Table Of ContentINTERNATIONAL POLITICAL THEORY
SERIES EDITOR: GARY BROWNING
Cosmopolitanism as
Nonrelationism
Who is Cosmopolitan Now?
Barbara Elisabeth Müller
International Political Theory
Series Editor
Gary Browning
Oxford Brookes University
Oxford, UK
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Barbara Elisabeth Müller
Cosmopolitanism as
Nonrelationism
Who is Cosmopolitan Now?
Barbara Elisabeth Müller
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
Mainz, Germany
ISSN 2662-6039 ISSN 2662-6047 (electronic)
International Political Theory
ISBN 978-3-030-83456-2 ISBN 978-3-030-83457-9 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83457-9
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An earlier version of this book was accepted by the Faculty 02: Social
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Mainz, Germany, in 2019 as a dissertation for obtaining the academic
degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Dr. Phil.).
For my family
P
reface
I love my son. I would do everything for him. I also love my husband and
his other sons, I love my parents, my brother and sister, my nieces and neph-
ews, my friends. I do not believe that the love I feel for them is unjust. Nor
that it is just. I believe that love, friendship, and family affiliations are mat-
ters beyond justice.
I would describe myself as a family person through and through. I spend
a lot of time and energy not only with my husband and the children but
also with my parents, my brother and sister, and their families. I feel emo-
tionally very close to certain people and I would do different things for
those I love or to whom I feel friendship than I would for anybody else.
When I cannot be there for a loved one in need, I have a bad conscience,
which is different from the negative feeling I have when it comes to
unknown needy people.
Because I am rationally strongly attracted to the cosmopolitan idea that
no one should suffer or benefit from arbitrary and unchosen circum-
stances, including “natural” relationships, I have been in an inner conflict
ever since I started thinking about justice and political theory. Over time,
I came to see this inner conflict as something that needed to be brought
into a reflective equilibrium. I have constantly had to reflect both on my
intuitions about what I owe to those I love and on the arguments which I
have developed during my research. This has been an arduous undertak-
ing, but now that this book is completed, I hope that both my intuitions
and my theoretical considerations have finally come into good balance. I
do not expect this balance to last and look forward to the challenging and
ix
x PREfACE
critical arguments I will receive in response to this book. I believe that this
is the progress of science. Any mistakes in my work are of course my own
responsibility.
The fact that my reflections were repeatedly thrown off balance but
finally brought to a more stable one, stable enough to be published in this
context, is thanks to many people who have accompanied and supported
me in this challenging enterprise for so many years.
first of all, I would like to thank Peter Sutch, who has gently supported
me in countless different ways over so many years, and who, with his posi-
tive manner, his generosity and infinite patience, and, above all, his incred-
ible enthusiasm for all sorts of questions of political theory, has always
inspired and motivated me again and again. Without him, this work would
never have been completed.
I would also like to thank Claudia Landwehr for her helpful support
and good advice as well as for her trust, which enabled me to write this
book in the way that felt right for me. I am further grateful to Ruth
Zimmerling who supported and inspired me, especially at the beginning
of the project.
further, I would like to thank the anonymous reviewer for Palgrave
Macmillan for the encouraging feedback. It has been a pleasure through-
out to work with the Palgrave Macmillan staff: Ambra finotello, Tikoji
Rao Mega Rao, and Gary Browning.
I am very grateful for the support I have received from and at Cardiff
University, where I have always found a very stimulating and welcoming
work atmosphere, first as a student and later as a visiting researcher. I
would also like to thank all those who I met and grew fond of there and
who made my stays in Cardiff so very inspiring, enjoyable, productive, and
memorable. In particular, I would like to thank David Boucher, Peri
Roberts, Bruce Haddock, Rhianwen Daniel, Marloes Kontermann, Sarah
Gallimore, and my generous hostess Carys Evans, who always gave me a
cosy home during my stays. Special thanks are due to Tia Culley, who not
only provided valuable company during some of my most productive writ-
ing periods but also selflessly and without hesitation agreed to proofread
my work. She did so at a time when she herself was under extraordinary
strain. I would also like to express a special thanks to Camilla Boisen, who
managed to encourage me with her expertise and passion for the history
of ideas and who, with great helpfulness and patience, significantly
enriched my explanations on this topic.
PREfACE xi
I am also very grateful for the support I received at the Johannes
Gutenberg-University Mainz, where I presented an earlier version of this
work as a doctoral thesis. The university has been giving me the valuable
opportunity to reflect and develop my professional skills for many years. I
would especially like to thank my colleagues and friends from Mainz
including the members of the Political Theory Club for the valuable ideas,
charitable scepticism, and intelligent comments on my theoretical consid-
erations, as well as their understanding and emotional support. In particu-
lar, I would like to thank Stefan Schlag, Doris Unger, Jürgen Sirsch,
Annette Schmitt, Daniel Müller, Mirjam Gimbel, frederick Wilhelmi,
Theresa Edelhoff, Eva frischmann, and Matthis Mohs, as well as frank
Swiaczny and Eckhard Mandrella. I am also grateful to my student assis-
tants, first and foremost Selina Beckmann, but also Jan Koloska and
Christopher Niederelz who contributed with great commitment to put-
ting the work into a presentable form.
I would also like to thank Bernd Ladwig for his valuable feedback and
generous invitation for presenting my work at his faculty at freie
Universität in Berlin. further thanks go to Geoffrey Brennan, Chandran
Kukathas, and Johannes Marx for the inspiring discussions and
encouragement.
My greatest thanks go to my family, who have always supported me
lovingly and patiently throughout the process and have given me courage
and strength in particularly challenging phases. I would especially like to
mention the fabulous motivation box of my sister Mareike for the final
phase of the project, whose lovely surprises gave me new motivation and
positive energy every day. I cannot pay enough tribute to my parents’
patience and tireless efforts as loving babysitters, which gave me the time
I so desperately needed to finish the book in the end. The critical acumen
of my beloved husband Johannes Kessler, his quick comprehension, and
his persistent perfectionism contributed decisively to giving the work its
final touches. My beloved little son Jakob showed me that there is a life
beyond political theory. He helped me to put things into perspective and
gave me the best reason in the world to complete this work, and for that I
am infinitely grateful.
Mainz, Germany Barbara Elisabeth Müller
