Conclusion

In comparing the findings from the various socio-cultural contexts in which the studies reported here have been undertaken, some common findings emerge. One of the most compelling reasons for the commonality of findings across different social, economic and political contexts may be that the current era of globalization breaks and blurs traditional boundaries between cultures, time, space, ideologies and nations. The last decade of the twentieth century is marked by a break with tradition and the failure of grand narratives upon which nations were hitherto founded. This transformation period may variously be described as a divide, an interregnum and a transition. It is an era where traditional social processes are called into question and thus we could be seen to have entered a post-traditional era. In discussing this concept, Giddens (1994:104) states:

Tradition is effectively a way of settling clashes between different values and ways of life.… Tradition incorporates power relations and tends to naturalize them. The world of ‘traditional society’ is one of traditional societies, in which cultural pluralism takes the form of an extraordinary diversity of mores and customs—each of which, however, exists in privileged space.