Recovering the local: From glocalization to localization

Abstract

Addressing a major theoretical lacuna in the literature concerning ‘the local’ and localization, different interpretations of the local are presented and critiqued and a different account of the local and localization as a focal point for social research is offered. In the article, it is argued that social theory needs to give the local its due and avoid surrendering the local to localism. The local is thematized in terms of the space/place nexus; although it is impossible to bind the local in terms of space, it is possible to do so in terms of place. Hence, the suggestion is to think of the local as a place. Through these lenses, localization is conceived as a process of place-making, which in turn successfully differentiates the local from the related concepts of globalization and glocalization. The increasing pace of globalization emerges as a factor counteracting localization, thereby giving birth to various localisms. Possible avenues for developing alternatives to current versions of exclusivist localism are explored.