Cosmopolitan Theory Handout
COSMOPOLITAN THEORY
This text was extracted from Chris Brown's book, International Relations Theory, Chapter 2
entitled, "Cosmopolitan Theory" and lecture notes from the Political Theory class with Prof
Pfaltzgraff
ORIGINS
 Reaches back to ancient Greece and the collapse of the Greek city-state world after losing to
Macedonians at the Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC)
 Stoicism: human nature a part of cosmic nature; one divine universe; one rational human
nature; a citizen of the cosmos not the polis; existence of divine law;
 Existence of standards & norms inherent in the cosmos or universe
 Ideals of cosmopolitanism a key part of the Enlightenment, although there was no connection
between Enlightenment thinkers and Stoicism and the Stoics
 Kant's Perpetual Peace finds its roots in cosmopolitanism
o Kant's third article regarding universal hospitality reflects the universal standards sought
within cosmopolitan theory
KEY TENETS/DEVELOPMENT OF THE THEORY
 Individual a citizen of the cosmos not the polis; the source of value comes from the cosmos
and its universal principles, not the community
o “When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve
the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the
powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of
Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they
should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be
self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness.” Declaration of Independence
 Cosmopolitanism has no necessary connection with world government; it is compatible with
a “rejection of politics," or, a "pragmatic acceptance of existing political structures"
o Crucial to this theory is the "refusal to regard existing political structures as the source of
ultimate value”
 Morality is a matter of choice, a choosing of principles of action; man's understanding of
natural and universal laws provide the framework for this rational choice
o Although a universalist principle, not all universalist principles are cosmopolitan
o Politics is a function of ethics; universal moral standards provide the basis for evaluating
state behavior
 A rule of law under universal principles that guide all mankind; to prevail, rule of law must
prevail in all states and in all international relations
 Brown argues that there are three variants of cosmopolitanism: Kantianism, Utilitarianism,
and Marxism
o Kantianism: see class report on democratic peace theory; recall, however, that Kant
argues that "moral behavior" is a matter of acting on the basis of moral principles with
moral motives and that the only thing that is good is a good will (deontology)
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Cosmopolitan Theory Handout
o Utilitarianism (Jeremy Bentham): argue that the only factor in determining the moral
correctness of an act is the rightness or wrongness of its consequences
 Bentham included the state as an actor, but defined the role of the state as one
promoting the general happiness by whatever means available; humans governed by
two sovereigns, pain and pleasure
o Marxism- adopts a class perspective and applies it universally; thus, the agent/actor
becomes the proletariat and the desired outcome in purist Marxism would be a state
where all are economically equal and work to serve the universal good
 Conflict for Marx occurs in the rift between the classes and their competing self
interests
AUTHORITY/PRIME ACTOR
 The key authorities are the universal principles which can change the behavior of individuals,
and thus states
o The independent variable becomes the universal principles from which the dependent
variables alter behavior and one achieves harmony, cooperation, and peace (the agent of
course is the individual; the basic duty of the individual is the happiness of mankind in
general)
 If man adopts the universal principles, then man becomes more peaceful, more in
tune with the cosmos and its true purposes
 If man is more peaceful, then states will become increasingly peaceful
 If states become more peaceful, then the cosmos will eventually achieve the perpetual
peace that is a principle of the cosmos and something all naturally desire
 Thus, I suggest that the prime actor, while appearing to be the individual, could be the
universalistic principles all should aspire to in order to fulfill this universal destiny in the
cosmos
 NOTE: The text above is indeed very abstract in concept, which is precisely why it serves as
the foundational theory for many theories
o Cosmopolitanism is at the abstract end of a continuum from abstract to practical
application
LEVEL OF ANALYSIS
 View from the systemic, cosmos level; universalist in nature of level of analysis
CRITICISMS
 No room for Realism in this theory; value and behavior not driven by the power game;
others, obviously, find this to be untrue/naive
 Little ability for empirical analysis
 Little explanation of why wars occurred and what led to conflict and what brought conflict to
resolution
 Carr writes extensively regarding the Utopian critique and many of those arguments would
apply to cosmopolitanism
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
 War must be abolished in order to provide a context in which 'free, equal, and self-reliant
people can exist in security with justice'
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Cosmopolitan Theory Handout


Or, do we abolish states since it was/are states that go to war with each other?
Or, do we establish a single world order with a universal authority (United Nations, The
Federation (for Star Trek fans)?
ASSESSMENT
 Cosmopolitanism provides a key way to divide the contending theories into two camps,
cosmopolitanism and communitarianism (as opposed to a triad of Kantian, Grotian, or
Hobbesian)
 This abstract theory still provides a basis today for the development of strategies governing
the intercourse between states in the international environment
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