Studies on cosmopolites often focus on expatriates or entrepreneurs. Although intentional cosmopolites do exist, and surely represent an important part of those individuals who define themselves as citizens of the world, the author suggests that a les-explored and darker variant also exists: reluctant cosmopolites.
The author reviews Olivier Geai’s book “La parole est aux migrants”, which presents first-person narratives of migrants from their childhoods to the point of their intentions of migrating, their journeys and their arrivals in France. Following the established logic of reviews in the society and business review, the author will place this book in tension with the academic literature on cosmopolitanism, mostly through the excellent “The Cosmopolitan Ideal” edited by Sybille de la Rosa and Darren O’Byrne.
Exploring cosmopolitanism through the perspective of reluctant cosmopolites leads to understanding the phenomenon as a process (cosmopolitanization) rather than a state, and to engage with the idea of cities of refuge.
Developing the notion of cities of refuge, which are not utopias or ideals – but revolutionary – radical inspirations to rethink a world that cannot be constructed tomorrow based on the yesterday’s blueprints.
