Exemplifying Contemporary Challenges in Global Politics and Societies

Overview & Synopsis

Globalization has become one of the most prominent signs of our current era. Today, globalization affects everyone and is visible everywhere. We see it in the morning at home when we set the table for breakfast and look at the products we consume, during the day at work when we handle tasks with advanced technologies no matter what field we are in, and in the evening when we listen to the daily news from around the world, informing us about global political and social issues. Globalization awakens thoughts and feelings, and due to its profound impact on our lives, it means different things to different social and political actors. Not surprisingly, since the 1990s, globalization has also had a significant impact on the social sciences, leading to some major breakthroughs due to the holistic nature of these studies. However, regardless of the global issue we address, we only examine specific processes related to our research questions, which is why case studies are essential in this field. Consequently, the contributions provide some current examples of the evolving dynamics of interconnectedness, analyzing its political and social ramifications, such as the historical dimension of the “conservative revolution” and the criticism of liberal ideas, depiction of social hardship and the struggle of the powerless in neoliberal democracies in new popular forms of global outreach, or the new concept of “bridge citizens” as a response to the challenge of migration linked to personal heritage of tradition in a new environment.