The following working paper (the English translation of “Soziale
Ungleichheiten und globale Interdependenzen in Lateinamerika: eine
Zwischenbilanz” desiguALdades.net Working Paper Series 4, 2013) lays out the
baseline from which the research approach of the research network
desiguALdades.net was developed. Starting from diverse social inequality
phenomena in Latin America, the network seeks to underline the
multidimensionality of inequalities and their transregional interdependencies,
taking a synchronic as well as a diachronic perspective into account. It
thereby draws, first, on the discourse on global approaches to the study of
inequalities, particularly world system approaches and transnationalism.
Secondly, it is based on a critical examination of key concepts (like
figuration and regime). Lastly, it seeks to link these to subjects and areas,
especially the environmental dimension, that until now have received little
consideration in research on inequalities