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Anticipating a Cosmopolitan Future: The Case of Humanitarian Military Intervention

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Abstract

The past decade has witnessed the emergence of numerous ‘cosmopolitan’ theories of humanitarian military intervention. These theories anticipate a more cosmopolitan future, where interventions will be authorized by new cosmopolitan institutions and carried out by reformed cosmopolitan militaries. The contention of my article is that despite the merits of these approaches, it is often difficult to discern whether and how cosmopolitan theories can inform assessments of interventions that take place in our non-cosmopolitan present. Through taking Jürgen Habermas's judgements of two recent interventions as a ‘case study’, I reflect on the considerations that might come into play when cosmopolitans attempt to translate their future-orientated theories into practical engagements with the world as it is.

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Notes

  1. 3 Habermas is a particularly suitable subject of this investigation because of: (i) his prominent status as a publicly engaged intellectual, (ii) his belief in the give and take of reasons in public deliberation, and (iii) his commitment to the cosmopolitan positions elaborated in the first section of this paper. There are, of course, serious difficulties in taking one theorist's judgements as the basis for reflecting on the practical application of an entire body of thought. It must be stressed at the outset, therefore, that this exercise is merely meant to be illustrative of certain ways in which cosmopolitan ideas can and have figured in judgements of Kosovo and Iraq, not to elaborate definitive cosmopolitan positions on these controversies.

  2. 4 Derrida's attitude to principles is, as one would expect, somewhat complex. According to one interpretation, Derrida argues that because judgements will inevitably take leave of our principles, the principles lose their justificatory force. This would differentiate Derrida from Habermas, who would still seek to justify his judgements through appeal to principles despite the extensive interaction between principles and circumstance involved in their formulation. Thanks to Maja Zehfuss for pressing this possible contrast between the two authors.

  3. 5 Thanks to Dan Bulley for pointing out this concern with cosmopolitan theorizing about military intervention.

  4. 6 A satisfactory discussion would have to carefully delineate proposals for greater legalization of military intervention and provide a more general discussion on the nature and limitations of judicial reasoning. For an interesting and original set of reflections on how law can act as both a vehicle for and check on cosmopolitan aspirations, see Hannah Arendt's discussion of the Eichmann trials (Arendt, 1994).

  5. 7 ‘International opinion’ can be expressed by political representatives in national and international bodies, associations in domestic, transnational and global civil society, and concerned individuals in public political debates.

  6. 8 For an account of the attitude of African states, including their often reasonable concerns about the practice of humanitarian intervention, see Byers and Chesterman (2003, 190–192)

  7. 9 It is, of course, possible and perhaps even likely that Habermas's judgements would have been the same even if he did not have this fixation on the West. However, it may have altered the perception of and response to his judgements. For instance, consider this criticism of Habermas's assessment of Kosovo: ‘Habermas's theoretical perspective…leads him to identify Western public opinion as the ‘international community’ and keeps him from perceiving, beyond the horizon of his noble Kantian utopia, the diversity, estrangement and increasing hostility of other cultures, civilizations and governments’ (Zolo, 2002, 80–81). Although this particular criticism is underpinned by an unattractive and ultimately implausible anti-cosmopolitanism, some acknowledgment of non-Western opinion on Habermas's part may have better insulated him against this kind of critique.

  8. 10 The formulation of this criterion is heavily indebted to discussions with Robert Spencer.

  9. 11 Allen Buchanan provides a more nuanced and detailed discussion of the ways in which an intervention like Kosovo might have been a pacemaker for desirable international reform, as well as a persuasive critique of the failure of the intervening powers to exploit this potential (Buchanan, 2003).

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Research for this paper was completed with the help of a grant from the Economic and Social Research Council's ‘New Security Challenges’ Programme. A version of this paper was presented at a symposium on ‘Ethics in Global Politics: Cosmopolitanism and Beyond’, held at the University of Warwick in May 2005. I would like to thank all the participants in that symposium for helpful comments. Special thanks are due to James Brassett, Dan Bulley, Robert Fine, Robert Spencer, Maja Zehfuss and an anonymous reviewer for comments on and criticisms of previous versions of this paper.

2 Those who deny that humanitarian military interventions can be acceptable in our non-cosmopolitan present are quick to point out that this does not justify inaction in the face of genocide and other such crimes (Archibugi, 2003b, 268). Instead, they recommend pursuing non-military responses. Though this is a reasonable position, it is not always clear what these non-military responses could consist in, whether they could be effective, and whether they would in fact always bring about less harm than military responses (Kaldor, 2003, 134; Caney, 2005, 249).

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Smith, W. Anticipating a Cosmopolitan Future: The Case of Humanitarian Military Intervention. Int Polit 44, 72–89 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.ip.8800159

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