Globalism, Nationalism, Tribalism: Bringing Theory Back In (2006) (original) (raw)

Globalism, Nationalism, Tribalism establishes a new basis for understanding the changing nature of polity and community and offers unprecedented attention to these dominant trends. The book charts the contradictions and tensions we all encounter in an era of increasing globalization, from genocide and terrorism to television and finance capital. Globalism is treated as an uneven and layered process of spatial expansion, not simply one of disorder, fragmentation or rupture. Nor is it simply a force of homogenization. Nationalism is taken seriously as a continuing and important formation of contemporary identity and politics. The book rewrites the modernism theories of the nation-state without devolving into the postmodernist assertion that all is invention or surface gloss. Tribalism is given the attention it has long warranted and is analyzed as a continuing and changing formation of social life, from the villages of Rwanda to the cities of the West. Theoretically adept and powerfully argued, this is the first comprehensive analysis that brings these crucial themes of contemporary life together. Contents PART ONE: RETURNING TO A THEORY OF SOCIAL FORMATION / Social Relations in Tension / Contending Approaches in Outline / Theory in the Shadow of Terror / PART TWO: RETHINKING FORMATIONS OF PRACTICE AND BEING / Constituting Customary Community / Communication and Exchange, Money and Writing / Time and Space, Calendars and Maps / Bodies and Symbols, Blood and Milk / PART THREE: REWRITING THE HISTORY OF THE PRESENT / State Formation: From Kingdoms and Empires to Nation-States / Nation Formation: From the Medieval to the Postmodern / Global Formation: From the Oecumene to Planet Exploitation / Conclusion: Principles for a Postnational World April 2006 · 392 pages Cloth (0-7619-5513-5) Paper (0-7619-5514-3) ""