Nicknamed "Euroville," Spartanburg, South Carolina, is a home away from home for BMW, Michelin, Ciba-Geigy, and numerous other European corporations. Enriching our understanding of what globalization means to millions of small-town, blue-collar Americans, "Guten Tag, Y'all" looks at Spartanburg as a model of how determined communities can shape and influence globalization to their benefit--and liking.

"South Carolinians in general and Spartans in particular do not believe in revolutions or quick fixes of any sort," writes Marko Maunula. Portraying Spartanburg to be a highly organized, hierarchical community, Maunula shows how it retained much of its preexisting culture and many of its institutions as it transformed itself from a mill town to a global business headquarters. As Maunula discusses such topics as global currency flows, cold war politics, federal trade policies, technological advances, and the decline of the American textile industry, he profiles industrialist Roger Milliken, civic booster Richard E. (Dick) Tukey, and others who successfully "sold" their vision for Spartanburg both abroad and on the home front. Maunula also analyzes the complex cultural give-and-take by which multinational corporations are transformed from alien, nationally identifiable foreign business units into localized conglomerates. "Guten Tag, Y'all" is a multifaceted, engaging case study of international economic survival and success at the local level.

The increased movement of people globally has changed the face of national and international schooling. Higher levels of mobility have resulted from both the willing movement of students and their families with a desire to create a better life, and the forced movement of refugee families travelling away from war, famine and other extreme circumstances. This book explores the idea that the complex connections created by the forces of globalisation have led to a diminishing difference between what were once described as international schools and national schools. By examining a selection of responses from students attending international schools in Brazil, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Philippines and Switzerland, the book discusses key issues surrounding identity and cosmopolitan senses of belonging. Chapters draw from current literature and recent qualitative research to highlight the concerns that students face within the international school community, including social, psychological, and academic difficulties. The interviews provide a rich and unique body of knowledge, demonstrating how perceptions of identity and belonging are changing, especially with affiliation to a national or a global identity. The notion that international students have become global citizens through their affiliation to a global rather than a national identity exhibits a changing and potentially irreversible trend. Global Identity in Multicultural and International Educational Contexts will be of key interest to researchers, academics and policy makers involved with international schooling and globalised education.

This book by two leading scholars offers the first systematic analysis of the relationship between globalization and the environment from the early Modern period to the present. Peter Christoff and Robyn Eckersley develop a broad conceptual framework for understanding the globalization of environmental problems and the highly uneven, often faltering, international political response. The authors develop linkages between economic globalization and environmental degradation and explore a range of key global environmental problems-focusing on the two most challenging of all: climate change and biodiversity loss. Finally, they critically explore the challenges of environmental governance in a world defined by global capitalism and sovereign states. Providing a normative framework for evaluating global environmental governance, they suggest alternative institutional and policy responses. Through a rich set of case studies, this powerful book will help readers grasp the systemic causes of global environmental degradation as well as the myriad opportunities for reform of global environmental governance.

This book explores the communication processes of the Transition Movement, a community-led global social movement, as it was adapted in a local context. First it analyzes how the movement's grand narratives of responding to "climate change" and creating greater "resiliency" were communicated into local community-based stories, responses, and actions in the Transition Town of Amherst, Massachusetts. Second, it seeks to understand the multilayered communication processes that facilitate these actions toward sustainable social change. Transition Amherst developed and/or supported projects that addressed reducing dependency on peak-oil, creating community-based-local economies, supporting sustainable food production and consumption, and participating in more efficient transportation, among others. The popularity of the model coincides with an increase in the interest in and use of the term "sustainability" by media, academics and policymakers around the world, and an increase in the global use of digital technology as a resource for information gathering and sharing. Thus this book situates itself at the intersections of a global environmental and economic crisis, the popularization of the term "sustainability," and an increasingly digitized and networked global society in order to better understand how social change is contextualized and facilitated in a local community via a global network. This book is the first comprehensive analysis of the ways in which the theories of Transition are applied over an extended period of time in practice, on the ground in a Transition town.

Death squads have become an increasingly common feature of the modern world. In nearly all instances, their establishment is tolerated, encouraged, or undertaken by the state itself, which thereby risks its monoply on the use of force, one of the fundamental characteristics of modern states. Why do such a variety of regimes, under very different circumstances, condone such activity? Death Squads in Global Perspective hopes to answer that question and explain not only their development, but also why they can be expected to proliferate in the early 21st century.

Over the past two decades, opportunities for NGOs to engage in collective action have increased tremendously. NGOs are no longer confined to the national level but also enjoy access to the regional and international level and are present at the United Nations, lobby policy-makers in the European Union and are making their way into economic institutions, such as the World Bank or the World Trade Organization. While the ever-growing number of governmental organizations presents non-state actors with unprecedented choices for engagement, it also poses new challenges. They need to adapt to the highly idiosyncratic structures of these organizations. Comparing non-governmental organizations in the United Nations and the European Union across a range of different issue areas, this book examines how the choice of venue and institution affects the actions and strategies of NGOs. In this volume two major international organizations are compared: the United Nations and the European Union. Both organizations are increasingly sought out by non-governmental organizations and exhibit interesting differences with respect to their institutional structure, scope, membership, culture and rules. To ascertain the effects of these institutional variations, the authors contrast NGO activities in both organizations across environment, human and women's rights - issue areas where NGOs have been argued to be more prominent - as well as socio-economics and security - issue areas where NGOs have been less visible.

This volume is concerned with the complexities of the relationship between globalization and different groups of consumers in developing countries. Globalization, it is argued, can yield frustration and disappointment as well as welfare gains for consumers; it may, but does not necessarily, displace local products and via the rapid recent expansion of the mass media, it offers policy-makers new opportunities to deal with acute social problems.

Critical Rationalism and Globalization addresses how the access to critical reason enables people to shape a new social order on a global scale. This book demonstrates how the philosophy of critical rationalism contributes to the sociology of Globalization, through uncovering the role of critical reason in arriving at an agreement on common values and institutions on a global scale. It discusses how value consensus on the institutions of sovereignty and inter-state law has prepared the ground for the rise of a global system of national societies after the end of World War II. Masoud Alamuti argues that uneven openness of national economies to global trade and investment should be comprehended in the framework of the post-war legal and political context. Using the concept of rationality as openness to criticism, the book proposes a normative theory of open global society in order to show that the existing value consensus on the cult of sovereignty suffers from the recognition of the possibility of rational dialogue among competing ways of the good life. Masoud Alamuti argues that once the people of the world, across national communities, open their fundamental ways of the good life to mutual criticism, they can create common global values necessary for the rise of a just social order on a global scale. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of Globalization Studies, Global Sociology and International Relations.

Laguerre proposes a relationship among migrants and their home society that transcends current views in migration studies. The relationship among Haitians who live outside Haiti reflects a web rather than a radial relationship with the home country; Haitian migrants communicate among themselves and the home country simultaneously. In viewing the Haitian diaspora from a global perspective, the author reveals a new theory of interconnectedness in migration, which marks a significant move away from transnationalism.

This important new book offers an engaging and challenging introduction to the thorny paths of the globalization debate.

Drawing on original research from social scientists working on twelve countries, this book explores the key issues faced by nations and citizens as they struggle to rediscover, reaffirm or reconstruct their sense of national identities in the face of globalizing forces. Some nations and peoples experience the fragmentation of once certain identities as threatening and likely to generate political and social breakdown. Others encounter globalization as a challenge which brings uncertainties but also opportunities for adaptation, the evolution of hybrid identities or new forms of protest.

This book investigates studies on colonialism and anti-colonialism from Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. The author begins by recounting the deleterious impact of colonialism and then focuses on the heady days of anti-colonialism nationalism. He traces how the system fell apart: leaders, especially those of the second-generation, often turned out to be inept and corrupt; structural obstacles led poor countries to continue to depend on the export of commodities; advanced countries promised to help, but did not prove useful; when growth was possible, here and there, the fruits of development were seldom distributed widely. This project will appeal to the academics, researchers, and students in the fields of comparative politics, development studies, government, and economics.

Commercial cinema has always been one of the biggest indigenous industries in India, and remains so in the post-globalization era, when Indian economy has entered a new phase of global participation, liberalization and expansion. Issues of community, gender, society, social and economic justice, bourgeois-liberal individualism, secular nationhood and ethnic identity are nowhere more explored in the Indian cultural mainstream than in commercial cinema. As Indian economy and policy have gone through a sea-change after the end of the Cold War and the commencement of the Global Capital, the largest cultural industry has followed suit. This book is a significant addition to the study of post-Global Indian culture. The articles represent a variety of theoretical and pedagogical approaches, and the collection will be appreciated by beginners and scholars alike.

This book delineates the role that Pakistan should play in the largely anarchic world of the twenty-first century in order to best serve the country's long-term national interests. Its main aim is to lay down the parameters within which Pakistan's grand strategy should be formulated, taking into account the evolving global and regional security environment and Pakistan's historical experience. Provided here is an in-depth analysis and critical evaluation of the past record of Pakistan's foreign policy within this context, bringing out its successes and failures, strengths and weaknesses. Based on these analyses, a comprehensive approach is recommended for safeguarding Pakistan's national security and promoting its prosperity utilizing a strategy that is a marked departure from the military-dominated, uni-dimensional policies the country has followed thus far. Besides providing guidelines to Pakistan's policy makers and intelligentsia, this book will be of interest to academics, foreign observers, and general readers in understanding the constraints and parameters within which Pakistan - a de facto nuclear-weapon state of 190 million people at the cross-roads of South Asia, Central Asia, and the Persian Gulf - must operate to safeguard its national interests in the turbulent times ahead.

Cosmopolitanism is often discussed in a critical and disapproving manner: as a concept complicit with the interests of the powerful, or as a notion related to Western political supremacy, the ills of globalization, inequality, and capitalist economic penetration. Seen as the moral justification for embracing or tolerating cultural difference, ethnically and socially diverse communities unenthusiastic with change, develop an acknowledgement of their common position vis-a-vis a western, "universal" political point of view. By means of exploring the idiosyncratic form of political intimacy generated by anti-cosmopolitanism, and assuming an analytical and critical stance towards the concepts of parochialism and localism, this volume examines the political consciousness of such negatively predisposed actors, and it attempts to explain their reservation towards the sincerity of international politics, their reliance on conspiracy theories or nationalist narratives, their introversion.

This interdisciplinary collection of essays highlights the relevance of Buddhist doctrine and practice to issues of globalization. From various philosophical, religious, historical, and political perspectives, the authors show that Buddhism arguably the world s first transnational religion is a rich resource for navigating today's interconnected world. Buddhist Responses to Globalization addresses globalization as a contemporary phenomenon, marked by economic, cultural, and political deterritorialization, and also proposes concrete strategies for improving global conditions in light of these facts. Topics include Buddhist analyses of both capitalist and materialist economies; Buddhist religious syncretism in highly multicultural areas such as Honolulu; the changing face of Buddhism through the work of public intellectuals such as Alice Walker; and Buddhist responses to a range of issues including reparations and restorative justice, economic inequality, spirituality and political activism, cultural homogenization and nihilism, and feminist critique. In short, the book looks to bring Buddhist ideas and practices into direct and meaningful, yet critical, engagement with both the facts and theories of globalization."

This book provides up-to-date information on globalisation trends and the transformations taking place in emerging markets. It discusses key themes of relevance to the auto industry, including the environmental impact of the car, adaptation of designs for the needs of emerging markets and the emergence of global mega-suppliers. These issues are placed in the context of more general debates about globalisation and current crises in emerging markets such as Brazil and East Asia.

How can we study globalization in a way that transcends the material/ideational rift? How has globalization resonated and/or dominated in different national contexts? What role has been played by national political economies and domestic institutions in this process? "Producing Globalisation" attempts to scrutinize the nature of the interplay between globalization and national institutional settings. Rather than taking globalization as a given, this book explores how concrete political actors produced the phenomenon of globalization. Such an approach aims to bring human agency and its importance to the forefront of theory and practice in world politics and economics. The analysis is based on two case-studies, Greece and Ireland. By examining and comparing the discourses, policies and strategies of key, national institutional actors in these two countries, "Producing Globalisation" offers new insights into the emergence of globalization as a hegemonic discourse, as well as into the theory of hegemonic discourse itself. Thus the author invites us to think differently both about the nature of globalization and the nature of the hegemonic within international political economy.

The book examines the expansion of investment and trade between China and New Zealand, and its changing composition within the political framework, especially the 2008 Free Trade Agreement. Particular attention is paid to China's volatile agrifood market, where New Zealand dairy products play an important role for both countries. The New Zealand-China economic relationship - asymmetrical and complementary, but with increasing competition from domestic production - is a case study of the complexities of globalization and the interplay of economic imperatives, political pressures and cultural factors. China is now New Zealand's main economic partner and a major source of migrants, tourists and students. This proposed study on how New Zealand and China manage their grave dissimilarities and disparities in growing, ever close economic ties will be of interest to academics, policy analysts, economic/trade decision makers, and business practitioners.

This book defends the case for the expansion of the democratic model to the global political sphere. Concentrating on the democratic deficit of international affairs, it examines the nexus between the phenomenon of international exclusion and the political response of global democracy. This distinctive position is developed through a critical survey of the principal theories for and against global democracy. The main rival narratives (realism, nationalism, civilizationism, and liberal internationalism) are rebutted on grounds of failing democratic principles of inclusion. Based on a notion of interaction-dependent justice, these theories arguably provide a crucial ideological support to the exclusionary attitude of the current international system. Going beyond these exclusionary paradigms, the book defends a model of cosmo-federalism that is all-inclusive, multilayered and rooted. The text adopts an interdisciplinary perspective that combines three areas of scholarship: international political theory, international relations and political sociology. Within them, a number of contemporary controversies are analyzed, including the ethical dispute on global justice, the institutional debate on supranationalism, and the political discussion on social emancipatory struggles. From such an interdisciplinary perspective derives an engaged text that will be of interest to students and researchers concerned with the key political aspects of the discussion on globalization and democratic global order.

One of the keywords of our time, 'globalization' frames how we understand our interconnected world. An ambiguous signifier carrying multiple meanings, the term is usually used to refer to the extension and intensification of social relations across the world. Many works have been authored that deal with various aspects of globalization. However, it is surprising that no critical history of the concept has yet provided a historical mapping of its conceptual origins, evolution, and genealogical lineages. This book investigates the meaning formation of 'globalization' by featuring interviews with twelve prominent academic pioneers of the new trans-disciplinary field of Global Studies, who were central in forging the 'career 'of the concept of 'globalization'. Together with an introductory chapter, these interviews clarify how and why a previously obscure scholarly concept suddenly exploded in the public discourse of the 1990s. In particular, the interviews trace the processes by which economistic discourses of free market economics became the basis for the influential association of the meaning of 'globalization' with the dominant neoliberal framework of the 21st century. This book was originally published as a special issue of Globalizations.

Leading scholars on both sides of the Atlantic analyze the changes to the social structure of cities as a result of recent migration. The contributors consider the link between globalizing cities and existing zones of social exclusion, employment prospects for all residents and the likelihood of social mobility for recent arrivals. A particular feature of the book is the comparative focus of the chapters that, for the first time, seek to assess the importance of national institutional structures.

Globalization and Money explores how men and women, particularly the poor and the unbanked in the global South, use money in ways that empower themselves and their families. Supriya Singh argues that money as a medium of relationships across cultures is a central component of globalization. She deftly weaves theory and individual stories to show how money is emblematic of interconnected markets, the half of the world that is unbanked, and gender disparities. She shows how men s and women s banking patterns are tied to their management of money in the household. Migrants send money home to show they care for their families and communities left behind. Yet these remittances are far from symbolic; instead they represent more than three times the total amount of official development assistance. This book illustrates how many of the most exciting changes in harnessing people s savings; widening credit and insurance; and lowering the cost of technologies, payments and money transfers are taking place in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Singh demonstrates how strategies to help the poor and marginalized have gone global in South South conversations, making us rethink the contours of globalization and money.

Globalization: The Paradox of Organizational Behavior is an excellent resource for undergraduate and graduate students, professors, policy makers, and the intelligentsia worldwide. Sagini explores the text's major themes using historical, materialistic, and imperialistic factors. The globalization movement is shaped by economic, political, technological, and cultural forces that transform human collectivities. Instability and related concomitant issues such as disease, energy security, and terrorism challenge the reconstructive role of internal and external factors in foreign policy decision-making. The implications of the global forces on the divided world of gated communities, urban and village ghettos, national borders, and cultural decay could be far-reaching if leaders fail to redesign and implement effective governance models.

Globalisation - the global movement, and control, of products, capital, technologies, persons and images - increasingly takes place through the work of organisations, perhaps the most powerful of which are multinational corporations. Based in an ethnographic analysis of cross-cultural social interactions in everyday workplace practices at a subsidiary of an elite, Japanese consumer electronics multinational in France, this book intimately examines, and theorises, contemporary global dynamics. Japanese corporate 'know-how' is described not simply as the combination of technological innovation riding on financial 'clout' but as a reflection of Japanese social relations, powerfully expressed in Japanese organisational dynamics. The book details how Japanese organisational power does and does not adapt in overseas settings: how Japanese managers and engineers negotiate conflicts between their understanding of appropriate practices with those of local, non-Japanese staff - in this case, French managers and engineers - who hold their own distinctive cultural and organisational inclinations in the workplace. The book argues that the insights provided by the intimate study of persons interacting within and across organisations is crucial to a fulsome understanding of globalisation. This is assisted, further, by a grounded examination of how 'networks'- as social constructions - are both expanded and bounded, a move which assists in collapsing the common reliance on micro and macro levels of analysis in considering global phenomena. The book poses important theoretical and methodological challenges for organisational studies as well as for analysis of the forces of globalisation by anthropologists and other social scientists.