From the Polis to the City: Perspectives on Global Justice. The Border Crossing Seminar 2

From the Polis to the City: Perspectives on Global Justice is the second major publication of The Border Crossing Seminar (BCS), a cross-border initiative founded by the University of Milano-Bicocca and the University of Notre Dame to foster interdisciplinary dialogue on justice, democracy, and citizenship in a global age. Building on the earlier volume Borders, Sovereignty, Rights (2013), this book shifts the focus from sovereignty and transnational governance to the evolving political and normative significance of the city. Tracing a historical and philosophical trajectory from the ancient Greek polis to the contemporary global metropolis, the volume examines how urban spaces shape and are shaped by struggles over belonging, rights, and collective justice. The city emerges as both a site of democratic renewal and a terrain of fragmentation, marked by inequality, migration, and cultural pluralism. Through critical engagement with the ethical and political dimensions of mobility, the contributors challenge static notions of sovereignty and citizenship, proposing instead relational and cosmopolitan frameworks grounded in vulnerability, responsibility, and interdependence. Combining theoretical reflection with attention to lived urban realities—exemplified by the case of Milan—the volume advances a vision of transcultural dialogue and critical solidarity. It ultimately argues that justice in an interconnected world must be reimagined through the dynamic spaces of the city, where global and local forces converge and where more inclusive political futures may be forged.