Multicentric World and Nationalism

Abstract

There is a frightening return to nationalism in the contemporary world. A national identity seems to be invoked against tendencies of homogenization, unification, and globalization. However, it is not possible to understand the current configuration only as a cultural phenomenon. I argue that many of the homogenizing tendencies are driven by capitalism, which means that the dichotomy of globalization and nationalism has to be understood with reference to capitalism. The first section outlines the return of the multicentric world, while the second section seeks to identify tendencies of homogenization and resistance to unification and globalization more generally, especially on the level of culture. The final section of the paper will try to show that both capitalist globalization and nationalism bloc the opportunities that arise from the return of the multicentric world.