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research themes > |
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our research
The Centre conducts innovative and challenging research on key facets of globalisation:
global governance, global civil society and global security.
Researchers explore these concepts theoretically, engaging
critically with current debates to elucidate new ways of
seeing and understanding. Scholars also investigate the
nature and terrain of globalisation, focusing on particular
regions, issues and case studies, in order to unpick the impacts
and implications of global processes. The concepts around
which our research revolves are complex, sometimes contradictory
and often contested.
That is what makes the Centre’s work dynamic, challenging and influential.
research theme: global governance
The Centre understands global governance not as government but as a minimum framework of principles, rules and laws necessary to tackle global problems, which are upheld by a diverse set of institutions, including both international organisations and national governments.
The Centre’s aim is both to increase understanding and knowledge of global problems, and to encourage interaction between academics and policy makers
research theme: global civil society
Global civil society is about understanding globalisation ‘from below,’ from the perspective of ordinary people.
We see the concept as describing an emerging reality of global civic action and connectedness. But global civil society is a highly contested concept,
for which many meanings have been proposed but no agreed definition reached. We see this as an opportunity: debate about its meaning is part of what
global civil society is all about.
The Centre has adopted a four-pronged approach in this area: research, graduate training, interaction with practitioners,
and transnational institution building.
A key focus of our research is the relationship between civil society and problems of global security and political economy.
research theme: globalisation
There is growing awareness of the phenomenon widely described as
‘globalisation’: the speeding up of global communications and travel, the
transnationalisation of political and economic institutions, and the fact that
decisions which can deeply affect the lives or ordinary people are taken
further and further away so that they are less able to influence the situations
in which they are obliged to live. This complex phenomenon is not only about
greater connectedness, integration and homogenisation; it also involves
disconnectedness, fragmentation and diversity. Globalisation is about individual autonomy,
responsibility and participation. It embodies a growing global consciousness
and emerging sphere of shared values and ideas. We are interested in how
individuals try to take control of global processes rather than being
overwhelmed by them. This growing global public sphere can help cross the
divide between the global and the local, between elites and ordinary people.
research theme: global security
The impacts of globalisation are complex, contradictory and often
damaging to the security of ordinary people. The effects of global economic
processes - corruption, poverty and growing inequality – can destabilize
societies and undermine hard-won development gains. Further, the weakening of
the nation state, the growing cleavage between cosmopolitan and fundamentalist
perspectives, and rise of new forms of violence, threaten local and global
security. Our research seeks to understand the effects of these economic,
political and cultural processes of globalisation in order to identify
strategies and solutions to growing global insecurity in the 21st century.
research theme: regions
A major focus of the Centre's work is the way in which globalisation affects
regional dynamics. At present, our work mainly concentrates on
the Middle East and South East Europe.
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