Glocalization

In an interview with DIE ZEIT, ethnologist Prof. Dr. Christoph Antweiler explains the portmanteau word glocalization like this:

„I experienced how the first Indonesian McDonald’s was opened in Jakarta, by the way the branch with the highest turnover worldwide that year. You immediately recognize similarities, such as the colors and the logo, but also differences: Most people there don’t eat hamburgers, but rice with chicken. And then you realize that many don’t eat there at all, but watch others. We have a global phenomenon, but it is interpreted differently locally, like the Barbie dolls. Ethnologists speak of glocalization. In any case, globalization only works because people resemble each other.“

Die ZEIT: „Does that make the world a better place?“

Antweiler: „I warn against wishful thinking along the lines of „the world is a village.“ The world is not a village already because there is no mayor. The world is fragmented. But there are commonalities of cultures, and we can build on those.“

Antweiler refers to these commonalities as universals.

Literature

Antweiler, Christoph (2009): Heimat Mensch. What connects us all. Hamburg: Murmann.

Antweiler, Christoph (2009): Interview with Christoph Antweiler: https://www.zeit.de/zustimmung?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zeit.de%2Fzeit-wissen%2F2009%2F06%2FInterview-Antweiler [June 2009].