Globalization and Ideology: Mapping the Shifting Debate

Abstract

This chapter reviews the existing debate on the state of ideology today. More specifically, the focus is on two strands of the literature concerned with ideology and globalization. The first strand considers the utility of ideology in the politics of contestation of the dominant model of globalization. The second strand tends to take the importance of ideology per se for granted but questions the relevance of established ideological currents in the context of a supposedly global era. While I acknowledge the insights provided by both literatures, I suggest that each has been limited by their prevalent assumptions regarding the nature of ideology on the one hand, and the extent of the impact of globalization on the other. I identify several logical and political setbacks resulting from these assumptions and argue for a closer conceptual analysis of ideological discourse as a way out of the flawed terms of the current debate.