‘It Broadens Our Horizons’: Are We All Cosmopolitan Now?

Abstract

Research into global flows in people, products and images has generated a range of valuable insights in relation to, for example, global cities, diaspora, perceptions of global risk, trade networks, media institutions, cultural exchange and so on. There has been particular interest in the emergence of new forms of social solidarity, which are often labelled under the broad heading of cosmopolitanism (Beck, 2004). However, much of this work has tended to focus on the most mobile or vulnerable, overlooking the large numbers who remain relatively rooted but engage with the ‘other’ in more limited or restricted ways, primarily through consumption practices, media connectivity and, in some cases, travel. It is my contention that by engaging with such groups we can offer a complementary perspective and, in particular, critically scrutinise some of the more extravagant claims about cosmopolitanism.