Barrie Axford
Biographic Data
| ID | 1217411 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Barrie Axford |
| GIVEN NAMES | Barrie |
| FAMILY NAME | Axford |
| SIGNATURE | AXFORD B |
| AFFILIATIONS | Oxford Brookes University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-3612-7954 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 24 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 61 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 24 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1992 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
You say de-globalization, I say post-globalization; but don’t call the whole thing off (with apologies to Ira Gershwin)
Victor Roudometof's thought-provoking article revisits questions the academy has asked of itself ever since globalization became a must-have concept in the late 1980s: What are we talking about? Have we got it and to what degree? Where is it headed? And finally, what does all this mean for the social-scientific prospectus? Answers to the first two questions are superficially easy but how we respond to them still has a profound bearing on the deme…
Global Studies
At a time of heated debate on the future of humanity and the resilience of Earth system processes – atmospheric, geological, hydrological, biospheric, and on the planetary and extraplanetary implications of such a loss of resilience – it seems appropriate to interrogate the field of global studies over its scope and ambition when addressing global processes, forms and consciousness. This article is a contribution to the science of globalization, …
Why Globalization Matters
Picking over the Bones
In this essay I preface a discussion of “indifferent” globality, as seen in the agency of microbes and smart machines, and populism as an exemplar of tensions in local-global entanglements, with a brief excursus on the what exercises current scholarship on the global. The whole is written with Protosociology’s 30 year engagement with hard questions in social theory in mind
Pathological Localism or Vernacular Glocalization Populism, Globalism and the Everyday Politics of Anger
Globality and consciousness of it are reflexively linked, possibly through a modal empathy whereby all humanity has a built-in predisposition for social understanding and cooperation. But in more ardent accounts of world-making, global awareness produces not empathy but identities in conflict, insecurity and woundingly agonistic politics. An intriguing and forceful example of global consciousness having the potential to cut both ways is the curre…
A modest proposal
This article addresses key issues for the scholarship of globalization as these are broached in Steger and James’ recent volume Globalization Matters. First, need we be wary of the lure of seeking an integrated theory of globalization, with all that this implies? ‘Integrated’ is a seductive but vague and loaded term in the lexicon of global (or any) theory, and has to be weighed. Second, must caution over integrated theory extend to being leery a…
Political Sociologies of the Cultural Encounter
The World-Making Power of New Media
In this new work, Axford seeks to contribute to the development of global theory, particularly where it engages with the contested idea of globality; a concept which musters as consciousness, condition, framework, even system. By examining emergent globalities through the lens of world-making communicative practices and forms, the author demonstrates their transformative social power and underlines the cultural dynamics of globalization. Taking a…
The Multiple Modernities Debates as a Prospectus for Global Scholarship
Mastery Without Remainder
Macro- lite
In this article, I interrogate elements of a global and European Studies scholarship to be found in the imbrication of sociological institutionalism, modern systems theory and network analysis, where the latter includes complexity models of social (dis)order. I note tensions between them and express concern with their bloodless treatment of agency and, more variably, consciousness while still holding out the possibility of synergy. I argue that t…
You Had Me on ‘Global’ and ‘Studies’ Too, I Think
Additional informationNotes on contributorsBarrie Axford is professor of politics and director of the Centre for Global Politics, Economy and Society (GPES) at Oxford Brookes University UK. His most recent books are Cultures and/of Globalization (ed. with R.Huggins) (Cambridge Scholars Press, 2011) and Theories of Globalization (Polity Press, 2013). He is working currently on Mere Connection? Can Digital Media Define World Society (Routledge, for…
Talk About a Revolution
This article examines the role played by social media in the popular uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). When discussing their role, it is important to note the wider research context on social media and political participation and to be aware of any ideological and normative interventions. A number of key questions are asked about the role played by social media in the uprisings. First is the importance of context when asse…
Making Short Politics Placements Work
Short placements can provide an important and meaningful experience of politics in action for students who are unable to benefit from the generally lengthy placements currently on offer. This article is based on the findings of the three-year HEFCE-funded project The Scholarship of Engagement for Politics and explores the potential of short, local, research-based placements, which are embedded in modules, supported by online journaling and effect…
Research-Led Placements in Politics
The ‘scholarship of engagement’, derived from work undertaken by the Boyer Commission in the US, emphasises the possibilities of enhanced undergraduate learning through research, yet in the UK this idea is less developed. Moreover, although the study of politics and international relations lends itself well to the use of placements to develop this model of learning, there are few examples of this in the UK. This article presents findings from a m…
In at the Death? Reflections on Justin Rosenberg's ‘Post-Mortem’ on Globalization
This article offers a review of Justin Rosenberg's recent critical exegesis on the fate of globalization and the demise of what he calls ‘globalization theory’. It uses his ‘post-mortem’ on globalization theory to underscore the changing nature of critical global(ization) studies, of which the study of globalization processes and the ideologies of globalism form a part. It starts with a brief résumé of Rosenberg's argument and then proceeds to un…
The Dialectic of Borders and Networks in Europe
Multi-Dimensionality, Mutual Constitution and the Nature of Systemness
Global civil society or ‘networked globality’
The concept of global civil society (GCS) is central to treatments of globalization and to depictions of a contested globality. This article offers a novel critique of the concept and its value for a critical social science of globalization. It argues that received notions of GCS are rooted in territorialist and societalist paradigms of the social and should not be used to subvent an account of globalization located in the dynamics of trans and e…
New Media and Politics
Enacting Globalization
Towards a Post-National Polity
This chapter explores the prospects for a postnational polity in Europe where the territorial base of power is replaced by a system of networks and flows in which the principal resource is knowledge. The argument depicts a united Europe as a space of flows rather than as a super- or supra-statist entity. Tensions that arise between a Europe of networks and spaces and a Europe of places are examined, partly through a study of the burgeoning Europe…
Media without boundaries
This paper is concerned with the implications of the ‘New Media Order’ for European identities in the light of European Union policy documents on the need for a European media industry. Examined are specifically the tensions between the prescriptions and the emerging realities of the ‘New Media Order’ for a Europe in‐the‐making
Image management, stunts and dirty tricks
Talk About a Revolution
This article examines the role played by social media in the popular uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). When discussing their role, it is important to note the wider research context on social media and political participation and to be aware of any ideological and normative interventions. A number of key questions are asked about the role played by social media in the uprisings. First is the importance of context when asse…
The Dialectic of Borders and Networks in Europe
Making Short Politics Placements Work
Short placements can provide an important and meaningful experience of politics in action for students who are unable to benefit from the generally lengthy placements currently on offer. This article is based on the findings of the three-year HEFCE-funded project The Scholarship of Engagement for Politics and explores the potential of short, local, research-based placements, which are embedded in modules, supported by online journaling and effect…
Research-Led Placements in Politics
The ‘scholarship of engagement’, derived from work undertaken by the Boyer Commission in the US, emphasises the possibilities of enhanced undergraduate learning through research, yet in the UK this idea is less developed. Moreover, although the study of politics and international relations lends itself well to the use of placements to develop this model of learning, there are few examples of this in the UK. This article presents findings from a m…
Towards a Post-National Polity
This chapter explores the prospects for a postnational polity in Europe where the territorial base of power is replaced by a system of networks and flows in which the principal resource is knowledge. The argument depicts a united Europe as a space of flows rather than as a super- or supra-statist entity. Tensions that arise between a Europe of networks and spaces and a Europe of places are examined, partly through a study of the burgeoning Europe…
Image management, stunts and dirty tricks
A modest proposal
This article addresses key issues for the scholarship of globalization as these are broached in Steger and James’ recent volume Globalization Matters. First, need we be wary of the lure of seeking an integrated theory of globalization, with all that this implies? ‘Integrated’ is a seductive but vague and loaded term in the lexicon of global (or any) theory, and has to be weighed. Second, must caution over integrated theory extend to being leery a…
Macro- lite
In this article, I interrogate elements of a global and European Studies scholarship to be found in the imbrication of sociological institutionalism, modern systems theory and network analysis, where the latter includes complexity models of social (dis)order. I note tensions between them and express concern with their bloodless treatment of agency and, more variably, consciousness while still holding out the possibility of synergy. I argue that t…
You Had Me on ‘Global’ and ‘Studies’ Too, I Think
Additional informationNotes on contributorsBarrie Axford is professor of politics and director of the Centre for Global Politics, Economy and Society (GPES) at Oxford Brookes University UK. His most recent books are Cultures and/of Globalization (ed. with R.Huggins) (Cambridge Scholars Press, 2011) and Theories of Globalization (Polity Press, 2013). He is working currently on Mere Connection? Can Digital Media Define World Society (Routledge, for…
In at the Death? Reflections on Justin Rosenberg's ‘Post-Mortem’ on Globalization
This article offers a review of Justin Rosenberg's recent critical exegesis on the fate of globalization and the demise of what he calls ‘globalization theory’. It uses his ‘post-mortem’ on globalization theory to underscore the changing nature of critical global(ization) studies, of which the study of globalization processes and the ideologies of globalism form a part. It starts with a brief résumé of Rosenberg's argument and then proceeds to un…
Global civil society or ‘networked globality’
The concept of global civil society (GCS) is central to treatments of globalization and to depictions of a contested globality. This article offers a novel critique of the concept and its value for a critical social science of globalization. It argues that received notions of GCS are rooted in territorialist and societalist paradigms of the social and should not be used to subvent an account of globalization located in the dynamics of trans and e…
Media without boundaries
This paper is concerned with the implications of the ‘New Media Order’ for European identities in the light of European Union policy documents on the need for a European media industry. Examined are specifically the tensions between the prescriptions and the emerging realities of the ‘New Media Order’ for a Europe in‐the‐making
Image management, stunts and dirty tricks
Media without boundaries
This paper is concerned with the implications of the ‘New Media Order’ for European identities in the light of European Union policy documents on the need for a European media industry. Examined are specifically the tensions between the prescriptions and the emerging realities of the ‘New Media Order’ for a Europe in‐the‐making
Towards a Post-National Polity
This chapter explores the prospects for a postnational polity in Europe where the territorial base of power is replaced by a system of networks and flows in which the principal resource is knowledge. The argument depicts a united Europe as a space of flows rather than as a super- or supra-statist entity. Tensions that arise between a Europe of networks and spaces and a Europe of places are examined, partly through a study of the burgeoning Europe…
New Media and Politics
Enacting Globalization
Multi-Dimensionality, Mutual Constitution and the Nature of Systemness
Global civil society or ‘networked globality’
The concept of global civil society (GCS) is central to treatments of globalization and to depictions of a contested globality. This article offers a novel critique of the concept and its value for a critical social science of globalization. It argues that received notions of GCS are rooted in territorialist and societalist paradigms of the social and should not be used to subvent an account of globalization located in the dynamics of trans and e…
The Dialectic of Borders and Networks in Europe
In at the Death? Reflections on Justin Rosenberg's ‘Post-Mortem’ on Globalization
This article offers a review of Justin Rosenberg's recent critical exegesis on the fate of globalization and the demise of what he calls ‘globalization theory’. It uses his ‘post-mortem’ on globalization theory to underscore the changing nature of critical global(ization) studies, of which the study of globalization processes and the ideologies of globalism form a part. It starts with a brief résumé of Rosenberg's argument and then proceeds to un…
Research-Led Placements in Politics
The ‘scholarship of engagement’, derived from work undertaken by the Boyer Commission in the US, emphasises the possibilities of enhanced undergraduate learning through research, yet in the UK this idea is less developed. Moreover, although the study of politics and international relations lends itself well to the use of placements to develop this model of learning, there are few examples of this in the UK. This article presents findings from a m…
Making Short Politics Placements Work
Short placements can provide an important and meaningful experience of politics in action for students who are unable to benefit from the generally lengthy placements currently on offer. This article is based on the findings of the three-year HEFCE-funded project The Scholarship of Engagement for Politics and explores the potential of short, local, research-based placements, which are embedded in modules, supported by online journaling and effect…
Talk About a Revolution
This article examines the role played by social media in the popular uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). When discussing their role, it is important to note the wider research context on social media and political participation and to be aware of any ideological and normative interventions. A number of key questions are asked about the role played by social media in the uprisings. First is the importance of context when asse…
You Had Me on ‘Global’ and ‘Studies’ Too, I Think
Additional informationNotes on contributorsBarrie Axford is professor of politics and director of the Centre for Global Politics, Economy and Society (GPES) at Oxford Brookes University UK. His most recent books are Cultures and/of Globalization (ed. with R.Huggins) (Cambridge Scholars Press, 2011) and Theories of Globalization (Polity Press, 2013). He is working currently on Mere Connection? Can Digital Media Define World Society (Routledge, for…
Macro- lite
In this article, I interrogate elements of a global and European Studies scholarship to be found in the imbrication of sociological institutionalism, modern systems theory and network analysis, where the latter includes complexity models of social (dis)order. I note tensions between them and express concern with their bloodless treatment of agency and, more variably, consciousness while still holding out the possibility of synergy. I argue that t…
The Multiple Modernities Debates as a Prospectus for Global Scholarship
Mastery Without Remainder
The World-Making Power of New Media
In this new work, Axford seeks to contribute to the development of global theory, particularly where it engages with the contested idea of globality; a concept which musters as consciousness, condition, framework, even system. By examining emergent globalities through the lens of world-making communicative practices and forms, the author demonstrates their transformative social power and underlines the cultural dynamics of globalization. Taking a…
Pathological Localism or Vernacular Glocalization Populism, Globalism and the Everyday Politics of Anger
Globality and consciousness of it are reflexively linked, possibly through a modal empathy whereby all humanity has a built-in predisposition for social understanding and cooperation. But in more ardent accounts of world-making, global awareness produces not empathy but identities in conflict, insecurity and woundingly agonistic politics. An intriguing and forceful example of global consciousness having the potential to cut both ways is the curre…
A modest proposal
This article addresses key issues for the scholarship of globalization as these are broached in Steger and James’ recent volume Globalization Matters. First, need we be wary of the lure of seeking an integrated theory of globalization, with all that this implies? ‘Integrated’ is a seductive but vague and loaded term in the lexicon of global (or any) theory, and has to be weighed. Second, must caution over integrated theory extend to being leery a…
Political Sociologies of the Cultural Encounter
Why Globalization Matters
Picking over the Bones
In this essay I preface a discussion of “indifferent” globality, as seen in the agency of microbes and smart machines, and populism as an exemplar of tensions in local-global entanglements, with a brief excursus on the what exercises current scholarship on the global. The whole is written with Protosociology’s 30 year engagement with hard questions in social theory in mind
Global Studies
At a time of heated debate on the future of humanity and the resilience of Earth system processes – atmospheric, geological, hydrological, biospheric, and on the planetary and extraplanetary implications of such a loss of resilience – it seems appropriate to interrogate the field of global studies over its scope and ambition when addressing global processes, forms and consciousness. This article is a contribution to the science of globalization, …
You say de-globalization, I say post-globalization; but don’t call the whole thing off (with apologies to Ira Gershwin)
Victor Roudometof's thought-provoking article revisits questions the academy has asked of itself ever since globalization became a must-have concept in the late 1980s: What are we talking about? Have we got it and to what degree? Where is it headed? And finally, what does all this mean for the social-scientific prospectus? Answers to the first two questions are superficially easy but how we respond to them still has a profound bearing on the deme…
Political science (20 works) · Law (17 works) · Sociology (13 works) · Law (11 works) · Politics (10 works) · Economics (9 works) · Globalization (9 works) · Epistemology (6 works) · Scholarship (6 works) · Elite Sociology and Global Capitalism (5 works)