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A concise exploration of globalization and its role in the contemporary era
Driven by technological advancements and global corporations, more and more people are swept up by globalizing processes, creating new winners and losers. Globalization: The Essentials explores the flows, structures, processes, and consequences of globalization in the modern economic, political, and cultural landscape. This comprehensive introduction offers balanced coverage of areas such as global economic and cultural flows, environmental sustainability, the impact of technology, and racial, economic, and gender inequality -- providing readers with foundational knowledge of globalization.
Extensively revised and updated, this second edition includes expanded coverage of human trafficking and migration, global climate change, fake news and information wars, and transnational social movements with increased emphasis on examples from Central and South America, Africa, and Asia:
* Offers a straightforward approach to the multiple facets of globalization and their positive and negative influences on contemporary society
* Employs unique metaphors and a coherent narrative structure to promote intuitive understanding of abstract concepts
* Introduces cutting-edge research, updated statistics, and real-world examples in areas such as rising global populism, social justice movements, blockchain technology, and cryptocurrencies
* Provides an efficient and flexible pedagogical structure, allowing integration with instructor's own course material
Emphasizing student comprehension, a wide range of source material is incorporated including empirical research, relevant theories, newspaper and magazine articles, and popular books and monographs. Examples of current research and recent global developments, such as emerging economies and global health concerns, encourage classroom discussion and promote independent study. Globalization: The Essentials -- a compact edition of the authors' full-sized textbook Globalization: A Basic Text -- provides concise coverage of the central concepts of this dynamic field. Offering a multidisciplinary approach, this textbook is an invaluable primary or supplemental resource for undergraduate study in any social science field, as well as coursework on economics, migration, inequality and stratification, and politics.
List of contents
Preface xii
About the Companion Website xiii
1 Globalization 1
Conceptualization, Origins, and History Conceptualizing Globalization 3
From "Solids" to "Liquids" 4
"Flows" 7
"Heavy" and "Light" 8
"Heavy" Structures that Expedite "Flows" 10
"Heavy" Structures as Barriers to "Flows" 12
Subtler Structural Barriers 16
Origins and History of Globalization 17
Hardwired 17
Cycles 18
Phases 18
Events 19
Broader, More Recent Changes 20
Chapter Summary 23
Discussion Questions 24
Further Reading 24
References 25
2 Theorizing Globalization 29
Imperialism 30
Colonialism 32
Development 33
Americanization 35
Anti-Americanism as a Global Process 37
Neoliberalism 38
Neoliberalism: Basic Ideas 41
The Neoliberal State 42
Critiquing Neoliberalism: Karl Polanyi 43
Contemporary Criticisms of Neoliberalism 44
Neo-Marxian Theories 46
Transnational Capitalism 46
Empire 48
Chapter Summary 51
Discussion Questions 53
Further Reading 53
References 54
3 Structuring the Global Economy 58
Before Bretton Woods 59
A Prior Epoch of Globalization 59
Economic Development During and After WW II 60
Bretton Woods and the Bretton Woods System 61
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 63
World Trade Organization (WTO) 64
International Monetary Fund (IMF) 65
World Bank 67
The End of Bretton Woods 69
Changes in, and Critiques of, Bretton Woods-Era Organizations 70
Other Important Economic Organizations 74
The Role of Emerging Economies 75
The Multinational Corporation (MNC) 76
The Myth of Economic Globalization? 79
Chapter Summary 80
Discussion Questions 81
Further Reading 81
References 82
4 Global Economic Flows 85
Trade 86
Trade Surpluses and Deficits 86
Global Trade: Economic Chains and Networks 87
Global Value Chains 88
T-Shirts 88
iPhones 90
Conventional, Hybrid, and Electric Automobiles 91
Increasing Competition for Commodities 92
The Economic Impact of the Flow of Oil 93
Oil Wealth 94
Race to the Bottom and Upgrading 96
Upgrading in the Less Developed World? 96
Outsourcing 98
Financial Globalization 100
The Great Recession 100
Consumption 104
Consumer Objects and Services 106
Consumers 106
Consumption Processes 106
Consumption Sites 107
Global Resistance 107
Chapter Summary 108
Discussion Questions 109
Further Reading 109
References 109
5 Global Political Structures and Processes 113
On Political Flows 114
The Nation-State 115
Threats to the Nation-State 116
Global Flows 116
Universal Human Rights 117
Sustainability and Liquid Sovereignty 118
In Defense of the Nation-State 119
"Imagined Community" 120
Changes in Global Nation-State Relations 122
The European Union and Brexit 122
China 125
United Nations (UN) 126
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) 127
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and C