Cosmopolitanism in a Multipolar World: Soft Sovereignty in Democratic Regional Powers (International Political Theory)

Popular Wisdom, International Relations Scholarship, And Much Of Rising Powers' Foreign Policy Rhetoric Contends That Such Powers Comprise A Conservative Coalition United By The Desire To Protect The Principle Of National Sovereignty Against Its Erosion. However, The Empirical Analysis Of Three Democratic Rising And Regional Powers' Understandings And Practices Of Political Sovereignty Suggests Otherwise. On The Basis Of Empirical Research In Brazil, India, And South Africa, This Book Presents A Descriptive Analysis Of The Transformation Of Sovereignty In Non-western Contexts Since The End Of The Cold War. The Book Argues That The Processes Of Change Are Most Accurately Captured By A Novel Ideal-type Of 'soft Sovereignty'. Soft Sovereignty Takes Into Account Today's Complex Multi-polar Order In A Post-western World. Such A Plural, Embedded, And Moderate Cosmopolitanism Is Situated Between Globalism's Demand For A World State And Statism's Defence Of The Status Quo-- Machine Generated Contents Note: -- Acknowledgements -- Glossary Of Acronyms -- Introduction -- Part I: Cosmopolitanism, Sovereignty And Multipolarity -- 1.1 Regional And Rising Powers In International Political Theory -- 1.2 Cosmopolitanism -- 1.3 Cosmopolitan Sovereignty And Practice Dependency -- Part Ii: The Transformation Of Sovereignty -- 2.1 Sovereignty On The Subnational Level -- 2.2 Sovereignty On The Transnational Level -- 2.3 Sovereignty On The Supranational Level -- Part Iii: The Transformation Of Sovereignty In Brazil -- 3.1 Subnational Level -- 3.2 Transnational Level -- 3.2.1 A New Institutional Layer? -- 3.2.2 Disillusionment And Consolidation -- 3.3 Supranational Level -- 3.3.1 Foreign Policy Thinking Under Cardoso And Lula Da Silva -- 3.3.2 Regional Integration -- 3.4 Brazil: Conclusion -- Part Iv: The Transformation Of Sovereignty In India -- 4.1 Subnational Level -- 4.2 Transnational Level -- 4.2.1 Participatory Experiments -- 4.2.2 Changing Forms Of Protest -- 4.3 Supranational Level -- 4.3.1 India's Foreign Policy Thinking And National Sovereignty -- 4.3.2 Regional Integration -- 4.4 India: Conclusion -- Part V: The Transformation Of Sovereignty In South Africa -- 5.1 Subnational Level -- 5.2 Transnational Level -- 5.2.1 Forms Of Engagement: Winners And Losers -- 5.2.2 Professionalism And Constituency Building In A Context Of Fluidity -- 5.3 Supranational Level -- 5.3.1 South African Foreign Policy Thinking -- 5.3.2 Regional Integration -- 5.4 South Africa: Conclusion -- Part Vi: Soft Sovereignty And Fact-sensitive Cosmopolitanism -- 6.1 Soft Sovereignty And Complex Multipolarity -- 6.2 Complex Multipolarity And Cosmopolitanism -- 6.3 A Moderate, Plural, And Embedded Cosmopolitanism For A Complex And Multipolar World -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Appendix. Johannes Plagemann, Research Fellow, Giga German Institute Of Global And Area Studies. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Cosmopolitanism in a Multipolar World: Soft Sovereignty in Democratic Regional Powers 4 Contents 8 Acknowledgements 10 List of Abbreviations and Acronyms 11 Introduction 16 1 Cosmopolitanism, Sovereignty, and Multipolarity 20 1.1 Regional and rising powers in international political theory 24 1.1.1 Rising and regional powers 25 1.1.2 Global justice, sovereignty, and rising powers 29 1.1.3 Studying democratic regional powers 31 1.2 Cosmopolitanism 34 1.2.1 Historical, normative, and democratic cosmopolitanism 34 1.2.2 Contemporary political cosmopolitanisms 38 1.2.3 Federal cosmopolitanism 39 1.2.4 Cosmopolitan pluralism 42 1.2.5 Cosmopolitan internationalism 46 1.3 Cosmopolitan sovereignty and practice dependency 50 1.3.1 The constitutionalization of global politics 50 1.3.2 Inclusion of non-state actors 51 1.3.3 Recognition of difference 52 1.3.4 Cosmopolitan sovereignty 54 1.3.5 Practice dependency and cosmopolitan theorizing 55 1.3.6 Ideal-typification and practice dependency 57 2 The Transformation of Sovereignty 60 2.1 Sovereignty on the subnational level 62 2.2 Sovereignty on the transnational level 64 2.3 Sovereignty on the supranational level 67 3 The Transformation of Sovereignty in Brazil 70 3.1 Subnational level 71 3.1.1 Right to difference in the constitution of 1988 72 3.1.2 Recognition of difference in the twenty-first century 73 3.1.3 Diversity, recognition, and development 77 3.2 Transnational level 79 3.2.1 Participation under Cardoso: expansion and institutionalization 80 3.2.1 A New Institutional Layer? 82 3.2.2 The proliferation of conferences and councils under Lula da Silva 84 3.2.3 Civil society in crisis? 87 3.2.4 Disillusionment and the conflation of state and civil society 88 3.3 Supranational level 91 3.3.1 Foreign policy thinking under Cardoso and Lula da Silva 92 3.3.1 New actors, new thinking 95 3.3.2 Regional integration 99 3.3.3 Regional integration in the 1990s 100 3.3.4 The demise of Mercosur? 102 3.3.5 Unasur and alternative integration 104 3.3.6 Defence, infrastructure, health, and education in Unasur 105 3.3.7 More integration without compromising sovereignty in the 2000s? 107 3.4 Brazil: conclusion 109 4 The Transformation of Sovereignty in India 115 4.1 Subnational level 117 4.1.1 The creation of new states and the extension of autonomy 118 4.1.2 The regionalization of politics 120 4.1.3 Legal pluralism, fluidity, and the absence of hierarchy 122 4.1.4 Homogenization of the law 125 4.1.5 Tribal autonomy and the constitution 128 4.1.6 Adivasi forest and land rights 130 4.1.7 Social change and tribal autonomy 131 4.2 Transnational level 133 4.2.1 Participatory experiments 136 4.2.2 Changing forms of protest 141 4.3 Supranational level 145 4.3.1 India’s foreign policy thinking and national sovereignty 146 4.3.2 Regional integration 156 4.4 India: conclusion 164 5 The Transformation of Sovereignty in South Africa 169 5.1 Subnational level 171 5.1.1 Past nightmares 172 5.1.2 Living customary law and human rights 174 5.1.3 Chieftaincy in the new South Africa 176 5.1.4 Traditional authority and customary law in a mixed polity 179 5.2 Transnational level 181 5.2.1 Forms of engagement: winners and losers 183 5.2.2 Professionalism and constituency building in a context of fluidity 187 5.3 Supranational level 191 5.3.1 South African foreign policy thinking 192 5.3.2 Foreign policy from Mbeki to Zuma 194 5.3.3 Regional integration 195 5.4 South Africa: conclusion 208 6 Soft Sovereignty and Fact-Sensitive Cosmopolitanism 214 6.1 Soft sovereignty and complex multipolarity 216 6.1.1 Subnational level: multiple identities and universal rights 216 6.1.2 The transnational level: taming civil society and the state 219 6.1.3 Supranational level: prioritization of the region 222 6.1.4 Soft sovereignty 227 6.1.5 Soft sovereignty and complex multipolarity 230 6.2 Complex multipolarity and cosmopolitanism 234 6.2.1 Recognition of difference 235 6.2.2 Inclusion of civil society 238 6.2.3 The constitutionalization of world order 240 6.3 A moderate, plural, and embedded cosmopolitanism for a complex and multipolar world 243 6.3.1 Moderate cosmopolitanism 244 6.3.2 Plural cosmopolitanism 246 6.3.3 Embedded cosmopolitanism 248 Conclusion 255 Appendix 261 Notes 263 1 Cosmopolitanism, Sovereignty, and Multipolarity 263 2 The Transformation of Sovereignty 265 3 The Transformation of Sovereignty in Brazil 265 4 The Transformation of Sovereignty in India 270 5 The Transformation of Sovereignty in South Africa 275 6 Soft Sovereignty and Fact-Sensitive Cosmopolitanism 277 Conclusion 278 Bibliography 279 Index 306 'Cosmopolitanism in a Multipolar World is a shining example of the type of bridge-building work that the literature desperately needs. Plagemann succeeds in bridging the gaps between the champions of national sovereignty and those who herald a full-blown cosmopolitan order, and between the empirically-inclined study of regional powers and the normatively-focused analysis of what a just global order should look like. Central to his project is the notion of soft sovereignty, the bounded exercise of rightful authority, and he shows how this notion can be fruitfully used to reveal aspects of the foreign and domestic behaviour of emerging powers such as Brazil, India, and South Africa that otherwise would be left unexplored. Most stimulating, though, is how he uses this notion to modify and moderate cosmopolitanism itself. He argues that the empirical analysis of soft sovereignty in practice reminds us of power asymmetries in the world and of the fundamentally moral role that the honouring of national (and sub-national) communities and national development goals can play in mitigating these asymmetries. This is a very fine and detailed piece of work and it deserves to be widely read and discussed.' - Philip Nel, Professor of Politics, University of Otago, New Zealand 'Cosmopolitanism in a Multipolar World is an extremely sophisticated assessment of regional powers from a cosmopolitan point of view. It carves out the cosmopolitan potential in Brazil, India and South Africa. Soft sovereignty is an apt term to capture the ambiguities and intricacies of the political thinking in these rising democracies.'- Dr. Michael Zurn, Director, Global Governance, Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin, Germany 'This is a remarkably original book, which stands out in its ambitious attempt to bridge the long-standing and unhelpful divide between Political Theory and Comparative Area Studies. Offering great value-added to the reader in its sophisticated theorising and rich empirical detail, it develops an insightful analysis of the evolving concept of sovereignty in a world undergoing major power transitions.'- Professor Amrita Narlikar, President, German Institute of Global and Area Studies Based on an analysis of the changing practice of sovereignty in Brazil, India and South Africa, this book argues that soft sovereignty provides an adequate, yet unrecognized, basis for a moderate, embedded and plural cosmopolitanism situated between globalism's demand for a world state and statism's defence of the status quo. Popular wisdom, international relations scholarship, and much of rising powers' foreign policy rhetoric contends that such powers comprise a conservative coalition united by the desire to protect the principle of national sovereignty against its erosion. However, the empirical analysis of three democratic rising and regional powers' understandings and practices of political sovereignty suggests otherwise. On the basis of empirical research in Brazil, India, and South Africa, this book presents a descriptive analysis of the transformation of sovereignty in non-western contexts since the end of the Cold War. The book argues that the processes of change are most accurately captured by a novel ideal-type of 'soft sovereignty'. Soft sovereignty takes into account today's complex multi-polar order in a post-western world. Such a plural, embedded, and moderate cosmopolitanism is situated between globalism's demand for a world state and statism's defence of the status quo