Bringing Moral and Cultural Cosmopolitanism Into Global Leadership Competencies: Promising Perspectives and Challenges

Abstract

Moral cosmopolitanism maintains that every person possesses equal moral value regardless of cultural, national, ethnic, or other differences. It promotes a form of cosmopolitan education that fosters peaceful coexistence both within and across national borders by encouraging meaningful engagement with cultural diversity in social, economic, and political contexts. Proponents of moral cosmopolitanism argue that it rejects limited moral concerns and loyalties to the narrow boundaries of particular groups or nations, as well as ethnocentrism, exclusionary mindsets and assumptions of privilege. Instead, it emphasizes local, national and global cooperation and leadership in addressing interconnected problems that affect people around the world and humanity at all levels. The purpose of this chapter is to situate moral cosmopolitanism within the field of global leadership competencies by identifying a set of three key cosmopolitan leadership competencies and highlighting their practical implications in education: (1) fostering ethics of care, (2) cosmopolitan diplomacy and (3) the art of cosmopolitan communication. The chapter identifies several educational challenges associated with the development of cosmopolitan leadership competencies relevant to multiple levels of education. Finally, the significance of this study for teacher education, curriculum studies across disciplines and educational policies is highlighted.