Statecraft, Globalization, and Ethics

by Charles O. Lerche

About: This article explores the impact of cosmopolitan morality on international statecraft in an era of globalization. The historical roots of the main schools of thought on morality and international relations are discussed, and three alternative views developed. Globalization, as a process of world economic, political, and social change is introduced, and its implications for statecraft outlined. In this regard, globalism is put forth as a positive, and potentially corrective, dimension of globalization, and the Bahá’í teachings drawn upon as a source of globalist ethical vision for the future.