Civil society, cosmopolitics and the net: The legacy of 15 February 2003

Abstract

The global demonstrations on 15 February 2003 against the impending invasion of Iraq were on an unprecedented scale, and generated a great deal of commentary and debate. One response was that of Jürgen Habermas, supported by Jacques Derrida, who in an article entitled, ‘February 15, or What Binds Europeans Together: A Plea for a Common European Foreign Policy, Beginning in the Core of Europe’, suggests the events may be a ‘sign of the birth of a European public sphere’ and used the occasion to launch a call for a common European foreign and defence policy. In response to that piece this article questions whether the events of 15 February can really be seen as such a birth date, and argues that what the demonstrations indicate is rather the maturing of a global civil society. The role of technology, specifically the Internet, in the organization and form of the protests is ignored by Habermas in his analysis, and results in a blind spot concerning the events, which misses some of its most important elements. Rather than calling for a common European foreign and defence policy we should be looking towards a ‘double democratization’ on a global scale that reflects the significance of global civil society in the formal structures of a global parliament, and that must address technology as an important element in generating participation and deliberation amongst a global citizenry.

Keywords:

• global civil society
• cosmopolitics
• anti-globalization movement
• European public sphere
• Internet
• 15 February 2003

Notes

1. The article was co-signed by the late Jacques Derrida, who while not responsible for writing the document wanted to share its sentiment.

2. These are important reasons as to why I call for a ‘double democratization’ in the section ‘Representing Global Civil Society’.

3. For an example of the way in which NGOs operate online see Eugenia Siapera's discussion of asylum seekers' use of the Web (2004).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Joss Hands

Joss Hands teaches communication and media studies at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge. He recently co-edited with Eugenia Siapera, and contributed a chapter to, the volume, At the Interface: Continuity and Transformation in Culture and Politics (2004) from Rodopi Press. Other recent publications include ‘9/11 and the Project of Modernity’ (2005) in Philosophy and Social Criticism 31 (3).