Ebook: From Cosmopolitanism to Human Rights

This collection of essays charts the question of how we might develop a democratic theory of international law. Characterised by a back-and-forth between theory and practice, it operates at two levels: a theoretical level which reflects on and criticises the categories, words and concepts through which international law is understood, and a more applied level which focuses on ‘cosmopolitan building sites’. The first part of the book presents elements of a democratic theory of international law, if not a complete theory: it addresses the meaning of legal cosmopolitanism, the theory of the international constitution, questions the interpretation of humanitarian intervention and the responsibility to protect. It also engages in a more defensive path to counter recent attacks on international law, cosmopolitanism and human rights. The second part bridges theory and practice. Here the collection takes a closer look at ‘cosmopolitan building sites’ like the status of civil society in international organisations, the reform of the Security Council or the project of a World Court of Human Rights. It shows that international law is already embarked on a cosmopolitan process and locates these developments within the appropriate theoretical framework.
Volume 8 in the series French Studies in International Law