How should we think about globalization in a post-globalization era?

Abstract

This article critically examines the challenges to the globalization paradigm observed throughout the world in the twenty-first century. While empirical evidence suggests that the policy-oriented globalization project of the 1990s has been superseded by different tendencies and policies, social-scientific scholarship in areas other than economics has not engaged with the notion of ‘post-globalization’. The principal reason appears to be the employment of different conceptual lenses, whereby globalization appears as a long-term process largely unaffected by short-term shifts. The article interrogates the conceptual terrain of globalization scholarship, arguing that several important developments require the adjustment of theoretical lenses and a greater flexibility in the use of globalization as a master concept. In order to perform such a task, the article outlines a series of ideas that could facilitate the development of a perspective capable of addressing the question of how we should think about globalization in a post-globalization era.