Moralizing International Relations

The end of the cold war has paved the way for a series of moral claims that force institutions such as States, International Organizations of Multinationals to justify themselves. What is the effect of this phenomenon on the international relations of the 1990s and beyond.

"Combining philosophical depth with topical urgency, the highly original voice of Ariel Colonomos calls for a pragmatic cosmopolitanism in international politics, steering between the twin evils of a cramped realism and the twisted moralism of post-September 11 American unilateralism. At a time when everyone is looking for better ways to integrate practicality with ideals in foreign policy, this book offers stimulating insights to aid that search."

- Jack Snyder, Robert and Renée Belfer Professor of International Relations, Columbia University

"How has the ethics of international relations been transformed since the fall of the Berlin Wall? Ariel Colonomos takes up the question of how the various actors in the international system - whether nation-states, international organizations, or multinational corporations - can be held responsible for their actions. This book is distinguished in international ethics by its interdisciplinarity and the fruitful dialogue it engenders between empirically-based social scientific research and the range of normative theories that apply to this crucial domain of contemporary life. In this important work, Colonomos develops an original perspective on decisive ethical issues in current international affairs, which will help to guide future investigations in this area."

- Carol Gould, Professor of Philosophy and Political Science, and Director of the Center for Global Ethics and Politics, TempleUniversity

"Colonomos work stands at the crossroads between ethics, political theory, and the sociology of international relations. Through a combination of abstract reasoning and careful empirical research, he throws much light on the emergence of the demand for moral accountability in international life, both economic (as in the case of sanctions and reparations) and political. His book focuses on the surge of moral concern characteristic of the nineties but raises a host of permanent issues and provides a very valuable guide for their discussion." - Pierre Hassner, Emeritus Research Director and Research Associate at the Centre for International Studies and Research, Sciences Po, Paris, France

ARIEL COLONOMOS is a CNRS senior research fellow at the Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales and a lecturer at Sciences Po in Paris where he teaches international ethics. He has taught at the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University as an associate adjunct professor from 2005 to 2007. He has done significant research on transnational networks in international relations and is now currently involved in a project on the ethics of war.