The Slow Normalization of Normative Political Theory

Abstract

Reflecting upon the twenty-five years since the cosmopolitan/communitarian distinction provided initial focus to the (re)emergence of International Political Theory (IPT), two things stand out. First, despite the many well-founded criticisms of the way the cosmopolitan/communitarian debate conceived of the theoretical debates in IPT, it has proven remarkably difficult to escape or transcend the core features of cosmopolitanism and communitarianism in IPT. Second, the critical work done in response to the challenges of the early debates has left a more mature and refined IPT. Some of the most interesting and important work is now happening at the interface between IPT and empirical, sociological, and legal studies in IR. It is here, this chapter contends, that the contemporary debates between cosmopolitans engaging with the socio-legal fabric of international society and new-communitarians engaging with the normative implications of evolving transnational and global communities are effecting the normalization of IPT.