Manfred B. Steger

Urban sustainability in theory and practice : circles of sustainability

Part 1: Setting the Global-Local Scene 1. Confronting a World in Crisis 2. Defining the World around Us Part 2: Understanding Social Life 3. Social Domains 4. Social Mapping 5. Social Meaning Part 3. Developing Methods and Tools 6. Assessing Sustainability 7. Generating an Urban Sustainability Profile 8. Measuring Community Sustainability 9. Conducting a Peer Review 10. Adapting to Climate Change 11. Projecting Alternative Futures 12. Simulating Future Trends Conclusion

Ideologies of globalization

Taking issue with Michael Freedens sceptical assessment that ‘it is far too early to pronounce on globalisms status as an ideology’, this article seeks to establish that globalism not only represents a set of political ideas and beliefs coherent enough to warrant the status of a new ideology, but also constitutes the dominant ideology of our time against which all of its challengers must define themselves. After drawing careful analytic distinctions between often-conflated terms involving the concept of ‘globalization’, the main section of this article relies on three criteria suggested by Freeden to assess the ideological maturity of globalism. It is proposed that its conceptual structure be disaggregated not merely into core, adjacent, and peripheral concepts, but—perhaps more dynamically—into a set of six core claims that play crucial semantic and political roles. With regard to semantics, this article argues that these claims absorb and rearrange bits and pieces of several established ideologies and integrate them with new concepts into a hybrid meaning structure of genuine novelty. Their political role consists chiefly in preserving and enhancing asymmetrical power structures that benefit particular social groups. The article ends with a short experimental ‘thought exercise’ designed to bring the insights gained from my critical analysis of globalism to bear on the necessary project of reclassifying conventional political belief systems.

From market globalism to imperial globalism: Ideology and american power after 9/11

Abstract As capitalist liberalism reinvented itself in the last two decades, it drew largely on the ideas of nineteenth-century free-market philosophers. The Anglo-American framers of globalism spoke softly and persuasively as they sought to attract people worldwide to their vision of globalization as a leaderless, inevitable juggernaut that would ultimately engulf the entire world and produce democracy and material benefits for everyone. In the bellicose political climate following the attacks of September 11, however, many market globalists believed that the best way of maintaining the viability of their project was to toughen up their some of their ideological claims to fit better the neoconservative vision of a benign US empire backed by overwhelming military power. As a result, market globalism morphed into imperial globalism, but not without some dissent in the neoliberal camp. The Bush adminstrations switch from soft power to hard power tactics has been both documented and analyzed on the policy level in todays raging debates over whether or not the post-9/11 United States actually constitutes an ‘empire’. However, little attention has been paid to the corresponding ideological-discursive shift from a ‘soft’ narrative centered on the idea of a ‘leaderless market’ to a much tougher imperial language of American pre-eminence. Seeking to identify the major ideological differences between the market globalism of the 1990s and the imperial globalism of the 2000s, this essay analyzes a number of representative utterances and writings of influential advocates of globalism before and after 9/11. The discursive shift from market globalism to imperial globalism explicated in this essay attests to the central role played by ideology in the dynamics of growing global interdependence.

Levels of Subjective Globalization: Ideologies, Imaginaries, Ontologies

AbstractThe subjective dimensions of globalization have not received even close to the level of attention that has been paid to the objective dimensions of global interchange and extension. Seeking to rectify this neglect, we argue that the subjective dimensions of globalization can be conceptualized in terms of three dimensions or levels: ideologies, imaginaries, and ontologies. The Occupy Movement in several global locations seeks to challenge global capitalism as the dominant system of economics. At the ideological level, activists connected to Occupy tend to engage in fierce contestation of the global structuring of greed, thus exhibiting clear signs of global rebellion. However, the terms of debate and critique tend to become increasingly uncontested as we go deeper into examining the dominant social imaginary and the ontologies of modern time and space that underpin this general sense of the global. Occupy is clearly an important variant of “justice globalism” that has inspired scores of young activists to protest against increasing inequality and the growing concentration of wealth in the hands of a tiny minority. Still, we suggest that this important alter-globalization movement often works within many of the same subjective frameworks and precepts as the market-globalist world that it criticizes.

A Genealogy of ‘Globalization’: The Career of a Concept

Abstract ‘Globalization’ is an extraordinary concept. It is a complicated concept that burst upon the world relatively recently, but soon became a household concern. It is a concept that was rarely used until the 1990s, but processes of globalization had been happening for centuries. This article follows the genealogy of the concept from its unlikely beginnings in the 1930s–1950s to the heated scholarly debates across the end of the twentieth century to the present. Before it became a buzz word, the concept of ‘globalization’ began to be used in the most unlikely fields: in education to describe the global life of the mind; in international relations to describe the extension of the European Common Market; and in journalism to describe how the ‘American Negro and his problem are taking on a global significance’. The article begins to answer the question ‘Through what lineages and processes did the concept of globalization become so important?’ Drawing on textual research and interviews with key originating figures in the field of global studies, the article attempts to get past the usual anecdotes about the formation and etymology of the concept that center on alleged inventors of the term or references to first use of ‘globalization’ various dictionaries. The article tracks the careers of major scholars in relation to the career of the concept.

Religious Globalisms in the Post-Secular Age

This article explores the interconnections between mounting global crises and the emergence of the post-secular. Specifically, the article argues that the post-secular is both a description of and a response to shifting global realities in the twenty-first century. It describes the crisis of secular rationalism, brought about in many ways by an overemphasis on economic rationalism and neoliberalism (Steger et al., 2013). Yet, as noted by Jürgen Habermas (2006, 2008), Mariano Barbato (2010), and Justin Beaumont and Paul Cloke (2012), the post-secular offers a way of resisting, reforming, and potentially revolutionizing these dominant secular, rationalist, neoliberal frameworks that presently shape global politics and society. We suggest, however, that the influence of globalization has been under-theorized in these previous studies. In particular we argue that the intersection between the post-secular and emerging global political ideologies of market and justice globalisms is having a profound impact on religious movements, generating ‘religious globalisms’ that offer alternative responses to global crises around finance, poverty, and climate. Este artículo explora las interconexiones entre las crecientes crisis globales y el surgimiento de las sociedades postseculares. Específicamente, el artículo sostiene que el tema postsecular es tanto una descripción, como una respuesta a las realidades globales cambiantes en el siglo veintiuno. Describe la crisis de un racionalismo secular, suscitada de varias formas por una énfasis excesiva sobre el racionalismo económico y el neoliberalismo (Steger et al., 2013). Sin embargo, como lo señala Jürgen Habermas (2006, 2008), Mariano Barbato (2010), y Justin Beaumont y Paul Cloke (2012), la sociedad postsecular ofrece formas de resistir, reformar y potencialmente revolucionar esos marcos dominantemente neoliberales, racionalistas y seculares, que actualmente dan forma a la sociedad y la política global. Sin embargo, en estos estudios anteriores, sugerimos que la influencia de la globalización ha sido subteorizada. Sostenemos particularmente, que la intersección entre las ideologías de mercado políticas globales postseculares y emergentes, y la justicia del globalismo, está presentando un impacto profundo en los movimientos religiosos, generando un ‘globalismo religioso’ que ofrece respuestas alternas a las crisis globales alrededor de las finanzas, la pobreza y el clima. 本文探讨了正在加强的全球危机和后世俗的兴起之间的相互联系。特别是，本文认为后世俗既是对转变中的21世纪全球现实的描述，也是对这一现实的回应。通过多方面强调经济理性主义和新自由主义，它描述了世俗理性主义的危机（Steger et al., 2013）。甚至，如同哈贝马斯（Jürgen Habermas，2006, 2008），巴巴托（Mariano Barbato，2010），卜蒙特和克劳克（Justin Beaumont and Paul Cloke，2012)指出的，后世俗提供了对占主导地位的世俗、理性主义和新自由主义框架进行抵制、改革、以及潜在的革命的方法。新自由主义的框架目前塑造全球政治和社会。不过，我们认为，在这些以前的研究中，对全球化之影响的理论化不足。 尤其是，我们认为，在后世俗和正在兴起的市场的全球政治意识形态，以及正义的全球主义之间的交叉对于宗教运动具有深远影响，产生对于全球性的金融、贫困和气候的危机进行回应的“宗教的全球主义”（religious globalisms）。 이 글은 점증하는 지구적 위기와 탈세속의 등장 간의 상호연계를 분석한다. 구체적으로, 이 글은 탈세속이 21세기 변화하는 지구적 현실에 대한 묘사와 대응이라고 주장한다. 이 글은 경제 합리주의와 신자유주의에 대한 과잉된 강조를 낳은 세속적 합리주의의 위기를 기술한다 (Steger et al., 2013). 그러나, 위르겐 하버마스(2006, 2008), 마리아노 발바토(2010), 그리고 저스틴 보몬트와 폴 클로크(2012)에 의해서 언급된 바와 같이, 탈세속은 현재 지구적 정치와 사회를 만든 지배적인 세속적, 합리주의적, 신자유주의적 틀에 저항하고, 변형시키고 잠재적으로 혁명화하는 하나의 방식을 제공한다. 그러나 세계화의 영향이 이전의 연구들에서 제대로 이론화되지 못했다고 주장한다. 특히 우리는 탈세속과 등장하는 지구적 정치적 시장 이데올로기와 정의로운 세계화 간의 교차가 금융, 빈곤과 기후를 둘러싼 지구적 위기에 대한 대안적인 대응을 제공하는 ‘종교적 세계화’를 만들어 내면서 종교운동에 심대한 영향을 미치고 있다고 주장한다. В статье рассматриваются взаимосвязи между процессами глобальных кризисов и появлением постсекулярности. В частности, в статье утверждается, что постсекулярным является как описание, так и ответ на изменения глобальных реалий в двадцать первом веке. Она описывает кризис светского рационализма, вызванного, во многом, чрезмерным акцентом на экономический рационализм и неолиберализм (Штегер и соавт., 2013). Тем не менее, как отмечает Юрген Хабермас (2006, 2008), Мариано Барбато (2010), Джастин Бомон и Пол Клок (2012), постсекулярные предложения это способ сопротивляться, преобразовать, и потенциально реконструировать эти доминирующие светские, рационалистические неолиберальные структуры, которые теперь формируют глобальную политику и общество. Мы предполагаем, однако, что влияние глобализации было мало изучено в ходе предыдущих исследований. В особенности, мы утверждаем, что пересечение между постсекулярнотью и появляющимися глобальными политическими идеологиями рынка и глобализмом правосудия оказывает глубокое влияние на религиозные движения, порождая “религиозный глобализм”, который предлагает альтернативные ответы на глобальные финансовые кризисы, климатические, бедность.

It's About Globalization, After All: Four Framings of Global Studies. A Response to Jan Nederveen Pieterse's ‘What is Global Studies?’

The three core arguments of Jan Nederveen Pieterses (2013) thought-provoking examination of ‘global studies’ (GS), recently published in the pages of this journal, are seemingly straightforward: (...

Global Ideologies and Urban Landscapes: Introduction to the Special Issue

This article introduces the central problematic behind this special edition: the intersection of language and space as reflected in the interplay of global ideologies and urban landscapes. We aim to illuminate and problematise the production of ideologies as both discursive and spatial phenomena by grounding our analyses in cities of the global North and South. We outline our reasons for this focus in relation to the prominence of space in contemporary social theory and in relation to more everyday local-global conditions. Specifically, we point to the declining availability of conventional ‘public spaces’ as sites of ideological dissent; the proliferation of ideologically embedded metaphors and neologisms that narrow the diverse potentials of spatial transformation; the constraints that disciplinary boundaries place on socio-spatial inquiry; and the normative drive to build heterogeneous futures other than those set out by elites as universally ‘global’. We outline the contributions to this special edition in relation to these key themes. Este artículo introduce la problemática que constituye el tema principal de esta edición especial. La interacción de las ideologías de la globalización y el espacio urbano se reflejan en los cruces del lenguaje y el espacio. Con el fin de ilustrar y afianzar esta problemática, se analizara la creación de ideologías en ciudades globalizadas del norte y del sur como un fenómeno espacial y de discurso. A continuación enumeramos las razones de este enfoque con relación a la importancia del espacio en la teoría social contemporánea y su relación cada vez mayor con las condiciones locales-globales del diario vivir. Señalamos específicamente el deterioro de la disponibilidad de ‘espacios públicoś como lugares para el disentimiento de ideologías; la proliferación de metáforas y neologismos enquistados que disminuyen el potencial diverso de la transformación de los espacios; las restricciones generadas por límites disciplinarios en la búsqueda socio-espacial; y, la tendencia normativa que busca construir futuros heterogéneos que difieran de los establecidos por las elites como globalmente ‘universales’. Los temas mencionados anteriormente, son claves para esta edición especial.

Religion and Ideology in the Global Age: Analyzing al Qaeda's Islamist Globalism

Commenting on the remarkable convergence of religion and ideology in the global age, this article utilizes the method of morphological discourse analysis to examine and map the conceptual structure of al Qaedas Islamist globalism. Identifying a number of crucial concepts and claims at the heart of this “new” ideology, the essay shows how its principal codifiers—Osama Bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri—imagine community in unambiguously global terms.

Socialism and the Ideological Dimensions of Globalization

Steger focuses on a worldwide triumph of a market capitalism version of globalization. Following Ricoeur (1986), Steger portrays market ideology similarly to what we would call a culture, a version of individualism. That is, he argues that capitalist ideology/culture offers, first, a partial vision of reality. He stresses that, because this vision is partial, it is distorted. We add that all visions of reality are partial and thus distorted at least with respect to particular phenomena. Second, capitalist ideology/culture legitimates its partial view of the world. Third, it offers its adherents integration through means such as providing a shared identity based on common social activities that develop from similar patterns of selectively attending to and interpreting how the world works. Steger sees this identity as essentially “consumerist,” combining elements of what we called the popular culture and market capitalism versions of globalization in our introduction to part II. Steger sees this culture as having effectively vanquished the version of socialism that was embodied in the Soviet Union and similar societies. But he thinks the shallowness of this consumerist ideology is vulnerable to an alternative version of socialist egalitarianism stressing the civil, political, and socioeconomic rights of individuals.