Reflections On Multiple Modernities: European, Chinese And Other Interpretations, Vol. 1

This volume explores a rapidly emerging paradigm in the social sciences, which assumes culturally specific forms of modernity. Modernization is thus no longer equated with homogenization. Leading scholars from history, sociology, area studies, and economics discuss the concept?s implications.
The first part covers a range of theoretical questions arising from the new approach. Issues such as the common features of all modernities and their interrelation with regional particularities, the reasons for antinomies of modernity, and the preconditions for a peaceful coexistence of cultures are raised.
The second and third parts deal with Europe and China as two specific encounters with modernity, the tensions between universalism and cultural identities, both in past and present. The fourth part analyzes how Multiple Modernities translates into formal and informal institutions of ?diverse capitalisms?.
Authors include well-known specialists Mark Juergensmeyer, Hartmut Kaelble, Bruce Mazlish and Frederic Wakeman

About The Author:

Dominic Sachsenmaier, Ph.D. (1999) in History/Sinology, University of Freiburg/Germany, is Research Scholar at Harvard University. He has published on History and Sino-Western Relations. Currently he is working on transculturally comparative 20th century history.
Shmuel N. Eisenstadt, Ph.D. (1947) at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is Professor Emeritus at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute. His academic work spans several decades, and includes influential research on Jewish, Japanese, and European culture and civilizations, the dynamics of democratic society, and the social effects of changes brought about by revolution, modernization, and the large-scale movement of populations. He received many prizes and is member of many Academy of Sciences all over the world. He was (co)editor of Democracy and Modernity (Brill, 1992) and Reflections on Multiple Modernities (Brill, 2002).
Jens Riedel, M.A., studied political science and economics in T?bingen and New York. He is a Manager with the Boston Consulting Group focussing on strategy and organization/human resources projects. Previously, he worked for DaimlerBenz in Germany, the US and China.

Table Of Contents:

AcknowledgementsPrefaceThe Context of the Multiple Modernities Paradigm11Some Observations on Multiple Modernities272Multiple Modernities – The Concept and Its Potential423Globalization: The Most Recent Form of Modernity?684Civilizations and Nations in a Globalizing World795Global Antimodernism1006Multiple Modernities and Negotiated Universals1197Mutual Learning as an Agenda for Social Development1298The Emergence of Alternative Modernity in East Asia1399Chinese Modernity15310European Self-Understanding in the Twentieth Century16711Constitutional Practice or Community of Memory? Some Remarks on the Collective Identity of Europe19312Multiple Market Economics: The Role of Institutions in Structuring Business Systems21713Incorporating Culture Into the Explanatory Framework for Divergent Capitalisms24114The Multiple Modernities Perspective: Enriching Business Strategy271About the Authors295Index301

Special Features:

Reflections on Multiple Modernities