Ethnic and National Identity in Bosnia-Herzegovina: Kinship and Solidarity in a Polyethnic Society

Moving beyond notions of cosmopolitanism as a form of elitism, a condition of globalization, or a predominantly transnational orientation (to the exclusion of local affiliations), the volume draws on international survey data to posit an alternative view of cosmopolitanism, characterized by interlinkages and tensions between cosmopolitan and local identities and forms of belonging. Elaborating on what is termed ‘‘the cosmopolitan spirit,’’ Part II identifies four equally significant types of cosmopolitan expression, reflecting divergent processes of cosmopolitan socialization. A key argument here is that individuals can both be and become cosmopolitan in specific ways. The four forms of cosmopolitan orientation correspond to the aesthetic, cultural, ethical, and political dimensions of the cosmopolitan spirit and encompass different sets of cosmopolitan capabilities and virtues. The volume cogently explains and then illustrates the various cosmopolitan expressions with effective, sufficiently detailed international case studies and empirical work. Part II thus vitally provides sociologists and other academics with conceptual tools and typologies to examine and understand cosmopolitanism as it takes shape through people’s specific, situated relationships to the world. For this reader, however, the volume made less of how to apply these tools in conducting research ‘‘on the ground’’ and with regard to potential, tangible research sites. As such, the book’s main contribution is largely conceptual, in that it represents a valuable attempt to rework well-established sociological ideas (rather than relegate them to the theoretical dustbin) within a cosmopolitan sociology and to reassert their relevance in a cosmopolitan world. More than this, however, it commendably extends such ideas by advancing a typology of the cosmopolitan spirit’s different manifestations, providing new directions for research in the vein of a cosmopolitan sociology. Well-written and insightful, the book achieves its stated primary objective, which is ‘‘to locate cosmopolitan theories amidst social actors’ experiences of a shared and plural world, moving away from cosmopolitanism as a theoretical and normative perspective in order to examine the tangible, ordinary mechanisms of global society that are shaping the cultural imaginaries and the lives of individuals today’’ (p. xviii). In particular, it provides a nuanced understanding of contemporary cosmopolitanism, considering its different dimensions, contradictions, and ambivalent character, particularly as it unfolds and is grounded in quotidian processes of socialization. The volume is an important read for scholars and advanced students interested in cosmopolitanism in terms of its relationship to globalization, its key characteristics, and contemporary expressions. It may be less accessible to those without an introductory understanding of cosmopolitanism and the pivotal debates in cosmopolitan thought. Nonetheless, the book would be a valuable, welcome addition to the required readings for graduate seminars on the sociology of globalization and the sociology of cosmopolitanism, as well as seminars on socialization and identity formation, which now occur in a plural and shared global society.