Cosmopolitan Spaces

The book advances a provocative critical reading of both globalization theory and contemporary Europe. Concerned with questions of space, borders and governance, Cosmpolitan Spaces challeges conventional notions of cosmopolitanism and its relevance to conceptualizations of space, and offers a fresh take on the meaning and implications of globalization.

Cosmopolitan Spaces: Europe, Globalization, Theory endeavors a highly innovative reading of both globalization theory and contemporary European transformations. Interpreting cosmopolitanism as a politics of space, Rumford positions his analysis at the intersection of two exciting currents in contemporary social science research: the 'spatial turn' in the social sciences and the renewed interest in cosmopolitanism. Rumford elaborates a completely new theoretical framework for understanding the contemporary social and political transformation of Europe, and takes issue with many aspects of the globalization-inspired accounts of Europeanization which remain blind to the spatial dimensions of change. In addition to its compelling reading of cosmopolitanism, Cosmopolitan Spaces: Europe, Globalization, Theory, offers a provocative critique for thinking about Europe in terms of Empire, and advances the startling claim that Europe should be considered 'postwestern'.