Global governance or world federalism? A cosmopolitan dispute on institutional models*

Abstract

This paper contributes to the debate on cosmopolitan democracy by defending a model of cosmo-federalism, based on a consequentialist reading of the principle of freedom of choice. Adopting a radical democratic perspective on citizens' participation to public self-legislation, the paper first develops an analysis of the current institutional system in terms of international exclusion, and then proposes an alternative conceptualisation of the notion of citizenship as multilayered and all-inclusive. Within this framework, a critique of recent proposals for a cosmopolitan reform of global governance is drawn on the grounds of an insufficient implementation of the congruence principle. In opposition to cosmopolitan governance, a new model of world organisation is finally presented for the federal reform of the UN system. * An earlier version of the paper won the ISA-Lawrence S. Finkelstein Award in 2005. The author would like to thank the committee for this recognition. Helpful comments were received from participants in the 45th ISA Annual Convention (Montreal), the BISA special workshop “Cosmopolitan Institutions: Justice, Governance, and Political Economy” (Birmingham) and the 29th BISA annual conference (Warwick), all held in 2004. Special thanks are due to Daniele Archibugi, David Held, Dorothea Kast, Paul Kelly, Cornelia Navari, Olga Tribulato, Robert van den Veen and Peter Wilson for their remarks on earlier drafts of this paper.