ABSTRACT
Recent years have seen a burgeoning interest in cosmopolitanism in the fields of political theory and international relations. Increasingly, arguments have been advanced that international politics should be seen in terms of universal principles that challenge the presumed moral supremacy of territorial boundaries and which favour instead the well-being of humanity generally. According to cosmopolitanism international politics should focus first on the interests, rights or welfare of persons wherever they may reside rather than on the interests of states as such. This chapter explains what cosmopolitanism is and outlines some of the more prominent ideas, arguments and approaches of the cosmopolitan tradition.
