Cosmopolitanism - beyond the 'beautiful idea'

This article outlines the key features of the ?big idea? of cosmopolitanism (Beck 2002), which are viewed against a set of commonly recognised countervailing forces. The article then argues for both conceptual elaboration and empirical observation to be focused on the social processes which mediate between the normative ideal and concrete manifestations of cosmopolitanism. Examples are provided in relation to three issues: the allocation of rights, participation through law, and the concept of the world citizen.