ABSTRACT
It is only in the last decade that a number of related processes which combine to increase the interconnectedness of social life at the world level have come to be known as globalization. But major claims have already been made for the social impact and theoretical significance of the phenomenon. For Robertson its discussion ‘touches just about every aspect of academic disciplines’ (1992:9). For Giddens the term ‘must have a key position in the lexicon of the social sciences’ (1990:52). Robertson construes the concept as referring ‘both to the compression of the world and the intensification of consciousness of the world as a whole’ (1992:8). Giddens defines it as ‘the intensification of worldwide social relations’ (1990:64). Both agree that its consequence must be a refocusing of sociological work.
