What theoretical perspectives might be drawn upon in this case? These might include (political) economic theories which theorize and analyse the ‘global economy’ and may take positions on whether and how it constitutes a ‘realm of necessity’, a fact of life; State and political theory which probe the character and functioning of the State and of national and international politics in the era of ‘globalization’; theories of ‘global ethnography’ which address how local groups and individuals seek to adapt to but also sometimes test and challenge the ‘global economy’ as a realm of necessity. The importance of discourse theory is indicated by this implicit questioning of the ‘global economy’: a central issue in both the academic literature and practical responses to the ‘global economy’ in politics, workplaces and everyday life is the relationship between reality and discourse – the reality and the discourses of the ‘global economy’ and of its impact, implications and ramifications. We can initially identify an analysis of the complex relationship between reality and discourse as a general formulation of the object of research for a semiotic ‘point of entry’ into this topic, but I shall suggest a more specific formulation, linked to the example L shall discuss, in the section below on political discourse analysis.