Cosmopolitanism in an Age of Xenophobia and Ethnic Conflict

In this chapter we evaluate idea of cosmopolitanism in relation to some recent forces that appear to be reversing it in cases such as the UK in the forms of the return of the nationalism, the rise of populism in the West (Ashbee, 2017), counter-terrorism discourse and practices, and increasing xenophobia, Islamophobia and racism. This is taking place in the context of increasing social inequalities (Picketty, 2015) and global economic and political competition between nations. We begin with a discussion of Beck’s (2002) analysis of cosmopolitanism using this heuristically to assess recent developments in the UK in terms of three moments of ‘anti-cosmopolitanism’. They are all characterised to some degree by a form of populism, transformed public discourses and a shift in state institutions and practices. Each of these moments signalled an anti-cosmopolitan movement in different fields. Firstly, in terms of the field of internal relationships between ethnic groups within the UK and how these are managed by the state. For example the state’s response to the 2001 ethnic riots in the UK (Bagguley and Hussain, 2008) was distinctly anti-cosmopolitan, being focused upon encouranging the assimilation of British South Asians. Secondly, in terms of international relations and internal securitisation the state’s responses to the 9/11 attacks on the USA, but especially the 7/7 terrorist attacks in London also can only be read as being contrary to the process of cosmpolitanisation identified by authors such as Beck (2006). Thirdly, and most recently the vote in the UK’s referendum to leave the EU (Clarke et al. 2017) popularly known as Brexit, also demonstrates both a popular and state level anti-cosmopolitanism.