ABSTRACT
This chapter sheds light on the transforming conceptual landscape that draws the boundaries of the current political debate within the G7. It argues that without focusing on the set of master frame centered on globalization we cannot fully capture the political orientation of the G7. The chapter does so by focusing on the normative debate on globalization and by examining the principal master frames that have been developed in the last decades with reference to global politics. It first presents a general understanding of the nature and role played by global master frames in today’s global politics. It then identifies four master frames that delimit the boundaries of the current ideational debate on global politics, especially after the financial crisis. Two approaches are pro-globalization (neo-liberalism and cosmopolitan) and two are against globalization (localism and civilizationism). The chapter concludes by suggesting that we are perhaps on the verge of a major change in political orientation of the G7.
