Toward a Cosmopolitan Legal Order?

Abstract

The Divided West is a collection of essays and interviews, some of which are published in English for the first time, in which Jürgen Habermas explains his views on cosmopolitanism, Iraq, and the prospects for European unification. The thesis holding the collection together is that, by institutionalizing international relations, we will take a step closer to establishing a cosmopolitan legal order. In such an order, according to Habermas, the divided West—which is divided between the normative aspirations of a European Union committed to a pluralistic vision of world politics, and the realist and increasingly hegemonic policies of the United States—will be reconciled. On the surface, given its focus, The Divided West represents a topical survey of and contribution to contemporary discussions about international politics. On a deeper level, Habermas clearly takes a stance in the latest turn of the debate between realists and idealists, arguing that, by codifying and institutionalizing legal procedures at the transnational and supranational levels, we will promote international peace and enhance international security. Through law, Habermas emphasizes repeatedly, power politics can potentially be eradicated. Intent on showing, therefore, that an alternative to the present international order does exist and that this alternative does not confirm the tenets of realpolitic, Habermas openly criticizes the policy of hegemonic unilateralism pursued by the Bush Administration. At the same time, he takes issue with Carl Schmitt's vision of a global order based on competing and incommensurable hemispheres—a vision recently revived in Chantal Mouffe's (2005) writings on multipolarity. Habermas also rejects Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri's (2000) case for a dispersed empire as an alternative vision of world order because it dismisses international law as an instrument of the interests of the most powerful states. Thus, for anyone interested in contemporary intellectual efforts to imagine a more peaceful and equitable world order, The Divided West is a must-read, even if some longstanding and serious questions about Habermas' argument remain unanswered in it.