Overheating: the world since 1991

This special issue, which includes articles on Sierra Leone, Peru, Estonia, Hungary, Norway, the Philippines, Britain and Melanesia, presents some of the salient features of the accelerated post-1991 world. We emphasize the importance of comparison for theoretical development in anthropology and the relevance of contemporary history for anthropological research on globalization. We also demonstrate the importance of taking ethnography seriously in research on globalization. This article outlines the origins and central features of the post-Cold War world, showing the significance of shifting between global, transnational, national and local perspectives in order to understand the processes of change affecting communities in all parts of the world. This article also introduces the overheating approach to globalization [Eriksen, Thomas Hylland. 2016. Overheating: An Anthropology of Accelerated Change. London: Pluto], indicating ways in which new forms of connectedness and acceleration can shed new light on phenomena such as neo-liberalism, identity politics and climate change.