Rousseau’s Considerations on the Government of Poland and the General Will Beyond Borders
ROUSSEAU’S CONSIDERATIONS ON THE GOVERNMENT OF POLAND AND THE GENERAL WILL BEYOND BORDERS

Summary/Abstract: Jean Jacques Rousseau’s thought is typically understood as avowing eithercosmopolitan principles or patriotic ones. While a few studies have consideredthe compatibility of these principles, mostly Rousseau’s cosmopolitan ideasseem impractical or even incompatible with his approach to republican politicaltheory. This is especially asserted in regard to the affective or emotional ties andcommitments that allow Rousseauian citizens to practice the politics of commongoods. Karma Nabulsi argues, outside of this typical dichotomy, that Rousseau’sGeneral Will and the affective ties between people that go with it are actuallycompatible with global politics. This article returns to this issue and shows thatNabulsi is right but that the General Will can only be transnational; it cannot becosmopolitan. Using Rousseau’s Considerations on the Government of Polandto show the connection between the General Will in federal and transnationalcircumstances, I argue that the traditions necessary to maintain these affectiveties can be dissociated from unitary political communities but cannot be extendedat once to all of humanity. This recognition may be important since the focus oninstituted traditions may prove a precondition for actually building transnationalaffective commitments, which in turn may be pivotal for realising other normativeconcerns in international political theory.

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