Degenerate Cosmopolitanism

Abstract

Cosmopolitans advocate varying degrees of centralized international governance as a means of realizing moral universalism or facilitating international engagement. This essay argues that cosmopolitan ideals may be better served by political fragmentation. I explore the concept of degeneracy as a principle of institutional evaluation and design in international politics. Degeneracy is a characteristic of complex systems in which multiple components of a system offer overlapping (but not identical) functions, and is a key component in the robustness and evolvability of such systems. Non-degenerate systems, by contrast, exhibit fragility in the face of adverse conditions. I translate these concepts into the analysis of governance by drawing on the insights of the Bloomington School of political economy, arguing that instantiating degeneracy requires governance arrangements that are polycentric and diverse. Cosmopolitan ideals are better served by introducing alternatives to existing forms of governance than by building on them.

Keywords: Bloomington School, Complexity, Cosmopolitanism, Degeneracy, Robustness