Globalisation
Does globalization create opportunities, especially for developing countries, or is it rather an existential threat to traditional economic and social structures? In our dossier, we provide some answers, balancing opposing views
Globalisation
Cultural Policy in the Maghreb
Is Northern Africa Losing Its "Soul"?
Poor governance and the pressure of globalisation mean the Maghreb runs the risk of losing its unique character. Yet only a small minority seems to be aware that this development is destroying an irretrievable part of the Maghreb identity. An essay by Beat Stauffer More »
The Arab World: Globalisation and Cultural Identitiy
Eyes Firmly on the Past
The well-known writer and media expert Khaled Hroub is critical of those who champion "cultural particularism" in the Arab world. He sees this way of thinking as being nothing more than a method of defending Arab despotism and the backwardness of the region More »
Ramzy Baroud
Grappling with an Encroaching Identity Crisis
Thanks to the unqualified and over-generalised scorn of "hegemonic Western imperialism" and the "shrewd ways of international Zionism", Arabs remain out of touch with an array of social and cultural crises, writes Ramzy Baroud More »
Tariq Ramadan
"Globalisation Critics Are Naïve"
Tariq Ramadan, Islamic scholar based in Geneva, says that it is time to stop defining Islam in opposition to the West. In this essay, he argues that the anti-globalist movement is naïve in thinking it can be successful without aligning with the Islamic world More »
François Zabbal
"Arab Intellectuals Avoid Critical Issues"
During the past decade most Arab intellectuals have decried globalisation without even asking themselves if it is not in fact an unstoppable process calling for a specific thought-out response from society. A critical analysis by François Zabbal More »
Abbas Beydoun
"A Whole Culture Has Collapsed"
In his essay, the Lebanese intellectual Abbas Beydoun talks about globalisation and alienation, about how developmental aid can confirm a feeling of inferiority, and about how the Middle East conflicts fits into all of this More »
Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd
"Modernity, Democracy Are Only for the Privileged"
The Egyptian scholar Hamid Abu Zayd criticizes the age-old border between the wealthy North and the impoverished South. It still exists, despite globalisation. Universal human values, however, cannot be a privilege restricted to the West More »
Pierre Abi-Saab
"Arab Culture Was under Threat before Globalisation"
"Identity versus globalisation?" was the subject of an international conference in Berlin. The only representative of the world of Arab culture was Pierre Abi-Saab, Lebanese journalist and editor-in-chief of the cultural magazine Al-Zawaya. Interview conducted by Youssef Hijazi More »
Ulrich Beck
"Muslim Societies and the Western World Can No Longer Be Considered to Be Separate Entities"
Ulrich Beck is one of the world's most renowned social scientists. In this interview, Beck talks about globalisation, cultural dialogue, cosmopolitan identity, and Muslim societies in the Western world More »
Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker
Trying to Reconcile Capital and Morality
In this interview, Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker, former chairman on a Parliamentary Study Commission on Globalisation, talks about capital and morality, about inequality as a virtue, and about the meaning of "glocalisation" More »
Susan George
"Democratic Rights Are in the Process of Eroding"
As vice-president of ATTAC France, Susan George is one of the leading figures in the worldwide anti-globalization movement. In this interview she talks about the tactics of alternative politics and asserts that the current world order is not inevitable More »
Hassan Hanafi
"Globalisation Is Western Hegemony"
Hassan Hanafi is known to be a severe critic of globalization. According to the professor of philosophy at the University of Cairo the phenomenon has no positive aspects at all More »
Navid Kermani
"Globalization Is a Very Ambivalent Process"
Navid Kermani says that an increase in globalization will not automatically lead to an increase in democratization. In our interview, the renowned German-Iranian publicist draws a balanced view of globalization and global conflicts More »
Samir Amin
"Globalization Is All about the Profit of Capital"
Samir Amin is the president of the "Forum Mondial des Alternatives", a network of intellectuals of the so-called "Third World". In this interview he takes a critical look at globalization and power politics More »
Portrait Shahla Shafigh
Globalization as a Prerequisite for Diversity
Iranian author and intellectual Shahla Shafigh stresses the positive aspects of globalization, for instance the possibilities of world-wide networking for global issues. A portrait by Fahimeh Farsaie More »
Analysis Sonja Hegasy
What Is the "Versailles of the Muslims Nations"?
The Arab world manifests a marked resistance against globalisation processes. Islam scholar Sonja Hegasy compares science and technology in the Arab world and in the West, highlighting the differences More »
Analysis Kadhim Habib
Globalisation and the Fears of the Islamic World
The exiled Iraqi politician and economist, Kadhim Habib, analyses the political and social background of the globalization debate and explains the globalization trauma that the Muslim world, in particular the Arab world, suffers from More »
