Preface
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 September 2009
Summary
Normative theory in International Relations (IR), as it is discussed at present in the framework of the cosmopolitan/communitarian debate, is at a standstill. Cosmopolitan and communitarian positions are generally assumed to be irreconcilable, with no means available for reaching conclusions. This book pursues three lines of inquiry in relation to this debate. First, it aims to examine the nature and extent of the impasse within the cosmopolitan/communitarian debate. Secondly, it re-evaluates whether the cosmopolitan/communitarian dichotomy offers a complete picture of the most pressing issues at stake within normative IR theory. The book suggests that a shift in focus onto epistemology and questions of foundationalism and antifoundationalism is necessary. Thirdly, it constructs an argument for a new normative approach to international ethics which draws from the tradition of American pragmatism and is attentive to the wider concerns raised by the book's assessment of the cosmopolitan/communitarian debate. The three parts of the book take each of these lines of inquiry in turn.
In order to illuminate the nature of the debate between cosmopolitans and communitarians and the extent of its impasse, the Introduction proposes a formulation of three central issues as an analytical tool. These issues are: (1) a concept of the person; (2) the moral relevance of states; and (3) the universal versus the particular. The extent of the impasse is gauged by the degree to which accommodations can be reached on any or all of these three issues.
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- Normative Theory in International RelationsA Pragmatic Approach, pp. xv - xxPublisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1999