The principle of national self-determination has been a hallmark of anti-imperialist politics, in both Marxist and Liberal traditions, at least since the First World War. This principle has enshrined a political distinction between “nationals” and “foreigners,” while internationalism and cosmopolitanism, in their various, historically specific articulations, have served as the ground of transnational solidarity where attempts have been made to bridge the posited gap between (self-determining) nationals and (solidarity-performing) foreigners.

Given the frequent overlap, in theory and practice, between visions of internationalism and cosmopolitanism on the one hand, and the remarkable internal variation—to the extent that two different and coherent bodies of thought can be said to exist in the first place—within internationalism and cosmopolitanism on the other, how should we think about the divergences and convergences between these two visions? When different versions of internationalism and cosmopolitanism as expounded and practiced by various theological traditions are added to the matrix along with their feminist, anarchist, regionalist, Third-Worldist, nationalist and militarist articulations, the nature of the two-headed monster proves too complicated to grasp in a single breath.

Internationalism, Cosmopolitanism and the Politics of Solidarity is constituted as an interdisciplinary research group to address this problem. It aims to explore the politics of transnational solidarity by addressing the complications that arise in attempts to define, critique, and practice various strands of internationalism and cosmopolitanism.

The group is led by Dr Ayça Çubukçu and LSE staff, doctoral students interested in joining the group are invited to contact her.