ABSTRACT

This sophisticated book by internationally renowned theorist Zaki Laidi, tackles the problem of individual identity in a rapidly changing global political environment. He argues that it is increasingly hard to find meaning in our ever-expanding world, especially after the collapse of political ideologies such as communism.
With the breakup of countries such as the former Yugoslavia, it is clear that people are now looking to old models like nationalism and ethnicity to help them forge an identity. But how effective are these old certainties in a globalized world in a permanent state of flux?

chapter |12 pages

Introduction

chapter 1|12 pages

The meaning of the Cold War

chapter 3|7 pages

Out of step with time

chapter 4|14 pages

Universalism runs out of steam

chapter 5|16 pages

Europe and the crisis of meaning

chapter 6|10 pages

The loss of the link between nations

chapter 9|11 pages

Can Japan provide meaning?

chapter 10|7 pages

The regionalization of meaning

chapter 11|7 pages

Europe as meaning

chapter 12|8 pages

Asia, or regionalism without a goal

chapter 13|7 pages

America as a ‘social power’