ABSTRACT
Globalization, which as recently as the 1990s seemed destined to link the world's regions in ever-tighter connections, has unquestionably hit a number of speed bumps during the past two decades. Growing concerns about racism raised questions about globalization's role in furthering the exploitation of some groups of people by others. In recent years, hostile takes on globalization have been gaining ground in many different countries and from many different angles. From the left: globalization promotes economic and political systems that “threaten progressive goals, and should be recognized as such and fought at every level.” The historical approach also assists in dis-aggregating globalization in terms of constituent parts, each with a somewhat different historical background. This is where the importance of seeing globalization in terms of the accumulation of different patterns of contact, rather than as a single framework, emerges strongly.
