Pragmatic Cosmopolitanism: A Deweyan Approach to Democracy beyond the Nation-State

Abstract

Contemporary normative debates about democracy beyond nation-states have largely centred on the claims of two broad camps: the `liberal cosmopolitans' and the `deliberative democrats'. This article offers an alternative perspective developed from the work of philosopher John Dewey that I call `pragmatic cosmopolitanism'. First, my argument for pragmatic cosmopolitanism briefly outlines the Deweyan ethical ideas that serve as my normative grounding for the transnationalisation of democratic life. This grounding is primarily based on an ethic of growth that sees the use of critical intelligence and imaginative representation as the key basis for extending moral and political boundaries beyond nation-states. In the second part, I flesh out this framework by providing normative responses to what I identify as the four problems of transnational democracy: problems of constituency, democratic scope, social prerequisites and practical institutionalisation. These responses focus attention on the important roles of leadership and representation in constituting the political agency of transnational democratic publics. The role of leaders and representative practices is emphasised because they are central elements in the development of transnational democracy that are neglected by the liberal cosmopolitan and deliberative approaches.