The Functioning of Cities in the Context of Globalization: Saskia Sassen's Theory
Research Article
How to Cite
Khomyakova K.L. 2020. The Functioning of Cities in the Context of Globalization: Saskia Sassen’s Theory — Sociologicheskaja nauka i social’naja praktika. Vol. 8. No. 4. P. 213-223. DOI: https://doi.org/10.19181/snsp.2020.8.4.7666
Abstract
The current trends and specifics of transformations of modern sociological theory are determined by the challenges that faced by societies of the XXI centuries. Social changes require theoretical understanding and need to develop new approaches that allow us to interpret modern reality. One of these approaches is proposed by the modern American sociologist Saskia Sassen. She builds an integral concept of modernity with the corresponding content of the subject field and problems. The scientist focuses on the current processes of globalization, urbanization, transnational migration and inequality, including global inequality, revealing the essence and specifics of the transformations of modern societies, which necessitates a detailed analysis of her theory. The article considers the main groups of factors that influenced the formation of Saskia Sassen’s theory, including the atmosphere of interdisciplinarity and multiculturalism, within which the sociologist carried out her scientific and research activities, as well as socio-historical conditions, in particular, globalization and global problems. The key theoretical and methodological approaches and research directions that determine the specifics of the formation of scientific views of the sociologist are closely related to the selected groups of factors. In particular, special attention is paid to the analysis of marxist and neo-marxist approaches, theories of society in the second half of the XX century, sociological theories of globalization, and sociological theories of the city. The author attempts to systematize the structural components of Saskia Sassen’s sociological theory, to reveal the heuristic potential of her theoretical and methodological approach, to identify the specifics of the interpretation of globalization and differences from other approaches to the study of modern global trends.
Keywords:
globalization, global economy, global cities, transnational city networks, migration, social inequality
References
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Interview with Saskia Sassen. «How can we live together?». URL: http://orloffmagazine.com/ content/saskiya-sassen-ya-dolgoe-vremya-oderzhima-granicami (date of access: 18.06.2020).
Potts L. (1990). The World Labor Market: A History of Migration. London: Zed Books. 256 p.
Robinson W. I. (2009). Saskia Sassen and the Sociology of Globalization: A Critical Appraisal. Sociological Analysis. Vol. 3. № 1. P. 5–29.
Sassen S. (1991). The global city: New York, London, Tokyo. Princeton; Oxford: Princeton University Press. 480 p.
Sassen S. (1994). Cities in a World Economy. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge, Sage. 424 p.
Sassen S. (2002). Global Networks, Linked Cities. Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group. 376 p.
Sassen S. (2006). Territory, Authority, Rights: From Medieval to Global Assemblages. Princeton; Oxford: Princeton University Press, 512 p.
Sassen S. (2007). A Sociology of Globalization. New York: W. W. Norton, 316 p.
Sassen S. (2010a). A Savage Sorting of Winners and Losers: Contemporary Versions of Primitive Accumulation. Globalizations. № 7 (1). P. 23–50.
Sassen S. (2010b). The Global Inside the National: A Research Agenda for Sociology. Sociopedia. isa. P. 1–10.
Sassen S. (2012). Cities: A Window into Larger and Smaller Worlds. European Educational Research Journal. № 11 (1). P. 1–9.
Sassen S. (2018). Our Epoch’s Little Banishments. R. Bauböck (ed.). Debating Transformations of National Citizenship. IMISCOE Research Series. P. 229–231.
Sassen S. (2017). Predatory Formations Dressed in Wall Street Suits and Algorithmic Math. Science, Technology & Society. № 22 (1). P. 1–15.
Taylor P. J. (2013). Modernities: A Geohistorical Interpretation. Polity, 168 p.
Turner B. S., Holton R. J. (2009). The Routledge International Handbook of Globalization Studies. Routledge. 727 p.
Van der Pijl K. (1998). Transnational Classes and International Relations. London: Routledge. 208 p.
Bell D. (1999). Gryadushchee postindustrialnoe obshchestvo. [The Coming of Post-Industrial Society: A Venture in Social Forecasting]. M.: Akademiya publ., 790 p. (In Russ.).
Wallerstein I. (2001). Analiz mirovyh sistem i situatsiya v sovremennom mire. [World-Systems Analysis: An Introduction]. SPb.: Universitetskaya kniga publ., 415 p. (In Russ.).
Weber M. (1994). Izbrannoe. Obraz obshchestva. [Favourites. Image of society]. M.: Yurist publ., 704 p. (In Russ.).
Vershinina I. A., Polyakova N. L. (2013). Teoreticheskie i metodologicheskie problemy sovremennoj sotsiologicheskoj urbanistiki. [Theoretical and methodological problems of modern sociological urbanism]. Moscow State University Bulletin. Series 18. Sociology and Political Science. № 4. P. 60–84. (In Russ.).
Giddens E. (2011). Posledstviya sovremennosti. [Consequences of modernity]. M.: Izdatel’skaya i konsaltingovaya gruppa «Praksis». 352 p. (In Russ.).
Gribova K. L. (2018). Goroda v XX I veke: sravnitel’nyy analiz teoreticheskikh podkhodov Caskii Cassen i Paraga Khanny. [XXI century cities: comparative analysis of Saskia Sassen’s and Paraga Hannah’s theoretical approaches]. Zhurnal sotsiologii i sotsialnoy antropologii. № 21 (4). P. 38–62 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.24290/1029-3736-2018-24-4-41-58
Gribov K. L. (2018). Kontsepciya global’nogo sotsial’nogo neravenstva v tvorchestve Saskii Sassen. [The conception of social inequality in the Saskia Sassen`s works]. Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Seriya 18. Sotsiologiya i politologiya. № 24 (4). P. 41–58. (In Russ.)
Kimelev Y. A., Polyakova N. L. (1996). Teoriya obshchestva Entoni Giddensa. [Theory of society by Anthony Giddens]. Sovremennye sotsiologicheskie teorii obshchestva. M.: INION RAS publ., P. 33–57. (In Russ.).
Martin G.-P., Schumann H. (2001). Zapadnya globalizacii: ataka na procvetanie i demokratiyu. [Trap of globalization: an attack on prosperity and democracy]. M.: Alpina publ., 335 p. (In Russ.).
Polyakova N. L. (2009). Obraz sovremennyh obshchestv v sotsiologicheskoj teorii kontsa XX – nachala XXI. [The image of modern societies in the sociological theory of the late XX – early XXI century]. Moscow State University Bulletin. Series 18. Sociology and Political Science. № 2. P. 128–144. (In Russ.).
Sassen S. (2013). Gorod kak prizma dlya sotsial’noj teorii: novye issledovatel’skie perspektivy. [The City as a prism for social theory: new research perspectives]. Nauchnyj ezhegodnik Instituta filosofii i prava Ural’skogo otdeleniya Rossijskoj akademii nauk. № 13 (4). P. 74–100. (In Russ.).
Toffler E. (2004). Tretya volna. [Third wave]. М.: АSТ publ., 784 p. (In Russ.).
Turen A. (1998). Vozvrashchenie cheloveka dejstvuyushchego. Ocherk sotsiologii. [Return of the active person. Essay on sociology]. М.: Nauchnyj mir publ., 206 p. (In Russ.).
Bose C., Acosta-Belen E. (1995). Women in the Latin American Development Process. Temple University Press. 290 p.
Crozier M. (1980). Actors and Systems: The Politics of Collective Action. Univ of Chicago Pr. 333 p.
Dumitru S. (2018). How neo-Marxism creates bias in gender and migration research: evidence from the Philippines. Ethnic and Racial Studies. Vol. 41. № 15. P. 2790–2808.
Ferrarotti F. (1972). Una sociologia alternativa. De Donato editiri. Ban. 167 p.
Giddens A. (2011). Runaway World. Profile Books. 150 p.
Interview with Saskia Sassen. «How can we live together?». URL: http://orloffmagazine.com/ content/saskiya-sassen-ya-dolgoe-vremya-oderzhima-granicami (date of access: 18.06.2020).
Potts L. (1990). The World Labor Market: A History of Migration. London: Zed Books. 256 p.
Robinson W. I. (2009). Saskia Sassen and the Sociology of Globalization: A Critical Appraisal. Sociological Analysis. Vol. 3. № 1. P. 5–29.
Sassen S. (1991). The global city: New York, London, Tokyo. Princeton; Oxford: Princeton University Press. 480 p.
Sassen S. (1994). Cities in a World Economy. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge, Sage. 424 p.
Sassen S. (2002). Global Networks, Linked Cities. Routledge: Taylor & Francis Group. 376 p.
Sassen S. (2006). Territory, Authority, Rights: From Medieval to Global Assemblages. Princeton; Oxford: Princeton University Press, 512 p.
Sassen S. (2007). A Sociology of Globalization. New York: W. W. Norton, 316 p.
Sassen S. (2010a). A Savage Sorting of Winners and Losers: Contemporary Versions of Primitive Accumulation. Globalizations. № 7 (1). P. 23–50.
Sassen S. (2010b). The Global Inside the National: A Research Agenda for Sociology. Sociopedia. isa. P. 1–10.
Sassen S. (2012). Cities: A Window into Larger and Smaller Worlds. European Educational Research Journal. № 11 (1). P. 1–9.
Sassen S. (2018). Our Epoch’s Little Banishments. R. Bauböck (ed.). Debating Transformations of National Citizenship. IMISCOE Research Series. P. 229–231.
Sassen S. (2017). Predatory Formations Dressed in Wall Street Suits and Algorithmic Math. Science, Technology & Society. № 22 (1). P. 1–15.
Taylor P. J. (2013). Modernities: A Geohistorical Interpretation. Polity, 168 p.
Turner B. S., Holton R. J. (2009). The Routledge International Handbook of Globalization Studies. Routledge. 727 p.
Van der Pijl K. (1998). Transnational Classes and International Relations. London: Routledge. 208 p.
Article
Received: 22.07.2020
Accepted: 08.12.2020
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Khomyakova, K. L. (2020) ’The Functioning of Cities in the Context of Globalization: Saskia Sassen’s Theory’, Sociologicheskaja nauka i social’naja praktika, 8(4), pp. 213-223. doi: https://doi.org/10.19181/snsp.2020.8.4.7666.
Section
TRIBUNE OF YOUNG SCIENTIST
Publisher: Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (FCTAS RAS)