Towards a Global Civil Culture

Abstract

Chapter 4, “Towards a Global Civil Culture,” synthesizes elements from nation-based theories of civil society with recognition of the specific challenges of cosmopolitanism in order to develop a model of global civil culture, of which human rights culture is a subset. The chapter traces the role of culture in theories of civil society from Locke through Mill and cultural sociology. To the extent that classical liberal theories of civil society considered culture, they did so in a national frame, not addressing the special challenges of a cosmopolitan culture at the transnational and global levels. Theories of globalized culture (e.g., Crane, Habermas, Jameson) have emphasized that cultural dissemination relies on cultural imperialism. The chapter recognizes networks striving to disseminate literature on global civil solidarity.