ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author argues for the cosmopolitan approach to determining the moral obligations of foreign participants in the development process. Under a cosmopolitan perspective, the existence of fallible states means that considerable moral responsibility concerning development-induced and environmental displacement, beyond that of observing the laws and decisions of host states, falls on foreign participants in development. If the host state is a reliable protector and promoter of the interests of its citizens, then the assignment of moral responsibility within a cosmopolitan perspective may not be all that different from the sovereigntist perspective. In other words, the ethics of sovereignty treats the state system as the framework for articulating an appropriate international ethic, while cosmopolitanism views international ethics as conceptually prior to the state system and as a basis for evaluating the state system and its propensities. In cosmopolitan framework, the considerations sketched out above under the heading 'Displacement, the state, and moral justification' apply across borders.
