This book argues that Western class categories do not directly apply to China and that the new Chinese middle class is distinguished more by socio-cultural rather than by economic factors. Based upon qualitative interviews done in Guangdong in South China, the study looks at entrepreneurs, professionals, and regional party cadres from various age groups, showing the complex networks among these different groups and the continuing significance of cadres. The study also explores generational differences, exposing how older generations are pragmatic and business-oriented, rather than personally oriented in their consumption whereas the younger generations appear more flexible and hedonistic and tend to be more individualistic, materialistic and oriented towards personal gain. In neither older or younger generations is there much evidence that the new Chinese middle class is taking on a political role in advocating political reform alongside market reforms as is suggested by some Western stratification theorists. Despite being in the vanguard of consumption, they are the laggards in politics.

Globalization, the economic crisis and related policies of austerity have led to a growth in extreme exploitation at work, with migrants particularly vulnerable. This book explores the lives of the growing numbers of severely exploited labourers in the world today, questioning how we can respond to such globalized patterns of extreme inequality.

How, when, and why has the Pacific been a locus for imagining different futures by those living there as well as passing through? What does that tell us about the distinctiveness or otherwise of this "sea of islands"? Foregrounding the work of leading and emerging scholars of Oceania, Pacific Futures brings together a diverse set of approaches to, and examples of, how futures are being conceived in the region and have been imagined in the past. Individual chapters engage the various and sometimes contested futures yearned for, unrealized, and even lost or forgotten, that are particular to the Pacific as a region, ocean, island network, destination, and home. Contributors recuperate the futures hoped for and dreamed up by a vast array of islanders and outlanders-from Indigenous federalists to Lutheran improvers to Cantonese small business owners-making these histories of the future visible. In so doing, the collection intervenes in debates about globalization in the Pacific--and how the region is acted on by outside forces--and postcolonial debates that emphasize the agency and resistance of Pacific peoples in the context of centuries of colonial endeavor. With a view to the effects of the "slow violence" of climate change, the volume also challenges scholars to think about the conditions of possibility for future-thinking at all in the midst of a global crisis that promises cataclysmic effects for the region. Pacific Futures highlights futures conceived in the context of a modernity coproduced by diverse Pacific peoples, taking resistance to categorization as a starting point rather than a conclusion. With its hospitable approach to thinking about history making and future thinking, one that is open to a wide range of methodological, epistemological, and political interests and commitments, the volume will encourage the writing of new histories of the Pacific and new ways of talking about history in this field, the region, and beyond.

This volume discusses the effects of globalization on changing power relationships between transnational corporations - TNCs - and transnational capital, the state, and subnational groups. TNCs have expanded their power with the deepening of market relations, but they are not causing the state to wither away. Indeed, neoliberal changes often occur with the permission or even encouragement of powerful states. Transnational capital has weakened labour groups in order to make production more competitive, but the disadvantaged groups may mobilize to counter the power of transnational capital. Finally, globalization is subjecting domestic policies to increased international scrutiny.

Drawing on the concept of hermeneutics the book argues that the successes and setbacks of conflict transformation in Teso can be understood through analyzing the impact of memory, identity, closure and power on social change and calls for a comprehensive effort of dealing with the past in war-torn societies.

Political liberalization and economic reform, the weakening of the state, and increased global interconnections have all had profound effects on Muslim societies and the practice of Islam in Africa. The contributors to this volume investigate and illuminate the changes they have brought, through detailed case studies of Muslim youth activists, Islamic NGOs, debates about Islamic law, secularism and minority rights, and Muslims and the political process in both conflict and post-conflict settings. Their work offers fresh perspectives on the complexity of Muslim politics in contemporary Africa.

The era of technology in which we reside has ushered in a more globalized and connected world. While many benefits are gained from this connectivity, possible disadvantages to issues of human rights are developed as well. Defending Human Rights and Democracy in the Era of Globalization is a pivotal resource for the latest research on the effects of a globalized society regarding issues relating to social ethics and civil rights. Highlighting relevant concepts on political autonomy, migration, and asylum, this book is ideally designed for academicians, professionals, practitioners, and upper-level students interested in the ongoing concerns of human rights.

Globalization has shifted perspectives on individualism and identity as cultural exchange occurs more rapidly in an age of heightened connectivity. As technology connects those around the world, it too helps to provoke a shift in the autonomy of individuals. The Handbook of Research on Individualism and Identity in the Globalized Digital Age explores the ways in which globalization has impacted the human experience with a specific emphasis on the field of education and human development. This research-based publication presents critical perspectives on the global changes that are occurring as a result of globalization. Researchers, professionals, and graduate-level students will find this publication to be an essential resource.

The globalization of trade, investment, and finance continues apace. Many have benefited from this, but deep inequalities persist. This book argues that the interconnections established by globalization make possible a critique of its inequality. For those who take seriously human dignity, equality is a basic presumption of social institutions.

The impact of globalization on the world's developing economies is not conclusive: studies show conflicting conclusions to the same problems in the context of globalization in developing countries. It is this analytical inconclusiveness that is at the heart of this collection, which makes a fresh attempt to study the real impact of globalization on many critical problems in less developed countries. Essays focus on the areas of labour, capital inflow, trade, technology transfer and socio-cultural issues. The contributors focus mainly on the conflicts that globalization generates in order to gauge the plight of the poor economies, and makes a contribution in the area of the political economy of globalization.

The acceleration of media culture globalization processes cross-fertilization and people's exchange beyond the confinement of national borders, but not all of them lead to substantial transformations of national identity or foster cosmopolitan outlook in terms of openness, togetherness and dialogue within and beyond the national borders. Whilst national borders continue to become more and more porous, the measures of border control are constantly reformulated to tame disordered flows and tightly re-demarcate the borders-materially, physically, symbolically and imaginatively. Border crossing does not necessarily bring about the transgression of borders. Transgression of borders requires one to fundamentally question how borders in the existing form have been socio-historically constructed and also seek to displace their exclusionary power that unevenly divide "us" and "them" and "here" and "there." This book considers how media culture and the management of people's border crossing movement combine with Japan's cultural diversity to institute the creation of national cultural borders in Japanese millennials. Critical analysis of this development is a pressing matter if we are to seriously consider how to make Japan's national cultural borders more inclusive and dialogic.

Over the last century, international courts, once reserved for arcane matters of diplomacy and trade, have begun to address a broad range of human experience and activity. This volume corrects some of the common misperceptions about international judges, while providing a balanced introduction to both the strengths and shortcomings of their work. As they rule on crucial issues of war and peace, human rights, and trade, in addition to high-profile criminal trials, international judges are playing a critical role in developments that will affect world affairs for years to come. Based on interviews with more than 30 international judges, this volume is the first comprehensive portrait of the men and women in this new global profession. The working environment of international judges is closely examined in courts around the world, highlighting the challenge of carrying out work in multiple languages, in the context of intricate bureaucratic hierarchies, and with a necessary interdependence between judges and their courts' administration. Arguing that international judges have to balance their responsibilities as interpreters of the law and as global professionals, the authors discuss the challenges of working in the fluid circumstances of international courts. Profiles of five individual judges provide insight into the experience and dilemmas of the men and women on the international bench.

This book examines the allocational and distributional impacts of international climate policy on different regions of the world by taking into account the ongoing process of globalization. It concentrates on the impacts of trade in goods and international capital mobility on climate policy outcomes. The costs of an international climate policy are assessed by incorporating the Kyoto Protocol into a multi-regional, multi-sectoral, recursive dynamic trade model based on empirical data. Climate policy leads to a change in relative competitiveness between sectors and regions, thus inducing output shifts, international capital flows, welfare changes and carbon leakage. Welfare costs can be reduced by a higher integration into the world market and a diversification of the export structure.

In this book, twelve regional chapters, encompassing all of the major regions of the world, provide a global dialogue on globalization. The authors provide much-needed new perspectives on how we should think about globalization, its impacts and forms of resistance and response. By grounding their analyses in the experience of particular regions, the chapters reveal the varied meanings and effects of globalization.

Development Models, Globalization and Economies compares and critiques the different economic models available in today's global market place. The US or Anglo-Saxon model is often portrayed as the best, yet Europe has a well-known Social Model, and Asia has enjoyed success in the past wherein the 'Asian Economic Miracle' was highly vaunted before their crash. But now Asia, especially China, is again on a roll. The book analyzes how these models have influenced both regional and global development, and finally engages in discussions upon alternatives and the search for the 'grail'

Christian Berndt investigates how German corporate actors respond to globalization and the apparent crisis of the German Model, exploring the role of economic and non-economic factors in shaping business strategies. Based on empirical research in the Ruhr area, the book argues that routine interaction at the regional level continues to play a crucial role in shaping corporate adjustment.

Cast against the background of the global system's political volatility at the dawn of the new millennium, Twenty-First Century World Order and the Asia Pacific looks at how some of the identifiable system-wide trends (e.g., globalization, democratization, fragmentation, etc.) may find repercussions in the region. The book also addresses the question of "comprehensive security," in comparison with other regions, in a wide range of areas including economic security (geoeconomics), environmental security (ecopolitics), and human security. In addition, the book offers a reassessment of the much touted rise of Asia, more particularly China. It discusses the possible link between this shift in the world's power configuration and the projected rise of "social justice" as a guiding force for international relations in general.

Multiculturalism has failed. In an era of globalization and super-diversity, in which our world is becoming increasingly interconnected, the inability of multicultural policies to adapt to this new era has left people feeling disconnected and powerless. With both personal and collective identities threatened by transnational corporate powers and supra-national organizations, the time has come for radical policy changes. In this book, Ted Cantle confronts the failures of Multiculturalism head-on and establishes a new concept - interculturalism - for managing community relations in a world defined by globalization and super-diversity. The book argues that as all countries become more multicultural, a new framework of interculturalism is needed to mediate these relationships and that this will require new systems of governance to support it.

This book investigates the transfer of parent country organizational practices by the retailers to their Chinese subsidiaries, providing insights into employment relations in multinational retail firms and changing labour-management systems in China, as well as their impact on consumer culture.

Maya Ajmera and Greg Fields provide the architecture of a new perspective on the global agenda for children, based on a new global web of relationships stemming from the community level. Arguing that the existing global agenda for children has failed, this book reimagines how society can support the world's most vulnerable children. In doing so, Invisible Children identifies and gives voice to the millions of children globally living on society's margins, while showing a way forward as to how we can best invest in children.

This book brings together authors from eleven countries to analyze and reflect on what globalization means to them. Does it mean the same in Russia as it does in the U.S.? The same in China as in South Africa? This book provides a global dialogue on globalization and brings much-needed new perspectives on how to think about one of the most important processes of our time.

States worldwide are shifting toward collaboration with the private sector, particularly for the provision of large-scale infrastructure projects. This bookfocuses on the growing reliance on public-private partnerships and concessions to address societal needs. This shift entails new roles for state that were often committed to dirigisme in the recent past. They now need to learn capabilities to manage, design, monitor and implement working relationships with the private sector and civil society. The analysis links these innovations to the reform processes of the latter part of the twentieth-century by providing in-depth accounts of large-scale transportation projects in various countries and regions, with particular attention to Latin America.

This book brings together experts from four continents (Asia, North America, Europe, Africa) and from varied disciplines to discuss a spectrum of problems created by globalization, such as the economic and financial, environmental, legal, cultural, socio-economic and social media impacts. The book not only examines the problems from a number of different perspectives, but also considers the impact of globalization in emerging nations around the world. Due to the very nature of these problems, the approaches adopted are both qualitative and quantitative; it includes quantitative research on quantum finance and the financial crisis, and also discussions on qualitative problems, such as cultural imperialism and neoliberalism. Of interest to economic researchers and management professionals, the book is also a valuable resource for social media researchers, environment scientists, and non-technical readers concerned with socio-political issues. This single volume offers a holistic view and therefore a more complete picture of the problems posed by globalization.

Since opening to foreign investment in 1979, China has emerged as the leading investment site for multinational corporations. Remade in China looks beyond the macroeconomic effects of China's investment boom to analyze how foreign investors from the US, Japan, and other nations are shaping China's legal, labor, and business reforms. Wilson draws on interviews with nearly 100 foreign and local managers, attorneys, workers, and members of the business community to explain why Chinese laborers and firms have gravitated toward foreign models, especially US businesses and their institutions.
Wilson uses the term "state-guided globalization" to describe how China has used foreign engagement to advance its domestic reform objectives and to enhance its role in international society. Rather than undermining state power, globalization actually has allowed China's state to push through difficult labor and legal reforms. Wilson concludes that Chinese policy makers drew lessons from foreign investors and foreign legal experts on how to introduce difficult labor market reforms in its state-owned enterprises and how to promote rule of law.
Remade in China examines globalization and foreign investment in a different light, showing how these developments have helped to chart China's entry into international society. China's WTO accession agreement and international norms have established parameters by which to judge Chinese legal and business reforms. Although China's rise is a grave concern to the world, Remade in China asserts that Chinese leaders now see compliance with international rules as a means to secure more investment and to enhance their international legitimacy. Wilson provides a lucid and insightful analysis of how foreign and domestic actors, from political leaders to average laborers, have contributed to remaking China's institutions.