Re-Imagining Political Community

Understanding world politics today means acknowledging that the state is no longer in international relations. The interstate system is increasingly challenged by new transnational forces and institutions. Multinational companies, cross-border coalitions of social interest groups, globally oriented media groups and a growing number of international agencies influence interstate decisions and set the agenda of world politics. While these phenomena have been discussed in the recent literature of international relations, little attention has been given to their impact on political life within and between communities. Re-imagining Political Community explores the changing meaning of political community in a world of regional and global social and economic relations. From a variety of academic backgrounds, its authors reconsider some of the key terms of political organization, such as legitimacy, sovereignty, identity and citizenship. The common approach of all the authors is to generate an innovative account of what democracy means today and how it can be reconceptualized to include subnational as well as transnational levels of political organization. Inspired by Immanuel Kant's cosmopolitan principles, the authors conclude that today there are favourable conditions for a further development of democracy - locally, nationally, regionally and globally. Re-imagining Political Community will be welcomed by students of politics, political theory, international relations and peace studies, as well as those working in international organizations and engaged in transnational activities. List of contributors: David Held, James N. Rosenau, David Beetham, James Crawford, Susan Marks, Mary Kaldor, Andrew Linklater, Ulrich K. Preuss, Richard Bellamy, Dario Castiglione, Janna Thompson, Daniele Archibugi, Martin Kohler, Pierre Hassner, Gwin Prins, Elizabeth Selwood, Derk Bienen, Volker Rittberger, Wolfgang Wagner and Richard Falk.