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THE DYNAMICS OF LOCAL-GLOBAL RELATIONS 413

Table 27.8 Number of support groups citizens’of the world, certainly of the European
sought across 16 groups – mean 1 Union, NATO, and the Council of Europe.
1991 1995 1999 2001(03) The actual impact of democracy on societies,
Poland 4.82 3.95 of course, is mixed. Whatever the future
Russia 3.40 2.86 story of democracies in a globalizing world,
Sweden 5.96 6.29
it will include the engagement of local com-
1 Mention of each group sored as 1.
munities and a strengthening of their voice in
when making decisions and each leader national and global affairs. Global and local
was given a list of 16 such groups, ranging conflicts are a consequence of the recent
from friends to political party leaders and encapsulation of world regions into a global
higher administrators. There was a signifi- system. The local, ruled by petty elites and
cant drop in both Poland and Russia, and, in intolerant of difference, rather than being a
contrast, an increase among Swedish leaders conflictive impediment, to development as it
who were among the highest of all leaders in was during the years of the formation of
29 countries in seeking such support. It is modern states, may become a liberating, cut-
expected that learning processes will ting edge social entity of innovation and
increase the number of groups sought out for change in global systems. The local, aligned
support over time. with global institutions, may by-pass the
national as an important arena for reducing
conflicts and managing violence.

CONCLUDING COMMENTS

Local-global dynamics open up the local NOTES
to influences from a wider range of other
systems. Those processes of globalization 1 A partial history of social ecology is discussed in
Teune (1992). Hamm (1992) gives a brief history of
and openness have been associated with the
social ecology in the International Sociological
democratization of countries and localities Association. These presentations were made at the
since the 1990s. Opening up to the global has XI World Congress of the International Sociological
also meant reducing national control over Association (1986), New Delhi.
local populations. This has allowed for at 2 This discussion is based on Mlinar and Teune
(1978) and Teune and Mlinar (1978). Alternative con-
least the expression of conflicts within local-
cepts of development include social and economic
ities, both old and new. But in general, the changes of a variety of types that focus on inclusion,
consequence of globalization has been integration and growth. See Sen’s concept of devel-
greater autonomy for the local political opment defined as freedom (Sen, 1999).
expression of conflicts, if only in regard to 3 The most comprehensive contemporary use of
the ecological paradigm to explain human and social
the national governments.
development through learning and throughout
Democracy with its value of inclusion of human history is Kenneth Boulding (1978).
differences and acceptance of conflicts sup- 4 The data, questionnaires, codebooks, and other
ports what may prove to be one of the most general information about this research are available at
important events in recent human history of www.ssc.upenn.edu/dlg. The basic design and instru-
mentation are also given in Jacob et al. (1993). In addi-
the whole world joining together in a single
tion to other general publications, a number of country
economy and society of shared values, a com- reports have been published in English and other lan-
munity of democratic societies. That hope guages. The number of localities included in the
emerged in the first blush of the 1989 revolu- random samples used here were: Poland, 1995,
tions in communist countries of Europe and 30 poviats (local governing units with a town center
and adjoining countryside); 2001, 30 poviats, including
subsequent political revolutions in Eurasia.
reorganized poviat towns; and Russia, 1995, 73 rayons;
Since then democracy has become defined 2003, 49 including the rayons in the 1995 sample. In
as a global requirement for states to be ‘good Sweden, the 1999 study was based on 20 communes,