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Kantian constitutional jurisprudence and a minimal ethical foundation for a cosmopolitan order.

Brown, Garrett Wallace (2006) Kantian constitutional jurisprudence and a minimal ethical foundation for a cosmopolitan order. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

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Abstract

The purpose of this project is to outline a Kantian form of cosmopolitan theory in relation to the normative requirements necessary for a constitutional global order and to provide a comprehensive defense of cosmopolitan ethics against realist, pluralist and communitarian critiques. The project consists in a theoretical exploration of Kantian cosmopolitanism and the normative requirements consistent with, and necessary to, a Kantian based cosmopolitan constitution. The project addresses such topics as Kantian cosmopolitanism, the principle of cosmopolitan law, cosmopolitan right, the laws of hospitality, the normative principles behind the idea of a federation of states, a cosmopolitan epistemology of culture and a possible normative basis for a Kantian form of global distributive justice. Contrary to many historical conceptions of cosmopolitanism, the project interprets Kantian cosmopolitan thought as a form of international constitutional jurisprudence that requires minimal ethical / legal demands versus the more rigorous demand of establishing a world state or a utopian moral order. By viewing Kantian cosmopolitan theory as a form of international jurisprudence, it has better promise to satisfy communitarian, realist and pluralist concerns without surrendering cosmopolitan principles of human worth and global ethical order. In contrast to an extreme form of cosmopolitanism, this project provides an alternative Kantian version of cosmopolitanism that allows for various ethical perspectives on a culturally local and state level, while providing a minimal global ethical umbrella for international cooperation and cosmopolitan principles. However, this thesis does not represent a strict interpretation of Kant or of his political theory. What this project provides is a Kantian based form of cosmopolitanism, which not only pulls from Kant, but also from contemporary cosmopolitan arguments found throughout political philosophy. In this regard, it provides a more comprehensive understanding of Kantian cosmopolitanism and what normative implications this vision has for contemporary international political theory.

Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
Uncontrolled Keywords: Political Science, General
Sets: Collections > ProQuest Etheses
URI: http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/1902

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