Debating globalization: Perceptions of the phenomenon based on political positioning and on ideological understandings of economy, culture, and the nation-state

Globalization is an object of debate as it affects many groups worldwide. Two studies examined perceptions of globalization in the Greek context based on scholarly debates, and how these perceptions are grounded in political positioning and ideological understandings of the nation-state, economy, and culture. In student and non-student samples, perceptions of globalization were organized around the dimensions of global modernization, global cooperation, and global power inequalities. In a second study, the pro-globalization views of modernization and cooperation were both associated with right-wing positioning and fair market ideology, but the two views were associated with different preferred economic roles and policies of the state. The left-leaning factor of power inequalities was negatively associated with fair market ideology and positively with preference for redistributive and pro-left-wing state policies. Implications of these differences and similarities among globalization views are discussed for sociopsychological theories of lay ideology, political discourse, and collective action.