Deglobalization and the Metaphysical War: From the Split of the Empire to the Thrills of Annexiety

The term “deglobalization” describes the waning momentum of the globalist project, a trend accelerated by successive global crises, from 9/11 to the invasion of Ukraine. Like its predecessor, globalization, deglobalization is a multidimensional phenomenon, impacting geopolitics, economics, consumption, and modern communication (Tomlinson, Globalization and Culture, Chicago University Press, Chicago, 1999). While early twenty-first-century critiques, even those opposed to globalization, often posited a unified “Empire” capable of integrating diverse interests (Negri and Hardt, Empire. Cambridge: Harvard University Pres, 2000), the current trajectory suggests a tragical fragmentation that may manifest as distinct blocs: the former Atlanticist alliance already spoilt in two parts, the Sino-Russian sphere and the ambiguously positioned Global South. Furthermore, a divide is emerging between democracies experiencing “democratic regression” (Mounk, , 2018) and neo-imperial autocracies that promote anti-progressive rhetoric.