the force proposed would be, firstly, too small and, secondly, too dependent on major states. Accordingly, I argue that, to be a substantial improvement on the current situation, such a force would need to be, firstly, much larger and, secondly, in the hands of cosmopolitan democratic institutions. This two-part solution would solve the problems faced by current interveners, but is unlikely to be realised soon. Accordingly, I argue that our immediate efforts should instead be concentrated on improving regional organisations' ability to intervene.
Globalizations and democracy Porta, Donatella Della
Democratization,
12/1/2005, 2005-12-00, 20051201, Volume:
12, Issue:
5
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Globalization has been seen as a factor in increasing democratization, but also as one of the main challenges to democracy. The term globalization has been used to indicate various and heterogeneous ...types of phenomena, all of them producing challenges for traditional, nation-state based models of democracy. Economic globalization as free trade, with devolution of power from the state to the market, challenges the welfare state model of tempered capitalism. Cultural globalization, with intensified communication over borders, challenges the idea of democracy as one based upon a pre-political community of destiny. The social dimension of globalization brings about a fragmentation of social groups and identities, as well as growing transnationalization of civil society organizations and protest campaigns. In the political system, the economic, cultural and political dimensions of globalization reverberate in the increasing complexity of the structure of international organizations and international regimes. The challenge to the power and competence of the nation-state posed by the various instances of globalization brings into sharp relief the democratic deficit of the growing number of international organizations. Normative theories of democracy must insist on the need to create new political institutions that take into account the greatly diminished power of nation-states and the changing definition of relevant political communities.
This article explores the structure of world order from the perspective of the Treaty of Westphalia, which is treated as the benchmark for the emergence of the modern system of sovereign states. ...Emphasis is placed on Westphalia as historical event, idea and ideal, and process of evolution, and also on developments that supersede this framing of world politics, especially, globalization and the megaterrorist challenge of September 11, 2001. At issue is whether the state system is resilient enough to adapt to new global conditions or is in the process of being supplanted, and whether the sequel to Westphalia is moving toward humane global governance or some dysutopic variant, or both at once.
La recherche porte sur l’actualité de la notion de cosmopolitisme. L’origine de cette notion remonte en effet aux racines de la philosophie, mais la période contemporaine présente une caractéristique ...inédite dans la mesure où elle offre la possibilité d’envisager, pour la première fois, une traduction politique de ce concept. Certes le cosmopolitisme a toujours eu une dimension politique, mais, aujourd’hui, la « citoyenneté » dont il est question dans l’idée de « citoyenneté mondiale » n’est plus seulement métaphorique. Ce travail peut donc être vu comme une théorisation générale du cosmopolitisme politique contemporain. La thèse défendue est la suivante : la notion de « citoyenneté mondiale » a gagné une effectivité politique nouvelle à l’époque contemporaine. Ce travail se propose d’analyser le cadre conceptuel proposé par ce qu’on appelle aujourd’hui la « démocratie cosmopolitique », c'est-à-dire le cosmopolitisme politique. Il s’agira de l’articuler à une compréhension plus générale du concept de cosmopolitisme, de montrer les biais par lesquels le cosmopolitisme gagne en effectivité sur le plan politique, et de mesurer la pertinence des critiques possibles.
The research focuses on the notion of cosmopolitanism as it applies today. The origin of this concept dates back to the roots of philosophy, but the contemporary period presents a unique characteristic which, for the first time, offers the possibility to consider this concept in a political sense. While cosmopolitanism has always had a political dimension, today "citizenship", when applied to "global citizenship", is no longer purely metaphorical.This work can therefore be seen as a general theory of contemporary political cosmopolitanism. The supported point of view is the following: the notion of "global citizenship" has taken a new political reality in modern times. This essay aims at analyzing the conceptual framework of what is now called the "cosmopolitan democracy", i.e. "political cosmopolitanism". It will articulate this conception to a more general understanding of the concept of cosmopolitanism, show the ways through which cosmopolitanism becomes more effective in the political sphere, and assess the relevance of possible critics.
The globalization process has weakened national states, which have lost their ability to formulate autonomous national policies and guarantee the classic principles of state sovereignty. Citizens? ...rights, traditionally linked to the national state, are threatened by the globalization process. In recent decades we have witnessed an extraordinary worldwide growth in organizations from civil society, who are faced with the states? reasons and the interests of transnational corporations in the international sphere. Based on empirical research by the United Nations, the World Bank, and other international agencies, we identify a trend towards the formation of a global civil society, which has been exerting influence on international decisions, thus contributing to the democratization of the world?s political system.
Mot en gränslös demokrati? Lidskog, Rolf
Sociologisk forskning,
10/1999, Volume:
36, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Towards a transboundary democracy? Political responses to global environmental threats.
Global environmental threats challenge the national state and the traditional understanding of democracy. ...Whereas many environmental problems transcend time and space, democracy is bound to the geographical borders of the national state as well as to its citizens/voters of today. The aim of this paper is to elaborate in what regards environmental problems challenge democracy and the sovereignty of national states, and critically discuss proposals for political reorganization. By analyzing two cases of global political mobilization against specific environmental threats, the possibilities for global responses to environmental threats are elucidated. By way of conclusion, the question is raised whether this kind of global alliances and actions implies a fragmentation of our understanding of the world, or if they are promising signs of a development towards global responsibility and cosmopolitan democracy.
Thus far, the most articulate political theoretical response to the process of globalization is the theory of cosmopolitan democracy: given our democratic ideals and aspirations, globalization ...requires us to rethink the political community within which these ideals and aspirations can be realized. The problem of many models of cosmopolitan democracy, such as David Held's, is that they are partially detached from the real world historical processes. In this paper, we take a step towards correcting this bias. In the Mercosur region of Latin America, neoliberal globalization has led and will lead to a variety of critical political responses, some of which carry the seeds of cosmopolitan democracy. In Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil, it seems that there has occurred a dialectical deveopment of political consciousness to tackle directly the real conditions of people's lives. After defining our basic concepts - globalization, democracy and civic public spaces - we develop a categorization of different trans- and supranational responses to globalization. Our empirical research indicates the need to redefine the conceptual basis for cosmopolitan democracy in political economy terms. For the actors in the Mercosur region, the most pressing priorities have to do with tackling the problems caused by financial globalization and the repressive governance of the globalising economy. However, instead of legalist blueprints, there seems to be a quest for more imaginative and context-sensitive (radical) reforms.
This paper seeks to tie in the arguments that can be connected to the development of a global media culture and concerns around cosmopolitan forms of democracy. This is done by considering arguments ...for: (i) a global human right initiative in respect of global media conglomerates; (ii) technological change in respect of digital cultures; and (iii) the arrival of what Castells'shas described as the culture of 'real virtuality'. These views and perspectives are assessed in terms of the contributions they are likely to make towards what I call a 'cautious cosmopolitanism'. Finally I seek to make some definite policy recommendations that might help foster conditions in which cosmopolitan democracy could flourish.
Članak razmatra tri relevantna principa demokracije, inherentna suvremenom društvu: modernost, politika priznanja i sekularizam. Glavno pitanje kojim se bavi je održivost ovih principa kao temelja za ...zasnivanje kozmopolitske demokracije i utjecaja na daljnju demokratizaciju ljudskog svijeta. Članak (i) istražuje vezu između modernizacije i demokracije kroz perspektivu višestruke moderne kao mogućnosti za proširenje demokracije na nedemokratsko područje svijeta, (ii) analizira politiku priznanja kao temelj za kulturnu koegzistenciju i politički pluralizam, (iii) razmatra problem a) kako ideja sekularizma ugrožava (prijeti) ideju religioznosti i obratno te čine li to uopće; b) koliko je sekularizam sekularan te je li uopće (problem privatne i javne sfere); c) može li sekularizam ostati temeljni princip (kozmopolitske) demokracije.
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