Inaugural Lecture Mr. Prof. J. Herman: The Socialisation of Globalisation: the Case of Humanitarian Action

Inaugural Lecture: Mr. Prof. J. Herman

Title: The Socialisation of Globalisation: the Case of Humanitarian Action

Chair: Globalisation Studies and Humanitarian Action

Faculty: Arts

Globalisation is a heavily contested issue from any academic discipline?s perspective. Generally, it is an overarching process comprising all contemporary issues and challenges facing the international and national communities in a framework of growing interdependencies. For many individuals and groups around the world the quality of life has dramatically increased thanks to globalisation. The other way around, however, the picture is more bleak. Globalisation has resulted in major threats to likewise sizable proportions of the world population.

Positive and negative aspects of globalisation determine essential normative, political and social dilemmas equally at international and grass root level. These levels are now fully intertwined and the interplay between these levels of analysis beg for theoretical underpinnings. The so-called Third Wave in Globalisation Theory (Hay and Marsh?s Transformationalism) seems to be closest to explain the reciprocity between the international and the local (glocalisation) and helps explain Globalisation Studies Groningen?s (GSG) involvement in all academic disciplines.

However, especially Humanitarian Studies joins in with Globalisation Studies and serves as a specific reinforcement of general globalisation theory. It focuses on the globally framed response of the world society out of a sense of international solidarity, based upon the humanitarian imperative and values, codified in numerous universal legal and political documents since 1863. Risse and Sikkink?s Socialisation Theory helps us to see in what way these general global norms materialise in effective humanitarian tools at the appropriate level, that of human beings in need.