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Abstract
This chapter examines the intricate relationships between society and culture, understood as distinct yet interdependent dimensions of collective life. Every society carries its own cultural repertoire, consisting of values, norms, practices and symbolic mediations that provide meaning and orientation to social actors. In contemporary contexts, however, processes of globalization and intensified exchanges among different communities have redefined the boundaries of culture, fostering the emergence of multicultural and transnational configurations. These dynamics contribute to the diffusion of a cosmopolitan outlook and a tendency towards cultural homogenization, while simultaneously generating countervailing movements of cultural particularism aimed at preserving specific identities and asserting the legitimacy of diverse cultural rights. Within this scenario, cultural communication is increasingly promoted as a space of dialogue and encounter between traditions. Its strength lies in providing a symbolic ground where different cultural perspectives can meet. Nevertheless, when confined to the mere comparison of communicative codes, values or rights, such dialogue reveals intrinsic limitations: it risks overlooking the deeper social relations that shape identity, belonging and recognition. To address these issues, the contribution adopts the relational approach (Donati) and the morphogenetic perspective (Archer), which together offer a theoretical framework capable of reframing the culture–society nexus beyond the dichotomy of relativism and ethnocentrism.