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International Sociology
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The Transnational Social Question

Social Rights and Citizenship in a Global Context

Thomas Faist

Bielefeld University, thomas.faist{at}uni-bielefeld.de

In the 19th century, the `social question' was the central subject of extremely volatile political conflicts between the ruling classes and the working-class movements in Europe, North America and Australia. Are we now on the verge of a new social conflict, this time on a transnational scale? This analysis seeks to clarify main concepts and thus set the stage for future empirical research. The main argument is that various factors discourage one from expecting the establishment of sanctionable global social norms in the form of transnational social rights and social citizenship but that such a conclusion could be altered as a result of the mobilizing force of a politics of rights and obligations. The following five issues are thereby examined. First, what are the origins of the debate on transnational social rights? Second, what theoretical concepts are meaningful for an analysis of the transnational social question? Third, how advanced or fragmentary are social rights and citizenship in the different partial worlds? Fourth, how are existing transnational social standards regulated? Finally, what are the implications for an empirical analysis of the politics of social rights and social standards?

Key Words: globalization • inequalities • international • social rights • social standards • transnationalization • world society

International Sociology, Vol. 24, No. 1, 7-35 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0268580908099153
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