Global sociology. Basic research strategies. Part I. Universalist approach

Abstract

The global sociology was formed at end of the XXthcentury — at the beginning of the XXIthcentury. It consists of a great number of sociological theories belonging to different sociological traditions with different methodological approaches. These theories have a common object field and a common vision of sociological problems which need to be analyzed. The aim of the article is to clarify and to give a theoretical structure to the object field of the global sociology as a specifie research sphere. This specifie sphere of sociological research has its own systemic character due to the unity of the object field. The object field of the global sociology is formed, first, by the processes which have shaped the contemporary global world and second, by the structure and order of this global world. The theoretical and methodological analysis of the theories which make up the global sociology shows that these theories can be divided into two large groups. The first group is formed by theories based on a universalist approach and a universalist vision of the actual global order. The universalist sociological perspective is rooted in the Enligtenmeht social philosophy, in the theories of development of classical sociology, in the original impulses of theories of modernization and Westernization. The uniting principle of all the mentioned theories is the common vision of the contemporary world as the one universal social space which to one extent or other transcends both concrete societies and nation-states. This large group of theories can be subdivided in two subgroups. The first subgroup of universalist theories views the contemporary global world with its order as a result of some original impulses of development of modernity. These impulses are being realized as the universal global order. The article analyzes the sociological theories of I. Wallerstein and A. Giddens as examples of such universalist theories. The second subgroup is formed by theories of globalization which are based on the analysis of the processes of digitalization, networking and also of new basic “mobilities” which are shaping a new global morphology of the space of “flows”. The theories of M. Castels, J. Urry and U. Beck are the examples of such universalis theories. The article also analyzes a global sociological universalist discourse which conceptualizes the global order through “theories of empire”.The Part I of the article is dedicated to universalis theories of global sociology. The Part II is dedicated to the second large group of theories of the contemporary global sociology. These theories are based on the civilization approach which views the contemporary world as a set of civilizations.