ABSTRACT
Social and political theory has tended to treat the idea and practice of cosmopolitanism in a generally de-contextualized manner. Political scientists have seemed most closely concerned with designing tools for the establishment of cosmopolitanism, imparting to it much normative value without significant reflexivity. There was a phenomenal rise in the number and range of programmes that support inter-civilization dialogue as a way to teach cosmopolitanism. The most prominent among them is the United Nation's Dialogue of Civilizations. The term 'civilizations' remains underconceptualized in contemporary social and political theory, indeed in most of the disciplines. However, assuming coherent and well-defined civilizations does not seem to be an entirely satisfactory way of thinking about a world that has been deeply interconnected well before the current round of financial and media globalization. Civilization seems to be used interchangeably with culture. It is that composite form that brings together cultural norms, religious traditions and material progress.
