The idea of world literature arose as a cultural counterpart to the process of globalization. However, since literature is organized within discrete traditions, the possibility of a world literature depends not just on increasing economic ties, but upon the formation of a global tradition. Since a tradition can only maintain its unity to the extent that it forms a single public sphere, the lack of a global public sphere undermines the possibility of a single world literature. The measure of this fragmentation is differences between public spheres defined by nation-state sovereignty.
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