This thesis tries to evaluate the very large question of how globalization can be said to have an effect on democracy by reducing both concepts to a more usable format. In doing so it tries to evaluate how a special theory of democracy put forward by Robert Dahl in 1971 – polyarchy – could be said to be affected by the workings of contemporary globalization. When assessing the variables of the investigation, globalization is being represented by two constructed ideal images that are later measured against a set of seven variables extracted from Dahl’s theory. By the use of qualitative text analysis the constructed ideal types help provide a framework for how one can measure the effects of globalization on polyarchy. The analysis ends in a result where it is clear that if globalization is understood as a neo-liberal ideal image it is making the circumstances for the creation of polyarchies in the future more favorable. However, if globalization is understood as an ideal image of world-system theory explanations then the circumstances for future polyarchies are less favorable. In a concluding discussion important implications of the results are highlighted when the thesis concludes that regardless of ideological starting point globalization can be said to affect the theory of polyarchy in such a way that it is in dire need of reevaluation. At the same time the essay concludes that whenever the concept of globalization is being used with scientific ambitions by politicians, they need to be aware of, and reflect, the different results that it brings depending on how it is explained.

Changements climatiques, « trou » dans la couche d’ozone, dérèglement du cycle du carbone, érosion de la biodiversité ; l’ensemble de ces éléments atteste d’une amplification et d’une accélération contemporaine des perturbations dans les processus de structuration du système planétaire (Ecosphère) faisant écho à la progression de violences conjoncturelles et structurelles mettant en péril le « bien vivre » des sociétés et des individus les composant (Anthroposphère). Plus que sa dimension financière, à laquelle elle ne peut être réduite, la crise actuelle possède un aspect multiple et global qui met en lumière les caractères « insoutenable » (écologiquement) et « insupportable » (socialement) du modèle de développement contemporain. Dans ce cadre, ces éléments seront appréhendés à partir de la notion d’ordre et plus spécifiquement de la relation Ordre du Monde (OdM) Ordre Mondial (OM), afin de déterminer les conditions de leur compatibilité. Si l’Ordre du Monde renvoie à l’ensemble des lois naturelles du Cosmos, l’Ordre Mondial reste, malgré son utilisation récurrente, une notion à (re)construire. L’origine de notre réflexion se situe en ce sens dans la confusion récurrente qui existe entre deux réalités différentes, le Système Mondial Capitaliste (SMC) et l’Ordre Mondial. Cet amalgame résulte d’un double mouvement : la « naturalisation » du Système Mondial Capitaliste d’un côté et la « mystification » de l’Ordre Mondial de l’autre, qui tendent tous deux, conjointement, à réduire le second (Ordre Mondial) au premier (Système Mondial Capitaliste). Afin de dépasser ces contradictions apparentes, il conviendra de s’interroger sur les modalités de la transition vers un Ordre Mondial post-capitaliste, fondé sur l’en-commun ; dans cette optique, on s’interrogera plus particulièrement sur les voies de l’émancipation pensées à partir de l’Amérique latine. / Climate change, “hole” in the ozone layer, disorders of the carbon cycle, erosion of the biodiversity; all these elements gives evidence of an increase and a contemporary acceleration of the disturbances in the processes of structuring of the planetary system (Ecosphere) echoing the progress of cyclical and structural violence putting in danger the “good life” of societies and individuals composing them (Anthroposphere). More than her financial dimension, to which she cannot be reduced, the current crisis possesses a multiple and global aspect which brings to light the characters “unsustainable” (ecologically) and “unbearable” (socially) of the model of contemporary development. In this frame, these elements will be viewed from the notion of order and more specifically the relation Earth Order - World Order, to determine the conditions of their compatibility. If Earth Order refers to all the natural laws of the Cosmos, the World Order remains, in spite of its recurring use, a notion to build. The origin of our reflection is this way situated in the recurring confusion that exists between two different realities, the Capitalist World System and the World Order. This mixture results from a double movement: the “naturalization” of the Capitalist World System on one side and the “mystification” of the World Order of the other one, which aim both, jointly, to reduce the second (World Order) to the first one (Capitalist World System). To go beyond these seeming contradictions, it will be advisable to wonder about the modalities of the transition towards a World Order post-capitalist, based on the “shared-common”; in this optics, we shall wonder more particularly about the ways of the emancipation from the Latin America.

First appearing on potsherds around 3300 BC, the Indus script was primarily in use during the Mature Harappan period (ca. 2600-1900 BC) in the Indus Valley region, centred in the north-western region of the Indian Subcontinent. It is one of the last remaining undeciphered scripts of the ancient world. A great number of Indus inscriptions, however, have been uncovered at many archaeological sites in the Persian Gulf, discoveries that corroborate the inclusion of the Indus civilization as an active participant in the Mesopotamian-dominated Gulf trade of the 3rd millennium. In addition to exploring the current state of research surrounding the Indus decipherment attempts, the thesis will examine new perspectives on ancient history, arguing in favour of various possibilities of Mesopotamian, Elamite, and/or pre-dynastic Egyptian (North East African) cultural presences or influences in the ancient Indus River basin.

The arrest of Meng Wanzhou and the Huawei prosecution have revealed a mounting battle for high-tech supremacy between the United States and China. The ongoing technology war and the trade war are merely one dimension of a far-reaching and accelerating imperialist rivalry. The changing reality on the world stage has urged a reconsideration of the thesis of transnational capitalist class (TCC) and theory of globalization in general. By reviewing the historical debate between the globalist and critical realist schools, I argue that William Carroll’s theoretical frame of global capitalism grounded in corporate network research through emphasizing a dialectical process of the ‘making’ of the TCC is better equipped to explain the unfolding Sino-U.S. conflict. Following Carroll’s multilayered approach to corporate network research, I conduct a corporate network analysis to examine the directorate interlocks of 40 Chinese transnational corporations (TNCs) selected from the Fortune Global 500 list. My study has found that the transnational networks of Chinese TNCs have remained considerably sparse, contained within condensed national networks. The globalization of Chinese TNCs and Chinese corporate elite has been modest and has not undermined or replaced the national base. This is due to two crucial reasons: the statist character of Chinese capitalist class and the regionalized development of global capitalism and class formation. In concordance with Carroll’s network research of Western companies, my study of corporate China reaffirms the fragility of the TCC, its internal friction, and potential decomposition. It also provides a material ground for analyzing the Sino-U.S. inter-imperialist rivalry as a structural development out of global capitalism and its class relations. My thesis study, therefore, offers the first attempt to draw a direct linkage between corporate network formation and geopolitical conflict. / Graduate

This thesis examines the economic impacts of China's engagement in Nigeria. Various books and journals were used to help in formulating various objectives which include examination of how China’s economic activities in Nigeria perpetuate or challenge neo-colonial structure to find out the socio-political implications of China's economic engagement in Nigeria. To achieve the stated objectives, the study used a narrative literature review methodology (secondary data) in analyzing its findings. The study used Google Scholar for multidisciplinary sources as a search strategy and applying relevant keywords such as "China-Nigeria relations", "Chinese investments in Nigeria", and "economic impacts of China's engagement in Nigeria", one can retrieve a diverse range of scholarly literature spanning multiple disciplines. Thematic analysis (TA) was used to identify, examine, and report patterns found in data to highlight important concepts and ideas.The findings include that there are several economic impacts of Chinese investments in Nigeria such as GDP growth, employment creation, industrialization, and trade expansion. The thesis underscores the presence of neo-colonial elements within Nigeria, with colonial-era administrative systems and extractive economic practices continuing to shape governance frameworks and societal inequalities. China's involvement introduced alternative economic partnerships that offered opportunities for greater autonomy and development. It was also observed that Nigeria's increasing reliance on Chinese investments, loans, and trade partnerships, indicates a growing dependency that influenced policy decisions and domestic priorities. This economic dependency raised concerns about the potential for unequal trade relations and reliance on external aid and investment, echoing neo-colonial power dynamics.

Wie wollen wir diese hochgradig komplexe soziale Welt von heute verstehen, in der bald über 7 Mrd. Menschen auf vielerlei verschlungenen Kanälen miteinander kommunizieren und interagieren, ohne über eine brauchbare ‚General Theory‘ des gegenwärtigen globalen sozialen Weltsystems zu verfügen? Wie wollen wir verstehen, wie das soziale Weltsystem mit seiner ökologischen Umwelt interagiert, wenn wir über keine brauchbare universelle Theorie verfügen, die hinlänglich präzise erklären könnte, wie die ‚globalen Zustände‘ zustande kamen und kommen? Adornos legitime Erbin argumentiert wider die vorherrschende Meinung, das grandiose Scheitern des Marxismus-Leninismus habe große historische Welterklärungsversuche ein für alle Mal diskreditiert. Aufbauend auf einer akribischen Kritik Anthony Giddens‘ zeitdiagnostischem Spätwerk, entwirft die vorliegende Untersuchung den Bauplan einer ‚Forschungsplattform Anthropogenes Weltsystem‘, die vielleicht irgendwann tatsächlich leisten kann, woran Kritische Theorie bislang noch immer scheiterte: schrittweise das Verständnis schaffen, das geschaffen werden muss, damit die Menschheit hoffen darf, die über kurz oder lang drohende doppelte soziale und ökologische Krisis des 21. Jahrhunderts zu meistern.

This diploma thesis deals with inequalities within the Word economic development. The development is conceived in the context of world systems theory for the proper evaluation of this development. The question, whether there is a convergence or divergence across countries and groups of countries is an important question of contemporary studies of globalization. While proponents of modernization theory tend to say that countries converge, adherents of world systems theory mostly think the opposite. Another contribution of this work is the evaluation of economic development not based only on the production capabilities and growth. The approach is more complex and includes the development of the society as a whole. Therefore, Human development index was used for analysis and the researched period was set to 1980-2014 due to data availability. The analysis deals not only with inequalities between the parts of the world system, but partially also with inequalities within these parts. The theoretical part consists of discussion of the existing studies of world systems and economic development and explains the necessary terms and context. Practical part is made of own regionalization of the world into three parts of the world system (core, semiperiphery and periphery) based on criteria chosen according to...

Cette thèse analyse le système‐monde maçonnique entre 1717 et 1921, perçu comme un produit et un agent de la modernité occidentale, comme le prototype fondateur de l’opinion publique internationale et comme une plaque tectonique de la géoculture du système-monde moderne. Elle fluctue entre une perspective globale, une perspective atlantique et un ancrage latino‐américain, fourni notamment par les principales puissances océaniques d’Amérique latine (Argentine, Brésil, Mexique). Quelle fut l’évolution globale des réseaux maçonniques au cours des XIXe et XXe siècles ? Quelle fut leur géopolitique et leur géoculture ? Dans quelle mesure peut‐on ou non parler de « système maçonnique international » ? Quelle fut la place de l’Amérique latine dans cette dynamique ? Comment le sous‐continent américain s’intégra‐t‐il dans le système‐monde maçonnique ? Les réseaux maçonniques y furent‐ils une plaque tectonique géoculturelle et des vecteurs de transferts culturels ? Contribuèrent‐ils à l’intégration du sous‐continent américain au sein de la grande communauté atlantique mais aussi à l’intégration et à l’autonomisation latino américaine ? / This thesis investigates the birth and development of the Masonic world‐system, seen as a product and an agent of western modernity, as the prototype of international public opinion and as a tectonic plate of the géoculture of the modern world‐system. This text focuses on the first period of its development (1717‐1921). It fluctuates between a global perspective,an Atlantic perspective, and a Latin American anchorage, provided by the major oceanic powers of Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico). What was the global evolution of the Masonic networks in the 19th and 20th centuries? What were their geopolitics and their géoculture? Is it possible to talk about an "international Masonic system"? What was the place of Latin America in this dynamic? How the American subcontinent became a part of the Masonic world‐system? In Latin America in the 19th and 20th centuries, were the Masonic networks a tectonic plate of géoculture and the vectors of cultural transfers? Did they contribute to the integration of the American sub‐continent in the Atlantic community? Did they contribute discreetly to the regional integration and to the Latin American empowerment ?

This dissertation studies the development of the environmental issue from a discursive perspective. Through an analysis of views on nature and the environment in several NGOs and main political organs, the dissertation tries to explain how a certain view became hegemonic. The analysis pertains to the period between the publication of Silent Spring in 1962 and the introduction of the concept sustainable development by the UN in 1987. From a realistic starting point and with critical discourse analysis (CDA) as its method, the dissertation aims to identify causal powers and mechanisms that have generated and institutionalized the environmental discourse. An analytical model is developed and applied on three levels; a sociolinguistic, institutional, and macrosocial level; which also reflect the methodological progression of the study from description to explanation. The result shows that the discursive practice was hegemonized by a Western view promoting economic growth. This discourse gradually gained ground at the expense of an anti-systemic discourse which posited structural societal changes as the answer to environmental problems. Mechanisms such as the exclusion of some views and actors from common discursive practices were crucial for the process of homogenizing the discourse and developing consensus. Through incorporating that part of the environmental movement which did not fight the dominant economic and political system, the UN turned it into support for its own project, which is part of the process of hegemony. At the same time the environmental objectives of the hegemonic discourse were established in the institutional spheres. The institutionalization of the environmental issue changed the focus from social critique to a question of development and technology, something which helped displace the original critical and partially anti-systemic character of environmental discourse. Through turning the critical and negative account of the situation into a more harmonious and hopeful vision, for instance in terms of sustainable development, a foundation was laid for the later development of ecological modernization. When the hegemonic discourse invested the concept of sustainable development with emphases on progress and economic growth, it encapsulated the environmental issue within the framework of the prevailing social system. / <p>With summary in English and Spanish/Con resumen en inglés y en español</p>

Esta tese é um estudo sobre as condições do desenvolvimento político, econômico e social da Indonésia contemporânea, com ênfase no período posterior à queda do General Suharto, em 1998. Colônia holandesa até o final da Segunda Guerra Mundial, a Indonésia enfrentou as dificuldades costumeiras dos países do Terceiro Mundo: peso da herança colonial, pressões externas no clima da guerra fria, conflitos internos quanto às formas de governo, pendendo para soluções autoritárias. O autor procurou caracterizar o modelo de inserção do país no sistema-mundo, assinalando as relações de dependência e as possibilidades de autonomia resultantes da complexa interação entre seus grupos sociais internos e agentes externos. Pela análise da trajetória recente, da estrutura social, das condições do sistema produtivo e dos padrões do comércio exterior da Indonésia, observou-se que o modelo de desenvolvimento atual, por um lado, não corresponde necessariamente a uma ruptura da dependência em relação ao centro do sistema, mas, por outro, abre espaço a iniciativas de cooperação com outras nações do Sul geopolítico. A tese reconstitui o processo de construção do modelo, as tensões sociais e políticas resultantes das escolhas das elites dirigentes do arquipélago e os limites e perspectivas de parcerias com países de características semelhantes no mundo em desenvolvimento, como o Brasil. / This thesis is a study on the conditions of political, economic and social development in contemporary Indonesia, emphasizing the period after the fall of General Suharto in 1998. A Dutch colony until the end of World War II, Indonesia faced the usual difficulties of Third World countries: the burden of its colonial legacy, external pressures from all sides during the Cold War, internal conflicts related to its political system, which often tended towards authoritarian solutions. The author sought to characterize how Indonesia was integrated into the World-System, pointing out the dependency relationships and the possibilities of autonomy resulting from the complex interaction between domestic social groups and external agents. By analyzing Indonesia’s recent history, social structure, economic production and foreign trade patterns, it was noted that although the Indonesian current development model does not necessarily breaks its dependence on the center of the World-System, it somehow favors initiatives in cooperation with other nations of the South. The thesis is concerned with the constitution of the Indonesian development model, the social and political tensions resulting from the choices of elites in the archipelago and the limits and prospects for partnerships between Indonesia and similar countries in the developing world, like Brazil.