The History of Globalization: Methodological Approaches and Historiography of the Problem

Abstract

Modern theoreticians of Global History differ in opinion as to the definition of Globalization and up till now there is no single definition, which would satisfy most scientists. Some of them believe this phenomenon to be irreal because it is impossible to clearly separate it from other social processes and phenomena or because it do not has clearly defined place in the geographical space. In most cases Globalization are understood as: We are living today in an age of rapid globalization. Its pace has accelerated in the past several decades, particularly since the end of the Cold War. The main thrust for globalization involved a high degree of Westernization, it by no means resulted in homogenization but everywhere produced diverse responses to the West rooted in indigenous cultures. In fact, we have witnessed homogeneity resulting from processes of globalization and at the some time increasing heterogeneity. Globalization thus is extremely complex and variegated, on the one hand indeed leading to high degrees of homogeneity in economic organization, technological and scientific developments and even lifestyles following Western patterns, on the other hand to marked divergences from Western outlooks and practices and even to pronounced resistance to Western influences. In this article we intend to examine the transformation of historical thinking and writing within this larger global context. Globalization is realized in the form of bilateral, multilateral and collective relation. Global System is usually understood as hierarchically structurized integral complex of actors of international relation, which are interconnected by constant relations. Until the early 21th century the investigation of Global History was performed within a whole number of social science: philosophy, history, sociology, legal and economic sciences. The theory of globalization is a science, which tries to logically and reasonably interpret the most essential phenomena and processes as well as interrelation between them using its own methods. Conflict and cooperation are the most important manifestation of the state of international relations and logically proceed from structural peculiarities of current global system.