Globalizing political theory : Benjamin Barber's contribution to global studies

![CDATA[Along with David Held, Benjamin R. Barber is the most influential Anglo-American political theorist dedicated to ‘globalizing political theory’ beyond disciplinary boundaries and geographic borders while also grasping the theoretical significance of thickening forms of social interdependence nested under the keyword ‘globalization.’ Barber’s writings on global democratic theory, cultural globalization, and global governance issues have greatly contributed to the evolution of the transdisciplinary field of ‘global studies’. It is the chief purpose of this brief chapter to provide a general and appreciative overview of this contribution. After a short discussion of the scope and institutional foundation of global studies, I place a representative selection of Barber’s pertinent theoretical reflections in the context of what I have identified as the four ‘conceptual framings of global studies’.]]