Unpacking cosmopolitanism for the social sciences: a research agenda

The British Journal of Sociology
Ulrich Beck, Natan Sznaider

Abstract

This article calls for a re-conceptualization of the social sciences by asking for a cosmopolitan turn. The intellectual undertaking of redefining cosmopolitanism is a trans-disciplinary one, which includes geography, anthropology, ethnology, international relations, international law, political philosophy and political theory, and now sociology and social theory. Methodological nationalism, which subsumes society under the nation-state, has until now made this task almost impossible. The alternative, a 'cosmopolitan outlook', is a contested term and project. Cosmopolitanism must not be equalized with the global (or globalization), with 'world system theory' (Wallerstein), with 'world polity' (Meyer and others), or with 'world-society' (Luhmann). All of those concepts presuppose basic dualisms, such as domestic/foreign or national/international, which in reality have become ambiguous. Methodological cosmopolitanism opens up new horizons by demonstrating how we can make the empirical investigation of border crossings and other transnational phenomena possible.

References

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Apr 28, 2005·Psychoneuroendocrinology·Rachel YehudaLisa Tischler
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Mar 2, 2006·The British Journal of Sociology·Bryan S Turner

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Citations

Jun 6, 2009·The British Journal of Sociology·Lydia Morris
Jul 6, 2007·The British Journal of Sociology·John MacInnesJames Kennedy
Dec 14, 2007·The British Journal of Sociology·Ulrich Beck
Mar 2, 2006·The British Journal of Sociology·Bronislaw Szerszynski, John Urry
Mar 2, 2006·The British Journal of Sociology·Gerard Delanty
Dec 16, 2006·The British Journal of Sociology·John MacInnes
Dec 16, 2006·The British Journal of Sociology·Daniel Levy, Natan Sznaider
Apr 15, 2008·Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences·Johan HeilbronLaurent Jeanpierre
Dec 14, 2011·The British Journal of Sociology·Sabina MiheljFarida Vis
Mar 16, 2013·The British Journal of Sociology·Dean Curran
Sep 16, 2010·The British Journal of Sociology·Daniel Levy
Apr 10, 2010·The British Journal of Sociology·Sandra Walklate, Gabriel Mythen
Nov 28, 2009·The British Journal of Sociology·David Tyfield, John Urry
Jan 23, 2010·The British Journal of Sociology·Yasemin Nuhoğlu Soysal
Apr 4, 2017·The British Journal of Sociology·Knut Petzold
Dec 17, 2009·History of the Human Sciences·Michael Schillmeier
Aug 18, 2017·The British Journal of Sociology·Joe Deville, Michael Guggenheim
Sep 23, 2010·The British Journal of Sociology·Ulrich Beck, Edgar Grande
May 27, 2017·Integrative Psychological & Behavioral Science·Irina A Mironenko

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