Solving global problems through local solutions: a transcontinental dialogue between Asia and Europe (Guest Editorial)

Abstract

<p>Over the past two decades, there has been much discussion and debate on social work being enmeshed in the context of globalisation (Dominelli, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13691457.2023.2259664#">Citation2010</a>; Lyons, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13691457.2023.2259664#">Citation1999</a>; Sajid et al., <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13691457.2023.2259664#">Citation2021</a>). For better or worse, opportunities as well as threats in practice and education have helped trigger changes in this profession. However, globalisation is dated, as the metaverse is emerging. Such an exciting digital ecosystem is now providing the perfect type of soil for old problems such as inequality, discrimination, racism, violence, and mental illness, to name but a few, to be nurtured in a brand-new way (Mathiyazhagan et al., <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13691457.2023.2259664#">Citation2022</a>). Although the concept of the nation-state is being either diminished or renovated, from the “good old Westphalian sovereignty” to the form of “late sovereignty” (Bartelson, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13691457.2023.2259664#">Citation2006</a>), using a transnational and even transcontinental lens to look at a problem (and possible solutions) is perhaps more crucial than ever, in light of the increasing level of geopolitical tensions, major power competitions among larger and/or smaller nations, and the emergence of technological advancements manipulated by state or nonstate actors. Three global problems were selected in this paper as a showcase for comparing how they were being perceived and/or “solved” in different geographical contexts, if not the nation-state.<br></p>