Richard Beardsworth 
Cosmopolitanism and International Relations Theory 

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.

Table of Content

Acknowledgements viii

Introduction 1

1 The Spectrum of Cosmopolitanism 16

1 The Historical Background to the Cosmopolitan Disposition
17

2 The Cosmopolitan Spectrum 21

2.1 Cultural cosmopolitanism 21

2.2 Moral cosmopolitanism 23

2.3 Normative cosmopolitanism 29

2.4 Institutional cosmopolitanism 34

2.5 Legal cosmopolitanism 36

2.6 Political cosmopolitanism 40

3 Conclusion 46

2 The Realist Critique of Cosmopolitanism 48

1 The Major Tenets of Realism 49

2 Critique of Cosmopolitanism 56

2.1 The Realist approach to international law 56

2.2 Cosmopolitan ‘domination’ 63

2.3 Humanitarian intervention and political moralism 66

2.4 Towards a prudent politics of limits 70

3 Conclusion 73

3 A Cosmopolitan Response to Realism 75

1 The Status of the Normative in Conditions of Interdependence
76

2 Power, Interest and Legitimacy: A Cosmopolitan Perspective
81

3 Category Errors: Domestic Analogy,
‘Legalistic-Moralistic’ Fallacy and Anarchy 90

4 Humanitarian Intervention: Towards a Cosmopolitan Realism
97

5 From the Principle of Sovereignty to the Principle of
Subsidiarity 104

6 Conclusion 108

4 The Marxist Critique of Cosmopolitanism 111

1 The Major Tenets of Marxism 114

2 From Embedded Liberalism to Neo-liberalism 122

3 The Marxist Critique of Cosmopolitanism 128

3.1 Cosmopolitan lack of economic analysis and complicity with
global liberal governance 130

3.2 Deep reasons for global inequality: beyond cosmopolitan
surface 134

3.3 The cosmopolitan substitution of ethics for politics 137

3.4 Nation-state particularity contra cosmopolitan universality:
the Marxist response to globalization 138

4 Conclusion 139

5 A Cosmopolitan Response to Marxism 141

1 Cosmopolitan Reformism 144

1.1 Cosmopolitanism and the capitalist system 144

1.2 Cosmopolitan refl ection on the market and regulation
146

2 ‘Global Social Democracy’: What Can This Concept Mean?
Re-embedded Liberalism 153

3 The Cosmopolitan Logic of Re-embedded Liberalism 159

4 Global Energy Futures: Economic Dilemma and State Leadership
162

5 Conclusion 169

6 The Postmodern Critique of Cosmopolitanism 172

1 Postmodernism, Modernity and IR 173

2 Foucault and Agamben: The Biopolitical Fate of Liberal
Governmentality 176

3 The Illiberal Practices of Global Liberal Governance 182

3.1 The politics of security 182

3.2 The liberal way of war 183

3.3 Depoliticization of the victim 187

4 Jacques Derrida: Law, Democracy-to-come and Ethico-political
Responsibility 189

5 Conclusion 197

7 A Cosmopolitan Response to Postmodernism 199

1 The Logic of Liberal Law I: What Is Liberal Law? 200

2 The Logic of Liberal Law II: Cosmopolitan Response to
Postmodern Refl ection on Law 204

3 A Politics of the Lesser Violence: Cosmopolitan Response to
Illiberal Liberalism 210

4 Political Judgement and Risk: A Cosmopolitan Response to
Derrida and his IR Legacy 218

5 Conclusion 224

Conclusion: Idealism and Realism Today 227

Notes 238

References 244

Index 264

About the author

Richard Beardsworth is professor of political philosophy and international relations at the American University of Paris.