Eleventh Global Studies Conference

Abstract

Humanity is singular but it has plurality also in terms of culture, religion, ethnicity, nationality, political ideology, economic systems, and so on. History shows us that despite having this multidimensional plurality there have always been efforts on the parts of human groups- be they cultural, religious, or political - to homogenize the world. Sometimes it has been done in the name of civilizing the uncivilized, sometimes it is just to dominate others for the sake of dominance only (a human tendency that may be derived from incessant search for assurance of security and material well-being). This homogenizing process however is of conflicting nature; it’s because there has always been clash of interest among different human groups. This human phenomenon has mostly been defining our international orders, systems, and relations. However, humanity has reached such an age when interactions among the human individuals and groups have been maximized thanks to modern information and communication technology. Apparently it has some homogenizing effect culturally, but people are being able to know more about the plurality of the world. And this development might be instrumental in envisioning a new world of pluralism fundamentally different from the existing one which is mired with conflicts and wars. In this research, I explore the avenues and obstacles towards that end.