A sociohistorical reading of the Dictionnaire des Mondialisations. First steps towards a pragmatic approach to globalisation

Abstract : The aim of the critical dictionary edited by Cynthia Ghorra-Gobin is to ‘‘render intelligible the structural mutations affecting France, Europe and the different parts of the world’’ (Ghorra- Gobin 2006, p.vii). It is an ambitious initiative. The authors who have contributed to this project start from the premise that the globalisation currently being observed is a historical process characterised by complexity and diversity. The variety of items presented in the dictionary reflects the protean nature of globalisation and the authors have thus chosen to use the plural ‘‘globalisations’’ to describe a phenomenon that is hard to grasp. For it is a process that takes a wide variety of forms, often described as global or globalising, the effects of which are not confined to the spheres of finance and the economy. Furthermore, it can be observed at different scales and cannot be entirely contained or circumscribed within any single perspective. Globalisation thus comes into the category of totalising objects that are easier to understand using a piece-by-piece analysis such as that provided by a dictionary. [Article's first paragraph]