International Sociology current issue

Contemporary Processes of Transnationalization and Globalization

Hofmeister, H., Breitenstein, A. P. — 2008-06-27

This opening article to this special issue on transnationalization and globalization first describes how transnationalization is different from globalization. It clarifies recent debates regarding the processes of transnationalization and locates the authors of this issue within these frameworks. In the process, this article and the special issue help unravel the dynamics of the complex term and phenomenon `transnationalization' and point to directions for fruitful future research.

Switching Power: Rupert Murdoch and the Global Business of Media Politics: A Sociological Analysis

Arsenault, A., Castells, M. — 2008-06-27

This article proposes a hypothesis on the nature of power in the network society, the social structure of the Information Age. It argues that the ability to control connection points between different networks (e.g. business, media and economic networks) is a critical source of power in contemporary society. It then tests this hypothesis through a case study of Rupert Murdoch, CEO of NewsCorp. The operational dynamics of Rupert Murdoch and NewsCorp are examined in order to illustrate how corporate media actors negotiate the power dynamics of the network society to serve their overarching business goals. It identifies key strategies used by these actors to penetrate new markets and expand audience share including: political brokering, leveraging public opinion, instituting sensationalist news formulas, customizing media content and diversifying and adapting media holdings in the face of technological and regulatory changes.

Foreign Direct Investment and International Migration: A Cross-National Analysis of Less-Developed Countries, 1985--2000

Sanderson, M. R., Kentor, J. — 2008-06-27

This study explores the impact of macro-level processes of the global economy on international migration. The authors utilize a cross-national panel regression analysis to examine the effect of foreign direct investment on the level of emigration from 25 less-developed countries between 1985 and 2000. The findings indicate that the stock of foreign direct investment increases net emigration over time, while trade integration lessens these movements. The level of economic development exerts no independent effect on out-migration once other factors are controlled. The results are discussed in the context of contemporary development and migration theories.

Facade Diversity: The Individualization of Cultural Difference

Boli, J., Elliott, M. A. — 2008-06-27

Diversity and multiculturalism are widely embraced principles, championed by many social movements and promoted through the programs and policies of states, businesses, schools and other organizations throughout the world. Purportedly celebrating and protecting group differences, these principles translate concretely into differences that operate as facades masking the underlying individualization of world society. Fundamental to this process is a dualistic globalization of the individual — both cultural and organizational — that impels the conscious construction of personal identities as both authentic and unique. Individuals therefore activate collective identity elements as sources of personal difference and distinctiveness. The nature of these collective identities is undergoing rapid change, however. The very forces impelling the championing of difference — rising individualism, egalitarianism, identity construction and uniqueness — diminish the degree of difference carried by collective identities, transforming corporate collectivities (once rooted firmly in geographic, ethnic, linguistic or ancestral ties) into categorical groups that provide identity not as a transcendent group property but as a volitional characteristic of categories of individuals. Corporate identities may not disappear, but as they are transformed into categorical identities they become facades behind which the depth of differences among the world's cultures and subcultures is diminishing rapidly.

Converging Divergences?: An International Comparison of the Impact of Globalization on Industrial Relations and Employment Careers

2008-06-27

Profound social and economic transformations have taken place over the last two decades in modern societies. These changes are often referred to as globalization. The aim of this article is to examine whether processes of globalization have produced increasing convergence of employment-related aspects of national-level welfare regimes, industrial relation systems and mid-career employment paths among a set of industrialized nations. A theory of convergence is developed to explain the coercive-isomorphic and mimetic-imitation effects of globalization, followed by potential reasons for growing divergence. The study concludes that globalization has produced `converging divergences' and not resulted in a simple convergence based on neoliberal and market employment-related policies that leads to a rise of patchwork careers for all employees. Rather, it has served to intensify existent differences between industrial relations in the welfare regime clusters of countries and accentuated within-country occupational class, educational and gender inequalities.

GlobalIndex: A Sociological Approach to Globalization Measurement

2008-06-27

This article suggests a multidimensional globalization measure, encompassing economic, (socio)technological, cultural and political dimensions of global change. This measure builds on previous work by Dreher, Lockwood and Redoano, the OECD and Kearney, but extends it by additional dimensions and indicators that represent central facets of a genuine sociological concept of globalization. The article first describes in detail the multidimensional nature of the globalization process and then develops an overall sociological index of globalization, which the authors call GlobalIndex. This index covers the development of globalization in 97 different countries from 1970 to 2002. Using the GlobalIndex, the authors describe the development of globalization on a worldwide scale as well as for different country contexts. Finally, they include the GlobalIndex as an explanatory variable in two micro-level longitudinal analyses of labour market transitions during the early career period in Germany and the UK.

Resumes/Resumenes

2008-06-27