Kabul cosmopolitan

Geopolitical empire from the planner’s viewpoint

Bibliographic Data

ID12710261
AuthorsPietro Calogero (0000-0003-1970-2005, University of California, Berkeley, corresponding author)
Year2011
Volume10
Issue1
Pages66-78
Publication date2011-02-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePlanning Theory (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1473-0952 • E-ISSN: 1741-3052
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1473095210386105
OpenAlexW2017527446
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited23

This article uses cosmopolitanism as a theoretical lens to explore both the urbanism and the ethics of planning in Kabul. The Cosmopolis arguments of Sandercock is synthesized with the political argument of Mouffe to articulate a concept of agonistic cosmopolitanism in contrast to a concept of globalizing cosmopolitanism. The practices that shape urban life in Kabul resemble what Simone describes as worlding processes in cities of sub-Saharan Africa. Under such adverse conditions, Kabulis demonstrate vital aspects of agonistic pluralism. Conversely, a transnational community in Kabul embodies a less critical, presumptively global cosmopolitanism through the production of a Global Village that encourages socially disruptive land speculation. The value of a more critical, agonistic understanding is then demonstrated through the analysis of an unexpected discrepancy in planning ideals between the national and local planning agencies in Kabul. This analysis suggests a new ethical task for urban planners: to challenge geopolitical empire through a cosmopolitan ethic that embraces the substantive conflicts which come with actual recognition and political inclusion of the Other

Argument (complex analysis · Cosmopolitanism · Empire · Environmental ethics · Geopolitics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Law · Philosophy · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East · Urban and Rural Development Challenges · Urban Planning and Governance

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