Chris Brown’s Liberal Conservatism, the Process of Moral Learning and Global Institutional Transformations

In the normative theory of International Relations, the major debate has been between the state-centric view and cosmopolitanism. A quarter of century ago I attempted to deconstruct one round of this debate – between Chris Brown and Mark Hoffman – by showing that the debate is both utopian and has an other-negating character. With the help of epistemological discussions and an analysis of two “case studies”, I built a case for a contextualist and dialogical morality, grounded on the concept of judgement. Interestingly, Brown’s 2010 collection of essays is entitled Practical Judgement in International Political Theory. In this paper I first explore whether similar or analogical deconstruction would anymore be possible. Second, I discuss Brown’s ideas about global civil society, democracy and justice, particularly in light of world-historical developments since the early 1990s and in relation to the development of my own thinking on the topic. While Brown has tried to overcome the dichotomy between the state-centric view and cosmopolitanism, I examine whether the idea of universal ethico-political learning and its cosmopolitan implications might explain the divergence in our practical judgements. I conclude by arguing any area of activities in international relations and world society, from property and contract to nuclear safety and global warming, can be subject to normative debates and potentially democratic politics. Good normative arguments often involve designs for better institutions, but they must be realizable by virtue of being connected to real causal processes.Peer reviewe

Ein Virus testet den Wohlfahrtsstaat

This essay discusses some of the consequences of the widely observed resurgence of a strong interventionist state during the corona crisis. Its focus is on how health and welfare arrangements impact the elderly, the group primarily affected by COVID-19. Four related perspectives – viewing the crisis as a “natural experiment,” the relationship between experts and politics, biopolitical arguments, and age discrimination – are used to unpack the major inequalities, tensions and deficits in the social and sanitary policies of Western Europe and the US

Here or there? Consumer reactions to corporate social responsibility initiatives: Egocentric tendencies and their moderators

Egocentrism, Consumer behavior, Corporate social responsibility, Identity,