The World Relations of Cities: Closing the Gap Between Social Science Paradigms and Everyday Human Experience

Abstract

People inhabiting the cities of the world are in desperate need of knowledge that would enable them to cope with the worldwide relations of daily life. Although the mainstream of social science tends to ignore the world relations of cities, scattered scholarship in history, anthropology, sociology, and political science offers important insight on the growing involvement of human settlements in the world. The first main theme of this literature draws on scholarship of urban political economy and world systems which illuminates the changing impact of worldwide economic and social forces on the cities of the world and their inhabitants. In light of these changes, there is research urging that cities be freed from state constraints, research on new kinds of political movements, and advocacy of new approaches to research and teaching. The second main theme assesses the response of city government and local citizens movements to the perceived local impact of the foreign policies of states, with respect to issues such as war prevention and disarmament, world poverty, and human rights. There is both overlap and some contradiction between local issues raised by the two themes. This article will explore the implications for democratic theory, and for research and teaching in international studies, of the new world context of cities and the growing efforts of city governments and local people to deal directly with world issues.