How to Think about Globalization? A Sociological Contribution to an Interdisciplinary Analysis

Abstract

Globalisation is a useful framework for the inquiry into contemporary social and economic processes. In order to do so, one has to oppose the current ideological representation of globalisation as the inevitable victory of economic liberalisation, and adopt a more analytical view. According to this view, the compression of spacetime, the systemic integration and interdependence and the heterogeneity of the world provide a new context for social institutions and agents. Full understanding of this context requires an interdisciplinary approach. Economics has to come closer to sociology and political science, and the historical and geographical background must be taken into account. Thus, new analytical perspectives could be explored, adding value to the available knowledge on globalisation.