Ali Kamali Department of Government, Social Work
and Sociology, Missouri Western State College, St. Joseph, MO 64507
Berger, Peter L. and Huntington, Samuel P., eds. Many
Globalizations: Cultural Diversity in the Contemporary World. New
York: Oxford University Press, 2002. 374 pp. $35.00 (cloth).
In an effort to illustrate the globalization process, Peter Berger and
Samuel Huntington undertook a monumental empirical study that utilized
an international team of experts—groups of well-established social
scientists and their respective teams—who focused on the most feared
issue in recent decades: the impact of the globalization process and
its unexpected consequences. Many Globalizations is a
collection of research endeavors on globalization and its forces in
China, Taiwan, Japan, Germany, Hungary, South Africa, Chile, Turkey,
and the United States. It is comprised of four parts, and as the list
shows, each part illustrates a few examples of cultural and economic
globalization from each of the four continents (excluding Australia)
around the world. In completing this work, Berger/Huntington et al
hoped that perhaps continental examples of globalization reflect some
of the similar patterns that are noticeable in the neighboring
regions.
One of the most
interesting aspects of the discussion presented in Many
Globalizations is its emphasis on cultural globalization. This is
an important point of departure for the book that makes it unique when
compared with other existing work on globalization in terms of 1) its
diversion from being exclusively economic oriented and 2) borrowing
from the macro-theoretical perspective. In addition, the discussion
presented in this volume takes field and empirical work as its
methodology and attempts to portray a new picture of globalization
that has been missing in the literature. Thus, the series of the
discussions presented in Many Globalizations tries to unravel
the myths that surround globalization, and questions the notion of
globalization as a predominantly American, imperialistic phenomenon.
This approach, of course, complements the studies of globalization in
the sense that Many Globalizations is among the first academic
endeavors that have raised concerns regarding the validity of
"globalization" as a monolithic and viable option for solving economic
problems in the contemporary world. However, Many Globalizations
diverts from other studies by reminding the reader that there are
emerging new patterns and trends at the global level that are
non-economic in nature and multidimensional in character. According to
Berger/Huntington et al, these emerging patterns may appear on the
surface as adopting a kind of American "global culture," but are not
affected by its central classical imperialism—i.e., homogenization via
"McDonaldization" or "metastasized Disneyland."
The initial depiction of
such a notion of globalization in the studies conducted here was one
of Peter Berger’s original critiques of the literature that treated
globalization as an extremely exaggerated phenomenon in research. In
this regard, the globalization process for Berger/Huntington et al is
a cultural one that symbolizes an alternative to economic
globalization. The central thesis in Many Globalizations rests
on the idea that neither economic nor cultural globalization is the
great salvation or hope adorned with democracy, equality, and
prosperity that everyone is expecting it to bring about. Although the
two may appear to be intertwined, the studies that focused on India,
Japan, and Turkey observed an emerging pattern of alternative
globalization that could be defined as local "cultural movements with
a global outreach originating outside of the Western world" (p. 12).
This finding is particularly significant in the characterization of
globalization because most everyone who subscribes to modernization
theory assumes that globalization operates as an agent of
modernization that originates from the West and spreads throughout the
world. One can detect only one obvious implication in the idea of
"alternative globalization" emphasized in this book: that there are
other paths to modernization than the Western-oriented efforts. Hence,
Berger/Huntington et al present the alternatives and the multifaceted
complexity that such alternatives could bring about to the
contemporary world. From this viewpoint, it is safe to say that
Many Globalizations is a pioneering academic work. The fact that
the studies reported in this volume did not confine themselves solely
to the economic aspects of globalization — the focus on the cultural
aspects of globalization and the impact they have on local and
regional cultures — attest to this point.
In line with the above
thesis, the findings in this book suggest that globalization is not a
predominantly Western phenomenon. The collective research efforts in
this volume show that not only aspects of Western popular culture have
gained indigenous momentum when brought to local regions, but also
indigenous cultures have taken off as global forces. Some examples
include Neo-Buddhist movements in Taiwan, the Love Parade in Germany,
African Indigenous Churches, a Confucian frame of thinking among the
merchant class in China, and the evangelical movement in Chile that
have become global trends exemplify not only localization but also a
form of hybridization that carries a non-American and non-Western
message. The authors maintain that localization of this kind, however,
is more far reaching than a simple diffusion of American or Western
cultural practices or convergence. As a result, according to the
studies cited in Many Globalizations, Eastern philosophies and
religions have gained positive momentums, and their pendulums are
having sweeping swings for attracting millions of people around the
globe—especially, in the West. This is the area where
Berger/Huntington et al seriously question a purely Western notion of
economic globalization and show many globalization processes and
globalizing forces that are emanating from non-Western countries.
Their discovery is significant in that they reveal the nature of
globalization as a reciprocal process between Western and non-Western
societies. However, it is intriguing to see that the research cited
here easily treats locality as a controlling interest; that is, the
tension between global and indigenous cultures converges at a
crossroad at the local level.
Although some of the
studies in Many Globalizations focus on the positive aspects of
globalization, most contributors are critical of the process of
globalization—whether economic or cultural. In the meantime, these
authors do not perceive globalization as a homogenizing threat.
However, a common theme in all of these reports is their critical look
at the literature and how other scholars of globalization have treated
globalization as a simple process for solving global problems. The
authors commonly believe that the shape that globalization has taken
is a complex one and must be dealt with in conjunction with the plans
and changes envisioned by each country’s actors of globalization
(elites and local governments). These actors are more likely to be the
hybrid products of the local cultures, who are accountable for a
localized process of globalization and their Western training or
partnership encounters necessitate them to conduct their duties based
on the assumptions, principles, and theories that are rooted in
foreign (Western) cultures. Nevertheless, despite what is expected of
the local actors, research in Many Globalizations uncovers a
paradoxical behavioral tendency by these actors that reflects a
combination of a sense of national-cultural pride and patriotism, on
the one hand, and a sense of western education and training, on the
other. Hence the overall discussion in this volume shows that cultural
globalization is even more difficult than economic globalization to
control.
The research team put
together for this project is another interesting feature of Many
Globalizations. The contents of the research reports published in
this volume show that the selected scholars are highly diverse in
their orientation and perspective. The diversity in thought and
outlook, and variability in their interests and expertise are among
the qualities that have added to the overall perspective of the
presentation in this book. As a result, the current work qualifies to
be an amalgamation of a broader and more complete definition of
globalization. The attention that the authors have paid to a variety
of issues that relate to globalization—e.g., popular culture, tastes
and preferences, Evangelical and conservative Catholic movements, and
even the effects of Buddhism and modern Islam, etc.—all have
contributed to the field in the following ways: 1) it is a
groundbreaking and pioneering work in its own right, 2) it laid down
the ground work for subsequent studies, and 3) it contains materials
that can be of interests to a diverse audience.
In sum, Many
Globalizations: Cultural Diversity in the Contemporary World gives
a picture of the globalization process that contradicts the popular
image that sees the emerging global culture as mostly Western, English
speaking, and elitist. The collective message in the studies published
in this book is that there is an emerging global culture, and the
elites—who are predominantly functional in the areas of business,
global trade, academic environments, and missionary religious
groups—are the vehicles for its diffusion that cultural globalization
is neither the threat nor the hope that some have envisioned in a
homogenized world. Instead, we are facing an era in which indigenous
globalizing movements are counterbalancing the forces of Western
cultural hegemony and, most importantly, are producing many hybrid
cultural innovations. This study, as Berger and Huntington rightly
claim, contributes significantly to the study of globalization about
which field research and the empirical data have been scant despite
the volumes of published materials. Many Globalizations
presents a variety of interesting discourse, as well as enough hints
to launch other important studies. Because the book focuses on some of
the pressing contemporary issues and explores their importance to
developing countries in the globalization equation. The book makes an
informative addition to the list of reading in social stratification,
sociology of development, cultural studies, and international
relations.
