ABSTRACT
This chapter moves the analysis to the global/international level, thus far absent due to the analytical strategy. The themes discussed in the three former parts of the book are resumed now at this level. The chapter draws directly upon international relations theory, with reference to international liberalism and realism, but especially to the so-called British School. It tackles therefore mores and trade, international law and regimes, external sovereignty, peace and war, external state capabilities and global autonomy via human rights, and the international political system. The dynamic contradiction between cosmopolitanism and the nation-state is stressed. Political modernity and authoritarian collectivism feature in the chapter, with developmental trends as well as the phases of modernity returning to the analysis. Climate change and global health in the aftermath of the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic are discussed as more empirical references of the conceptual approach. The global expansion of modernity is tackled and so is its importance for social theory.
