Rousseau's Considerations on the Government of Poland and the General Will Beyond Borders

• Autorzy: Benjamin Thompson
• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

Jean Jacques Rousseau's thought is typically understood as avowing either cosmopolitan principles or patriotic ones. While a few studies have considered the compatibility of these principles, mostly Rousseau's cosmopolitan ideas seem impractical or even incompatible with his approach to republican political theory. This is especially asserted in regard to the affective or emotional ties and commitments that allow Rousseauian citizens to practice the politics of common goods. Karma Nabulsi argues, outside of this typical dichotomy, that Rousseau's General Will and the affective ties between people that go with it are actually compatible with global politics. This article returns to this issue and shows that Nabulsi is right but that the General Will can only be transnational; it cannot be cosmopolitan. Using Rousseau's Considerations on the Government of Poland to show the connection between the General Will in federal and transnational circumstances, I argue that the traditions necessary to maintain these affective ties can be dissociated from unitary political communities but cannot be extended at once to all of humanity. This recognition may be important since the focus on instituted traditions may prove a precondition for actually building transnational affective commitments, which in turn may be pivotal for realising other normative concerns in international political theory.(original abstract)

Słowa kluczowe

EN

Politics; International relations; Social agreement

PL

Polityka; Stosunki międzynarodowe; Umowa społeczna

• Czasopismo: Stosunki Międzynarodowe
• Rocznik: 2016
• Tom: 52
• Numer: nr 2
• Strony: 323--342

Twórcy

autor

Benjamin Thompson

• Kyungpook National University

Bibliografia

• Annaelien de Dijn, 'Rousseau and Republicanism', Political Theory, 2015, Online, http://ptx.sagepub.com/content/early/2015/10/08/0090591715609101.abstract (accessed on 26 November 2015)
• Bernard Grofman, Scott L. Feld, 'Rousseau's General Will: A Condorcetian Perspective', "American Political Science Review", 1988, Vol. 82, No. 2, pp. 567-576.
• Charles Beitz, Political Theory and International Relations, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1979
• Christopher Kelly, 'Rousseau on the Foundation of National Cultures', "History of European Ideas", 1993, Vol. 16, No. 4-6, pp. 521-525.
• David Miller, National Responsibility and Global Justice, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.
• Georg Cavallar, 'Educating Emile: Jean-Jacques Rousseau on Cosmopolitanism', "The European Legacy; Toward New Paradigms", 2012, Vol. 17, No. 4, pp. 485-499.
• Geraint Parry, 'Thinking one's own thoughts: autonomy and the citizen', in Robert Wokler (ed.), Rousseau and Liberty, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1995, pp. 100, 108-110.
• Jason Neidleman, 'Rousseau's Rediscovered Communion des Coeurs: Cosmopolitanism in the Reveries of the Solitary Walker', "Political Studies", 2012, Vol. 60, No. 1, pp. 76-94.
• Jean Jacque Rousseau, The Social Contract, in Rousseau, The Social Contract and Other Later Political Writings, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997, p. 41.
• Jean Jacques Rousseau, 'Discourse on Political Economy', in Rousseau, The Social Contract and Other Later Political Writings, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997, p. 16.
• John Rawls, A Theory of Justice, Revised Edition, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, pp. 130-139, 153-160, 228-292.
• John Rawls, The Law of Peoples, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1999;
• Joseph S. Nye, Jr and Robert O. Keohane, 'Transnational Relations and World Politics: An Introduction', "International Organization", 1971, Vol. 25, No. 3, pp. 329-349.
• Karma Nabulsi, 'Being Palestinian', on Ted Honderich Website, http://www.ucl.ac.uk/~uctytho/Being_Palestinian.html (accessed on 20 March 2016).
• Karma Nabulsi, 'That the general will is indestructible: From a citizen of Geneva to the citizens of Gaza', in Kate E. Tunstall (ed.), Self-Evident Truths? Human Rights and the Enlightenment, London: A. Bloomsbury Academic, 2012, pp. 43-58.
• Mathias Risse, Global Political Philosophy, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012, pp. 88-113.
• Patrick Riley, Will and Political Legitimacy, Cambridge, Ma: Harvard University Press, 1982, p. 112.
• J. Rousseau, The State of War, in Rousseau, The Social Contract and Other Later Political Writings, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997, pp. 171-176.
• Thomas Pogge; Simon Caney, Justice Beyond Borders; A Global Political Theory, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005
• Judith Shklar, Men and Citizens, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1969, pp. 14-15;
• Arthur Melzer, The Natural Goodness of Man: on the System of Rousseau's Thought, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1990, pp. 253-282.
• Ethan Putterman, Rousseau, Law and the Sovereignty of the People, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
• J. Rousseau, 'Letter to D'Offreville', in Rousseau, The Social Contract and Other Later Political Writings, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997, pp. 261-262.
• Helena Rosenblatt, Rousseau and Geneva, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997, pp. 46-52.
• Karen Pagani, Man or Citizen; Anger, Forgiveness, and Authenticity in Rousseau. University Park: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2015, pp. 63-69.
• Other Later Political Writings, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997, p. 16.