From the Back Cover
Hegel and Global Justice undertakes a detailed examination of the relevance of Hegel's thought to the growing academic debate on the topic of global justice. Against the conventional view that Hegel has few constructive ideas to offer to these discussions, this collection, drawing on the expertise of distinguished Hegel scholars and internationally recognized political and social theorists, explicates the contribution both of Hegel himself and his "dialectical" method to the analysis and understanding of key topics pertaining to the concept of global justice, construed broadly. These topics include universal human rights, cosmopolitanism and cosmopolitan justice, transnationalism, international law, global interculturality, global poverty, cosmopolitan citizenship, global governance, global public sphere, global ethos, and a global notion of collective self-identity. In addition, the book examines Hegel's idea of the politics of recognition at the global level and the general account of relations of people under conditions of globalization. In exploring these and related themes, the authors compare Hegel to others who have contributed to the discourse on global justice, including Immanuel Kant, Thomas Hobbes, John Rawls, Jürgen Habermas, Peter Singer, Thomas Pogge, Martha Nussbaum, Kwame Anthony Appiah, and David Miller.
There is no other edited volume entirely devoted to Hegel and issues of cosmopolitanism and global justice. The volume breaks new ground in its substantive focus, but demonstrates a good grasp of existing Hegel commentary. It is a highly coherent volume with a very clear focus - in this respect it works incredibly well as an edited volume - there is a variety of opinion but it hangs together very well. The book is made up of high quality scholarly essays which demonstrate both very good Hegel scholarship and engagement with contemporary cosmopolitan arguments. All the essays are well-researched and clear. There are some very strong chapters with interesting and novel arguments.
Professor Kimberly Hutchings
Department of International Relations
London School of Economics
This valuable collection of essays by an impressive array of scholars demonstrates the continuing relevance of Hegel's thought for contemporary debates about cosmopolitanism and global justice. While some essays challenge various myths about Hegel that still persist--such as his glorification of war and nationalism or his low regard for rights against the 'march of history'--others seek to show that Hegel's insights into such central topics as recognition, rights and community or 'ethical life' (Sittlichkeit) remain pertinent given more nuanced accounts of cosmopolitanism and global justice which don't assume they can take only one form. Taken as a whole, the volume will enrich both our appreciation of Hegel as a political thinker as well as our understanding of the alternatives available to us in this age of rapid globalization.
Professor Kenneth Baynes
Syracuse University
Maxwell School
