‘Down-to-Earth’ Cosmopolitanism

Abstract

People who see themselves as and feel citizens of the world are often regarded as cosmopolitans. Sociology further distinguishes cosmopolitans by a set of particular orientations to the greater world. According to major normative claims of cosmopolitan theory, cosmopolitans hold attitudes and beliefs recognizing diversity. They are also expected to be more open-minded, self-critical and future-oriented. Using data from the European Values Study (EVS), the article discusses the possibilities to operationalize two measurement approaches to cosmopolitanism. The first one, termed the ‘identity approach’, is based on self-views as a world citizen and feelings of belonging. The second, labelled ‘cosmopolitan orientation’, relates to particular attitudes towards difference. Analyses show that EVS data on the ‘identity approach’ are problematic. In a comparative crossnational study covering 31 European countries, it is found that individual-level characteristics (gender, age, social class, citizenship, etc.) and structural conditions (GDP, sociopolitical regime) impact on the objective measurement of ‘cosmopolitan orientation’. The results of a multilevel regression on this measure support the usefulness of approaching cosmopolitanism from a more ‘objective’ point of view.