8. Towards an ‘Even More’ Cosmopolitan Approach to Human Protection: Proposals on Extending the Cosmopolitan Trend

This chapter postulates a series of reforms which, if introduced, could strengthen the relationship between R2P and both the cosmopolitan form of human protection and Habermas’ constitutional cosmopolitan approach. These include fully enumerating R2P in international law, modifying a state’s perception of its ‘national interest’ and constructing an independent and voluntary military capacity exclusive to the UN. Such proposals would come to perpetuate the limited moral and legal progress thus far made towards a more cosmopolitan approach to human protection and heighten the sense of enthusiasm that surrounds the evolution towards this cosmopolitan typology. The chapter also puts forward recommendations that would help R2P to address the asymmetrical relationships and further weaken the imperialist trends that continue to run antithetical to Habermas’ linear and teleological assessment of the constitutionalisation process. More specifically, it champions the political reforms put forward under the aegis of cosmopolitan democracy and the endorsement of the Responsibility while Protecting (RwP) initiative which, if implemented, would further reinforce the sense of enthusiasm that already surrounds the transition towards a more cosmopolitan approach to human protection in the post-Cold War period.