The Refiguration of the Global

Globalization and the Spatial Logics of Digitalization

Bibliographic Data

ID2371191
AuthorsH Knoblauch (0000-0002-9461-3160, Technische Universität Berlin, corresponding author), Martina Löw (0000-0002-8123-4356, Technische Universität Berlin)
Year2025
Volume51
Issue4-5
Pages703-720
Publication date2025-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCritical Sociology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0896-9205 • E-ISSN: 1569-1632
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/08969205241262304
OpenAlexW4401024737
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited54

In order to avoid the juxtaposition of globalization and de-globalization, we suggest that the current global changes are driven by a spatial dynamics, which we designate as 'refiguration'. It is based on different spatial figures and different institutionalized figurations, so as to avoid reducing the dynamics to binary concepts of territorial and global forces or geopolitical spatial container thinking. In this paper, we first sketch the strengths and weaknesses of sociological models of globalization. We then point out some recent developments contradicting these models. Instead of interpreting them negatively (e.g. 'de-globalization') or reductively (e.g. 'geopolitization'), we propose the concept of refiguration in order to capture and explain these current changes by stressing the logics of spatial figures, their interactions and conflicts. After clarifying the concept, we turn to the Internet infrastructure as an important case for understanding the current disjunctures and conflicts around globalization in terms of refiguration

Economic geography · Economic system · Economics · Globalization · Political science · Sociology · Cultural Industries and Urban Development · Elite Sociology and Global Capitalism · Global Urban Networks and Dynamics · Law

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