Norbert Elias and the human condition

Abstract

In this paper, I will first discuss in more detail Norbert Elias’s perspective on international relations, and second the consequences of the nuclear balance for the hegemonic struggle between the two remaining great powers after 1945. Thirdly, I will attempt to describe global power relations in the aftermath of that struggle, not just between states. I will argue that Elias’s concepts of monopolization processes and elimination struggles are more useful for understanding global economic interdependencies than those based on the idea of ‘markets’.