Democracy and the Global Order: From the Modern State to Cosmopolitan Governance [Paperback]

David Held (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A magisterial account of democratic theory as it applies to our world of intensifying global relations and transnational networks.... I regard this book as indispensable reading for scholars and citizens alike—a comprehensive rethinking and remapping of the terrain of democracy.”—Richard Falk, Princeton University

“A timely exhortation that we need to continually reassess where our thinking (or lack of thinking) has taken us and where we are likely to go as a world society if we are not vigilant! An important book for philosophers, scientists, business leaders, politicians, in short, anyone who is concerned about the fate of mankind if it is left at the mercy of a simplistic world view.”—Northeastern Naturalist

From the Back Cover

“A magisterial account of democratic theory as it applies to our world of intensifying global relations and transnational networks.... I regard this book as indispensable reading for scholars and citizens alike—a comprehensive rethinking and remapping of the terrain of democracy.”—Richard Falk, Princeton University


“A timely exhortation that we need to continually reassess where our thinking (or lack of thinking) has taken us and where we are likely to go as a world society if we are not vigilant! An important book for philosophers, scientists, business leaders, politicians, in short, anyone who is concerned about the fate of mankind if it is left at the mercy of a simplistic world view.”—Northeastern Naturalist

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Stanford University Press; 1 edition (December 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804726876
• ISBN-13: 978-0804726870
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #868,905 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3.0 out of 5 stars An unbalanced book, December 7, 2011

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T. Carlsson - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Democracy and the Global Order: From the Modern State to Cosmopolitan Governance (Paperback)

I was disappointed with this book because the author is slow in getting to the main topic. The total length of the book is 287 pages and the discussion on global democracy doesn't begin until page 219.

After an introductory part I the author begins with part II, which actually amounts to one half of the entire book. It's a presentation of the history of the modern state and modern political systems. Not bad as a broad outline, but it also becomes obvious that the author is no historian. He merely skims the surface of state history with a detached theoretical perspective. Frankly, I don't think there's any justification for using half of this book on a historical presentation which isn't of any relevance for the philosophical arguments given at the end.

In Part III we get to democratic theory, finally. But once again I think the author exhibits poor judgment. He discusses mostly the principle of autonomy and democratic thought experiments. These may be interesting components in a theory of ideal democracy, but it was not clear to me what their relevance is for global democracy. Spending another 70 pages on theoretical musings about democracy in general seemed a bit pointless to me.

At last the author vindicates himself, and the principle of autonomy, in part IV when he gets to cosmopolitan democracy. This part was worth reading, although the author's views seem hopelessly idealistic to me. The basic argument is quite simple: autonomy should be enforced on a global scale by international democratic law. If we can implement global democracy, we can effectively protect human rights, freedom and justice.

The author also offers some ideas for institutional change in international politics to facilitate global democracy, but his view of democracy as a cure for all social problems is so detached from present reality that these ideas don't amount to much more than pure fantasy. Perhaps if he had expended more than 60 pages on the main part of this book, he could have argued his case more convincingly.

In conclusion, I think this book is poorly structured: the preliminary parts are too long and the real argument is too short. But if you're looking for good books in democratic theory, you might want to consult this book just for its bibliography, which is quite comprehensive (up to 1995).