Cosmopolitanism Research Articles

Mediating role of opinion seeking in explaining the relationship between antecedents and organic food purchase intention

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand the effect of antecedents like environmental consciousness and cosmopolitanism (COS) on organic food purchase intention (OFPI) with the possible mediation of opinion seeking (OS) and opinion leadership (OL). Design/methodology/approach – A model drawn largely from environmental value–attitude–system model (Dembkowski and Hanmer-Lloyd, 1994) has been proposed and tested. Primary data from four cities across India were collected using a survey. Findings – COS was the primary factor determining purchase intention. A full mediation of OS behaviour was observed between environmental consciousness and OFPI. No effect of OL on OFPI could be established. Research limitations/implications – Because COS is positively affecting the organic food patronage and cosmopolitans are more likely to be socially responsible consumers, the organic food (OF) manufacturers should target brick and mortar stores in more cosmopolitan cities like Bangalore, Delhi, etc. The mediating role of OS has wider implications for marketers and advertisers both. In line with both theoretical underpinning (theory of planned behaviour), empirical studies (Chakrabarti and Baisya, 2009) and ours, it seems that the customer seeks credible information before purchasing organic food. The word-of-mouth and social media are recommended channels for similar reasons. The websites are a must for OF manufacturers because retailers may not provide adequate promotion/information of the products to the consumers. Practical implications – This study enables marketers in the field of OF domain to target the customers better. It also guides them to have a good integrated marketing communication to cater to the opinion-seeking phenomenon of consumers. Originality/value – The paper investigates the OFPI model better suited to urban cities in India. COS construct usage is a novelty of the paper as well as the mediation of opinion-seeking behaviour. Findings have value both for researchers and practitioners in the OF domain.

Media and the city: Cosmopolitanism and difference

Media and the city: Cosmopolitanism and difference

1980년대 한국미술에서의 ‘세계화’와 코스모폴리타니즘: 1988《세계현대미술제》를 중심으로

1980년대 한국미술에서의 ‘세계화’와 코스모폴리타니즘: 1988《세계현대미술제》를 중심으로

Book review: Media and the City: Cosmopolitanism and Difference

Book review: Media and the City: Cosmopolitanism and Difference

Security cosmopolitanism or ‘securitopia’: an ontological trap and a half-hearted response to structural war?

Anthony Burke has written an important piece: yet it is one of which security communities around the world probably will not take much note. Perhaps, in future historical or theoretical retrospecti...

Some Scalar Issues in Climate Ethics

The intensifying processes of globalization have forced scholars and policy-makers to recognize the limited capacities of nation states and have reanimated interest in cosmopolitanism and in global ethics, that is, the idea that people are directly responsible to each other rather than indirectly through collective agencies such as states. This article describes problems that attend the shift from states to persons as the kinds of agents most suited to respond to climate change. It argues for more philosophical attention to the levels of organization and scales of analysis that make sense in the context of global challenges.

O COSMOPOLITISMO POR UMA INTERNACIONALIZAÇÃO DO DIREITO: O FORTALECIMENTO RECÍPROCO DO GLOBAL E DO NACIONAL POR MEIO DA PROTEÇÃO DO DIREITO HUMANO À INFORMAÇÃO

Despite being very old, cosmopolitan ideal still finds room when it comes to the pursuit of internationalization of rights. The need for openness to different, more than ever, has become a reality before the great interpenetration borders and cultures, which can be seen mainly in the context of the information society. For this reason, the protection of fundamental human rights requires a global consensus, which also require strengthened internal states. For this, a full democracy, which is supported by the right to information of citizens, is required. Through the method of deductive approach and the techniques of documentary and bibliographic research, this work aims cosmopolitanism relate to current global needs. We conclude that the cosmopolitan ideal, yet contrary to current “thirst” for information immediacy, because he was born thousands of years ago, is an interesting alternative for resolving issues related to all mankind.

Book Review: Media and the City: Cosmopolitanism and Difference

Book Review: Media and the City: Cosmopolitanism and Difference

The Clash of Cosmopolitanisms: The European Union from Cosmopolitization to Neo-Liberalization

It is clear that the European Union (EU) is currently in the worst crisis situation it has ever been in. The forms of social solidarity, inter-national cooperation, and trans-national structures and processes that many commentators have seen as the basis of ‘cosmopolitan’ Europe’ are under severe strain. Dec-ades of apparent cosmopolitization - of political bodies, economic networks, social connections and the patterns of everyday life - seem to be rapidly going into reverse, being pulled apart or self-destructing. If the last several decades could be understood as involving the increasing appearance and strength (albeit unevenly and in contested ways) of cosmopolitan features both within the EU as an entity and ‘inside’ its external borders, then today the tearing fabric of ‘European’ life seems to point in the opposite direction. This paper poses the question: how ‘cosmopolitan’ really was the EU before the current set of crises, and how have the latter undermined what cosmopolitan features there were? The argument proposed is that the EU was from the very beginning ambivalently cosmopolitan, for it was structured around a liberal-economic, market-based cosmopolitanism, as well as a rights-based conception of citizenship and democ-racy, a kind of legal-political cosmopolitanism. Both forms of cosmopolitanism existed up until recently in a highly ambivalent relationship with each other. But as over time, and especially from the late 1970s, liber-al-economic cosmopolitanism mutated into neo-liberal cosmopolitanism, then the tensions between the two cosmopolitanisms now stand out very starkly, and have reached breaking point. The nature and con-sequences of this situation are diagnosed.

Re-embedding European Social Citizenship through Cosmopolitanism

This article tackles the issue of social citizenship in Europe, beyond its legal and political defini-tion, as the result of social mechanisms and practices, and it assumes the cosmopolitan perspective as a conceptual tool for the interpretation of changes in its principles and structure as related to Europeaniza-tion and globalisation. It starts from the heuristic value of the concept, grounded in modern industrial so-cieties and built on its institutions and forms of social solidarity. Then it draws on the debate about the challenges of the welfare state and capitalism’s transformations, as well as on the impact on social citizen-ship of the European integration process. It proposes cosmopolitanism as a lens for catching cosmopolitan ideas, narratives and values that contribute to creating new practices of solidarity and mutual recognition, which are the basis for the construction of new kinds of sustainable social citizenship in Europe. The Euro-pean social forum of 2012 has been considered a significant case study for an empirical exploration of the cosmopolitan imagination as a factual process. A cosmopolitan epistemology takes shape, based on the values of commons and global public goods. Meanings, actions and practices enhanced by social actors, building solidarity in diversity and following global-local logics, show forms of recognition of otherness and of sharing global responsibilities representing a tendency towards a new conception of European social citizenship. Social rights and recognition beyond territorial boundaries are at the core of the construction of a cosmopolitan citizenship in Europe.

The Looming Shadows of the Walls. Is a Cosmopolitan Europe still Possible

In a Europe of many lights and shadows, cosmopolitan sociology provides a valid theoretical framework to distinguish one from the other. If cosmopolitan sociology is an attempt to understand how individuals, social groups and institutions deal with the challenges of ever more transnational social processes, then the European issue can be fully inserted within such an approach. From this point of view, following the austerity policies and recent events involving Syrian refugees and the attack by Daesh activists at the heart of Europe, sociology has started to enquire whether a cosmopolitan Europe is still possible. Conversaly, in the history of Europe and in its Constitutional Treaties, traces of cosmopolitanism are to be found almost everywhere. In this context, our study examines the crisis pervading Europe today and highlights the standing back to a certain extent of cosmopolitan sociology. At the same time, it stresses the hope that a change of direction will occur and the opportunity grasped of reflecting more deeply on the founding principles of cosmopolitan Europe.

Framing Societal Cosmopolitanism in Europe. A Theoretical-Empirical Research Study

Inspired by the notion of 'societal cosmopolitanism' (Pendenza 2015a) - that combines at-tachment to local territory and openness towards others - social relations on the part of Europeans are tested empirically. The article posits that this type of cosmopolitanism can exist in concomitance with oth-er relational forms towards Otherness. Its main characteristic lies in the idea that it is not nourished by the abstract principle according to which such status can be attributed only if one feels a 'citizen of the world'. On the contrary, without totally rejecting the idea, societal cosmopolitan mantains that if cosmopolitanism is to shrug off its abstraction, it requires a social anchorage to root it more firmly to real life. From a meth-odological perspective, a contrastive analysis is putting in place relative to research carried out on Europe-an cosmopolitanism and subsequently tested empirically using data from EB71.3. Findings showed that almost 25.0% (30-40% in specific countries) of the European citizens fit the description 'societal cosmopoli-tans'.

Beyond withdrawal and asylum – an urgent call for European Cosmopolitism

Beyond withdrawal and asylum – an urgent call for European Cosmopolitism

Irish Cosmopolitanism: Location and Dislocation in James Joyce, Elizabeth Bowen, and Samuel Beckett, by Nels Pearson

Irish Cosmopolitanism: Location and Dislocation in James Joyce, Elizabeth Bowen, and Samuel Beckett, by Nels Pearson

From Nature to Identity: Contemporary Asian Photography

Contemporary Asian photography is as multifaceted and colourful, as the continent itself, just like its nations and territories that often share similar features and of course have their own histories, traditions and current social-political situations. These are all reflected in photography, meaning the technique that right from its beginning had double potential: reproducing and imitating reality, and at the same time elaborating, transforming and placing it on a higher level of artistic presentation. In this paper, I would like to show some of the most thrilling themes and issues that currently characterize artists' interests and inspire them in their works. Due to the immensity of the theme and length-limits of the text, six general topics were defined with two artists for each, whose examination of that particular subject is worthy of consideration, often by focusing on only one or two groups of works. Among the artists we find some already very well-established and some emerging ones, as well as Asian-born and ＂Asian-inspired＂ artists, since the fascinating multiculturalism and cosmopolitanism of the continent claims to include some artists who get their inspiration in Asian topics and are active in the scene. Through their activity, the continent and its art scene gains a lot: new artworks, new viewpoints, new interpretations. Of course, an unlimited number of other topics and high-quality representatives could be mentioned, therefore this selection may be found subjective - but naturally this paper does not aim to be a comprehensive map of the contemporary Asian photography scene, nor does it aim to discuss all of its current issues, but an invitation to some paths instead, through which one can further discover the topic.

Alexandrian Cosmopolitanism: An Archive by Hala Halim (review)

Alexandrian Cosmopolitanism: An Archive by Hala Halim (review)

Chinese Socialism as Vernacular Cosmopolitanism

This paper follows the life of an idea, a fundamental concept in modern Chinese intellectual life: socialism. It explores this idea as an alternative form of Chinese cosmopolitanism, drawing from Pheng Cheah’s identification of two kinds of Chinese cosmopolitanism: mercantile and revolutionary. If part of what we mean by cosmopolitanism is the local use of an external, or international, or otherwise “independent” (relative to local power and practice) ideology or discourse to promote an agent’s sense of social good at home and connection to the world, then the ways that socialist thought, ideology and praxis have been employed in China in the twentieth century constitute one such strain of cosmopolitanism. Shehuizhuyi (socialism) meant related but significantly different things to Chinese in the twentieth century. This essay argues that Chinese socialism can be viewed as a version of vernacular cosmopolitanism through two examples: Wang Shiwei in the 1940s and Deng Tuo in the 1960s, as well as the discourse of Pan-Asianism before and after the Mao era. Chinese socialism was as much a terrain of debate and contestation about what it means to be “Chinese and modern” as it was a shared vocabulary and set of aspirations. All along it has been able to play the role of cosmopolitan thought for some influential Chinese thinkers and doers—connecting China to the world in order to pursue universal values.

Economic nationalism and cosmopolitanism

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate the differential influences of economic nationalism (EN) and cosmopolitanism (COS) on consumer behaviour, and how the two concepts are underpinned by different (normative versus informational) interpersonal influences. Design/methodology/approach – Surveys took place in two countries, South Korea (n = 257) and Taiwan (n = 258). Both are rapidly developing economies with a cosmopolitan consumer base. Two products, one representing conspicuous and one representing non-conspicuous categories, were used in each country’s survey. The data were subjected to exploratory and confirmation factor analyses and fitted using structural equation modelling. Findings – Contrary to past studies, EN and COS were unrelated. Economic nationalism was strong and biased towards domestic products. The results also suggest that COS may be related to bias against domestic products. EN related strongly to normative influence, whereas COS rested on informational influence. The results were similar across the countries and the product types. Research limitations/implications – Economic nationalism and COS may coexist as consumer dispositions and their relative salience may vary across individuals. Foreign firms should not overlook consumers’ nationalistic sentiment, just as domestic firms may capitalise on it. Both foreign and domestic firms can capitalise on consumer nationalism by highlighting benefits such as domestic employment and wealth creation. Practical implications – EN and COS may coexist as consumer dispositions, and their relative salience may vary across individuals. When managing their brand portfolio, foreign firms would benefit from considering consumers’ nationalistic sentiment, just as domestic firms may capitalise on it. Both foreign and domestic firms can capitalise on consumer nationalism by highlighting social benefits such as domestic employment and wealth creation. Originality/value – This study brings research on EN and COS from a macro/country level to a micro/individual level. It provides theoretical and empirical insights on the differential influences of EN and COS on consumer behaviour and sheds light on their psychological underpinnings.

Formative Fictions: Nationalism, Cosmopolitanism, and the Bildungsroman by Tobias Boes (review)

Formative Fictions: Nationalism, Cosmopolitanism, and the Bildungsroman by Tobias Boes (review)

Book review: Cosmopolitanism and culture

Book review: Cosmopolitanism and culture