ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book demonstrates philosophical debate about the normative characteristics of cosmopolitanism needs to engage with the anthropological and sociological literature on actual cosmopolitanism. It describes cosmopolitanism as rooted as opposed to being a rejection of real communities. Most conceptions of cosmopolitanism emanating from the Kantian idea, which in turn derives from the original Stoic philosophy, presuppose a largely Western approach to history and modernity. The book focuses on the cultural and political conceptions of cosmopolitanism and provides developments, including the relationship between cosmopolitan theory and empirical social research. It addresses aspects of political community such as citizenship, human rights, democracy, equality and justice, solidarity, humanitarianism and global civil society. The book deals with wide-ranging accounts of world varieties of cosmopolitanism and discusses the anthropocentric and zoomorphic assumptions that ground human exceptionalism.
