The Political Economy of a Plural World ‘For thirty years Robert Cox has been at the forefront of developing a criti- cal international political economy of modern world capitalism. A seminal thinker with an immense following, his work in the past has rarely been any- thing less than challenging. A dissident in a world where intelligent dissent is in short supply, here once again in a set of superb essays, Cox shows precisely why he has achieved – and why he deserves – his enviably huge reputation. A must read for anybody seriously interested in the fate of civilization before and after September 11th.’ Professor Michael Cox, Department of International Politics, Aberystwyth The Political Economy of a Plural World is a new volume by one of the world’s leading critical thinkers in international political economy. Building on his seminal contributions to the field, Robert W. Cox engages with the major themes that have characterized his work over the past three decades, and also the main topics which affect the globalized world at the start of the twenty-first century. The book addresses such core issues as global civil soci- ety, power and knowledge, the covert world, multilateralism, and civilizations and world order. Michael G. Schechter has written an introductory essay which addresses current critiques of Coxian theory, enabling the author to enter into a stimulating dialogue with critics of his work. Timely, provocative and original, this book is a major contribution to international political economy and essential reading for all students and academics in the field. Robert W. Cox is Professor emeritus of political science at York University, Toronto. He has published widely on international political economy, and his books include Approaches to World Order. Routledge/RIPE Series in Global Political Economy Series Editors: Otto Holman, Marianne Marchand (Research Centre for International Political Economy, University of Amsterdam), Henk Overbeek (Free University, Amsterdam) and Marianne Franklin (University of Amsterdam) This series, published in association with the Review of International Political Economy, provides a forum for current debates in international political econ- omy. The series aims to cover all the central topics in IPE and to present innovative analyses of emerging topics. The titles in the series seek to tran- scend a state-centred discourse and focus on three broad themes: • the nature of the forces driving globalisation forward • resistance to globalisation • the transformation of the world order. The series comprises two strands: The RIPE Series in Global Political Economy aims to address the needs of students and teachers, and the titles will be published in hardback and paper- back. Titles include Transnational Classes and International Relations Kees van der Pijl Gender and Global Restructuring Sightings, sites and resistances Edited by Marianne H. Marchand and Anne Sisson Runyan Global Political Economy Contemporary theories Edited by Ronen Palan Ideologies of Globalization Contending visions of a new world order Mark Rupert The Clash within Civilisations Coming to terms with cultural conflicts Dieter Senghaas Global Unions? Theory and strategies of organized labour in the global political economy Edited by Jeffrey Harrod and Robert O’Brien The Political Economy of a Plural World Critical reflections on power, morals and civilization Robert Cox with Michael G. Schechter Routledge/RIPE Studies in Global Political Economy is a forum for innovative new research intended for a high-level specialist readership, and the titles will be available in hardback only. Titles include: 1 Globalization and Governance* Edited by Aseem Prakash and Jeffrey A. Hart 2 Nation-States and Money The past, present and future of national currencies 3 The Global Political Economy of Intellectual Property Rights The new enclosures? Christopher May 4 Integrating Central Europe EU expansion and Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic Otto Holman 5 Capitalist Restructuring, Globalisation and the Third Way Lessons from the Swedish model J. Magnus Ryner 6 Transnational Capitalism and the Struggle over European Integration Bastiaan van Apeldoorn 7 World Financial Orders An historical international political economy Paul Langley *Also available in paperback Dedicated to the memory of Harold Karan ‘Jake’ Jacobson, wise scholar, inspiring teacher, loyal friend The Political Economy of a Plural World Critical reflections on power, morals and civilization Robert W. Cox With Michael G. Schechter First published 2002 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2003. © 2002 Robert W. Cox, and Chapter 1, Michael G. Schechter All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Cox, Robert W., 1926– Political economy of a plural world: Critical reflections on power, morals and civilization / by Robert W. Cox. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Legitimacy of governments. 2. Civil society. 3. Civilization. 4. Counterculture. 5. Government, Resistance to. 6. Globalization. 7. International economic relations. 1. Title. JC497.C67 2002 300—dc2l 2002069949 ISBN 0-203-11603-8 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-16325-7 (Adobe eReader Format) ISBN 0–415–25290–3 (hbk) ISBN 0–415–25291–1 (pbk) Contents Series editors’ preface ix Acknowledgements xi Preface xiii 1 Critiques of Coxian theory: background to a conversation 1 By Michael G. Schechter 2 Reflections and transitions 26 3 Vico, then and now 44 4 Universality, power and morality 57 5 Power and knowledge: towards a new ontology of world order 76 6 Civil society at the turn of the millennium: prospects for an alternative world order 96 7 The covert world 118 8 Civilizations: encounters and transformations 139 9 Conceptual guidelines for a plural world 157 10 Civilizations and world order 176 viii Contents Epilogue 189 Notes 193 References 212 Name index 224 Subject index 227 Series editors’ preface In 1988, the late Susan Strange wrote that Robert Cox ‘is an eccentric in the best English sense of the word, a loner, a fugitive from intellectual camps of victory, both Marxist and liberal’. Her review of Cox’s magnum opus Power, Production and World Order: Social Forces in the Making of History (1987) was an early attempt to grasp Cox’s thinking as independent and non- dogmatic, a characterization so different from all sorts of parochial critiques that tried to pin him down as Marxist (or attacking him for not being Marxist enough), neo-Gramscian (while sometimes chiding him for misreading Gramsci), Weberian, etc., or accused him of being reductionist, empiricist or eclectic. In this volume, Robert Cox , whilst not ‘shying away’ from the labels eclectic or empiricist, is most concerned with being labelled reductionist. This is one of the important features of this book. For the first time, Cox is engaging with his critics in a comprehensive way. This takes the form of a dialogue (in Chapter 2) with some of the most important critiques of Coxian theory from Chapter 1 (selected by Michael Schechter). Three different, albeit related, strands of these critiques are reviewed. First, some key concepts in Cox’s work are critically discussed: class and production, the international- ization of the state, nébuleuse, etc. Second, a number of issues are highlighted which have been missing or underdeveloped in the work of Cox: the military- security aspects of world order, the importance of ecology in the global political economy, and issues of transnational identity politics, including gender. Finally, Robert Cox has been criticized for being either too pessimistic or too Utopian with regard to the future of global governance. In particular the question whether the nébuleuse – ‘the unofficial and official transnational and international networks of state and corporate representatives and intel- lectuals who work towards the formulation of a policy consensus for global capitalism’ – can be challenged by a counter-nébuleuse and whether interna- tional organizations can play a supportive role in this respect is discussed. This collection of essays is more than just a conversation between Cox and his critics though. The first part of the volume consists of a number of chapters which trace and document the gradual shift in Cox’s thinking over the years, culminating in a ‘new ontology of world order’. The concrete sub- stance of this new ontology is illustrated in the second half of the book x Series editors’ preface where two topics stand out: the role of a revitalized civil society (interpreted as a multilevel phenomenon) in determining the future of global governance and the prospect of generating legitimacy through the peaceful coexistence of civilizations. Both issues are analysed in the light of the present crisis of authority/legitimacy and the clash between formal and informal politics, of which the globalization of informal violence (to use Robert Keohane’s term) is only the most extreme expression. The RIPE Series in Global Political Economy is proud to be publishing this latest book by Robert Cox. The Political Economy of a Plural World: Critical reflections on power, morals and civilization is essential reading for those who want to know in which direction Coxian Historicism has evolved over the years and how the ‘new’ thinking of Robert Cox reflects more recent devel- opments and trends in the global political economy. But its significance transcends its importance as a source for the intellectual historiography of one of the great independent thinker on global politics.