Cosmopolitanism and Conflict

Contemporary global politics is increasingly marked by conflicts. One thinks of conflicts over institutions and authorities, resources and citizenship, military force and climate change, religion and ideology. Yet prevailing cosmopolitan theories of global politics tend to abstract from conflict, through idealizing presuppositions about rights and authority, rationality and society. This conference therefore proposes to consider the constructive roles that concepts of conflict might play in theorizing global politics. It will focus particularly on how cosmopolitan theories might be enriched and reformulated by such concepts, and thus better respond to the challenges of contemporary global conflicts.

The conference will consider the significance of conflict for such themes as:

Cosmopolitan democracy, deliberation, rationality
Global justice, human rights, liberalism
‘Kantian’ universalism, pluralism
Concepts of conflict, agonism
Political anthropology, human development
Religion, (post-)secularism
War, peace-building, humanitarian intervention
Environmental change

Registration fee (includes conference dinner, lunches and refreshments): Faculty €50, Students €10

Enquiries: [email protected]