This book review was written by Eugene Kernes
“Starting from that point, I will
argue that it is not the nation-state in trade, diplomacy, or war that makes an
international system, but an international system that makes a state trade, act
diplomatically, and go to war. This
inversion of the utilitarian logic is at the heart of the globological
(sociology on a world scale) critique of international relations theory.” –
Albert Bergesen, Turing World-System Theory on its Head, Page 76
“There is now a world culture, but we had better make sure
that we understand what this means. It
is marked by an organization of diversity rather than by a replication of
uniformity. No total homogenization of
systems of meaning and expression has occurred, nor does it appear likely that
there will be one any time soon. But the
world has become one network of social relationships, and between its different
regions there is a flow of meanings as well as of people and goods.” – Ulf
Hannerz, Cosmopolitans and Locals in World Culture, Page 237
“An examination of conflicts and their relationship with
culture also needs to take heed of the specific conditions under which
conflicts probably arise.
Intercultural tensions and misunderstandings occur if any of the
participants in intercultural communication implicitly or explicitly acts in
violation of others’ expectations. Where
cultural constraints are low, a relatively high level of insecurity and risk
prevails in the intercultural interaction.
Conversely, if there is a high degree of cultural constraint the
prevailing level of insecurity and risk is relatively low. The potential for conflict between strangers
is relatively greater in situations with low cultural constraints than in those
with high constraints. To put it another
way, the danger of committing an error of interaction is greater when there are
no specific rules governing and guiding the various episodes of interaction.” –
Volkmar Gessner, and Angelika Schade, Conflicts of a Culture In Cross-border
Legal Relations, Pages 258-259
Is This An Overview?
Global culture is marked by diversity rather than
uniformity. Composed of a network of social
relationships, and flows of meaning and people across borders. Methods of communication that carry local
cultures across the globe. A collection
of local cultures, which are better understood within the context of other
cultures than in isolation.
Cultures define differences between groups. Each person can participate in many cultures. Conflicts and misunderstandings occur during
intercultural exchange when there are violations of expectations of
behavior. Guidelines or governing rules
that determine how to interact between cultures are used to prevent risk of
cultural animosity. Individual behavior
shape and is shaped by culture.
International systems are not made by diplomacy, rather, international
systems cause states to behave diplomatically.
Caveats?
This book can be difficult to read. The writing style of the diverse authors is
generally lengthy prose descriptions of abstract topics. At times, the different authors discuss the same
topic differently, without becoming more informative.
