Cosmopolitan democracy is a political theory which explores the application of norms and values of democracy at the transnational and global sphere.[1] It argues that global governance of the people, by the people, for the people is possible and needed. Writers advocating cosmopolitan democracy include Immanuel Kant,[2] David Held,[3][4] Daniele Archibugi,[5][6] Richard Falk,[7] and Mary Kaldor.[8] In the cosmopolitan democracy model, decisions are made by those affected, avoiding a single hierarchical form of authority. According to the nature of the issues at stake, democratic practice should be reinvented to take into account the will of stakeholders. This can be done either through direct participation or through elected representatives.[9] The model advocated by cosmopolitan democrats is confederal and decentralized—global governance without world government—unlike those models of global governance supported by classic World Federalism thinkers, such as Albert Einstein.
In 2021, a global citizen's assembly was organised to coincide with COP26 in Glasgow in October–November 2021.[10] This is the first body that can claim to democratically represent the wishes of the global population.