ABSTRACT
What is the future of democracy as an institutional design principle of international governance? How is the idea of organizing the international arena as a “democracy of nations” going to be affected by globalization? Is progress in international governance tantamount to an increase in the democratization of the relationships between states? How viable is the ideal of an international system defi ned formally in terms of equality, and informally in terms of democracy? These questions invite an exploration into the problematic territory of conjectures and speculations – a domain that has a highly ambiguous status in the social sciences. On the one hand, conjectures and “bold predictions” are considered to be an intrinsic part of the core of the scientifi c enterprise (Popper 1969). On the other hand, engaging for real in social prognostication has always been a risky venture in terms of professional reputation. Yet any discussion regarding the prospects of “democracy in a globalizing world” needs, sooner or later, to be future(s)-oriented. It is paradoxical, but the very twin criteria of relevance and realism require an endeavor into the objectionable territories of speculation, – i.e. of reasoning based on incomplete facts, information and evidence.
