Global, Transnational, Regional, National: The Need for Nuance in Theorizing Global Capitalism

Abstract

In ‘Global capitalism theory and the emergence of transnational elites’ (in this issue), Bill Robinson has delivered an impressive summary statement of the theory he has been developing with colleagues over the past decade. The formulation takes us some distance toward an interpretation of the con-temporary global capitalist order, or perhaps, disorder. However, despite its many insights, Robinson’s analysis is not without its difficulties. I offer these reflections in a spirit of sympathetic critique.