From the Zapatistas to Seattle and beyond, the "anti-globalization movement" has been grabbing headlines and capturing political imaginations worldwide. This book explores the interface between diverse resistances to neo-liberal globalization and a range of critical theories within international relations.
"Critical Theories, International Relations and 'the Anti-Globalization Movement' "provides a comprehensive and nuanced analysis of the "anti-globalization" struggles taking place in many different parts of the world. It shows the complexity and diversity of these movements and illustrates this with a number of detailed empirical studies of local, national and transnational resistance in the United States, Europe, Asia and Africa. The authors introduce a variety of competing theoretical perspectives from international political economy, social movement theory, globalization studies feminism and postmodernism, explaining how activism has influenced theory and how theory can help activists to modify their tactics.
The global protest movement has made a huge impact on world politics and this book is essential reading for students, scholars and activists with an interest in this area.

The rapid social and economic changes in China have brought about unprecedented challenges and opportunities to international stakeholders. This book provides valuable information about the key sectors of China's health care system after its entrance into WTO, including the pharmaceutical industry, health insurance services, and hospitals and related health service provision in terms of policies, legal framework and market potential. It offers a critical analysis from a multi-disciplinary perspective of the impact of WTO and globalization on China's health care system.

This book critically analyses early school foreign language teaching policy and practice, foregrounding the influence of the socioeducational and cultural context on how policies are implemented and assessing the factors which either promote or constrain their effectiveness. It focuses on four Asian contexts - Malaysia, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Thailand - while providing a discussion of policy and practice in Canada and Finland as a comparison. Concentrating on the state school sector, it criticises the worldwide trend for a focus on English as the principal or only foreign language taught in primary schools, founded on a rationale that widespread proficiency in English is important for future national success in a globalised economy. It maintains that the economic rationale is not only largely unfounded and irrelevant to the language learning experiences of young children but also that the focus on English exacerbates system inequalities rather than contributing to their reduction. The book argues for a broader perspective on language learning in primary schools, one that values multilingualism and knowledge of regional and indigenous languages alongside a more diverse range of foreign languages. This book will appeal to educational policymakers, researchers and students interested in early foreign language learning in state educational systems worldwide.

The last ten years have seen an extraordinary transformation in how business has to account for itself. Today, the air is thick with the buzz of corporate responsibility (CR) leaders, innovators and practitioners. Conferences and publications on the topic are in abundance: the tip of an iceberg that has become a fast-growth industry. Many of those companies and service providers most vocal in distancing themselves from early experimentation have proved the strongest advocates of sustainability reporting, often winning applause and coveted awards in the process. Even companies from controversial sectors such as alcohol, cigarettes and gambling have joined the party - running up bills of tens of millions of dollars in demonstrating their new-found faith for CR. It has not always been like this. As one of the architects of the burgeoning CR movement, Simon Zadek has always been a prolific writer and contributor of ideas. The evolution of his thoughts on new economics, corporate accountability, stakeholder dialogue, social and ethical auditing and reporting have attracted consistent attention - never more than today. In this unique anthology, Zadek crystallises his key work from the last decade into a coherent and fascinating whole, which, read together, provide a context, lens and early history lesson on how CR has become one of the defining business issues of the 21st century. The writings reflect Zadek's involvement with organisations such as the New Economics Foundation, a pioneer in the development of social auditing, sustainability indicators, community finance and much more. They illustrate his contribution in setting up the Ethical Trading Initiative, and AccountAbility (where he is presently the CEO), in working with companies such as The Body Shop and Ben & Jerry's through to Nike, BT and many other civil-society organisations. The book contains 33 pieces, which are split into six sections: "The Economics of Utopia"; "Civil Society, Power and Accountability"; "Accounting for Change"; "The Civil Corporation"; "Partnership Alchemy"; and "Responsible Competitiveness". It will be an invaluable resource for anyone wishing develop an understanding of why corporate responsibility is where it is today and where it might end up tomorrow.

This volume presents an extended reflection on human dependency and the need to 'care' and be 'cared for'. Philosophers, theologians, social theorists, economists, and professional caregivers to discuss the challenges of professional caregiving, analyzing how societies can promote relationships in which individuals can give and receive 'care'.

"Malaysia has long had an ambivalent relationship to globalization. A shining example of export-led growth and the positive role for foreign investment, the country's political leadership has also expressed skepticism about the prevailing international political and economic order. In this compelling collection, Nelson, Meerman and Rahman Embong bring together a group of Malaysian and foreign scholars to dissect the effects of globalization on Malaysian development over the long-run. They consider the full spectrum of issues from economic and social policy to new challenges from transnational Islam, and are unafraid of voicing skepticism where the effects of globalization are overblown. Malaysia is surprisingly understudied in comparative context; this volume remedies that, and provides an overview of a country undergoing important political change." -- Stephan Haggard, Krause Professor, Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, University of California, San Diego "Half a century since Malayan independence in 1957, this collection of essays provides a welcome assessment of post-colonial, especially recent Malaysian policies on various fronts -- development, 'looking East', 1997-98 crisis management, inter-ethnic redistribution, poverty reduction, trade, education, healthcare, globalization, Islam and national culture. This volume is a useful compendium for anyone seeking a broad overview of recent policy challenges and debates." -- Jomo Kwame Sundaram, United Nations Assistant Secretary General for Economic Development and formerly Professor of Economics at the Faculty of Economics & Administration, Universiti Malaya "What is the state of a globalizing Malaysia? Inthe same way that a group from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) in the 1990s entered into fundamental debates about Malaysia's future, here two decades later, another UKM research group -- fellows from the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (IKMAS) -- have gone to the heart of the Malaysian paradox. Taking the New Economic Policy and the post-independence racial tension as their twin touch points, the group systematically and sensitively explore the paradox of a highly globalized national economy mediated by a developmentalist and interventionist state. They coherently confront difficult issues from crony capitalism and poverty reduction to globalizing Islam and the now largely forgotten National Culture Policy. In doing so, they help us understand the complexities of political autonomy in a globalizing world." -- Paul James, Professor & Academic Director, Globalism Research Centre, RMIT, Melbourne

Globalization has become one of the dominant ideas of recent times. However, is the debate on globalization as global as it ought to be? In this book the editors have brought together prominent experts in the field to consider how globalization affects marginalized countries and groups. A variety of case studies provide a unique assessment of the issue of globalization and offer a new look at the relationship between the global and the local.

Focusing on world regions where human rights abuses are the most serious, extensive and sustained; this book fills a crucial gap in our knowledge of the difficulties and promise of promoting human rights in our global age.

This book is an innovative and original addition to the literature on globalisation and examines the challenges faced by those wishing to develop progressive visions of transparent global governance and civil society. The author traces the history and development of the institutions of global governance (The World Bank, IMF, WTO etc) as well as the emergence of the anti-globalisation movement. The author argues that we are at a unique moment where social forces have moved from national and international struggles to a global struggle and intervention in the world economy.

A series of case studies examine the ways in which cities have become contested sites for global struggles from the London dockworkers strikes of the 19th Century to the recent demonstrations against the international financial institutions in Genoa, Seattle and Washington.

Globalization and Social Change takes a refreshing new perspective on globalization and widening social and spatial inequalities. Diane Perrons draws on ideas about the new economy, risk society, welfare regimes and political economy to explain the growing social and spatial divisions characteristic of our increasingly divided world. Combining original argument with a clear exposition of the underlying processes, Perrons illustrates her points through a series of case studies linking people in rich and poor countries. She places strong emphasis on the socio-economic aspects of change, particularly changes in working patterns and living arrangements, and makes reference to the new global division of labour, declining industrial regions and widening social divisions within what she terms 'superstar regions'. Wide in scope, this new study also focuses on changing family structures, the feminization of employment, migration, work life balance and new conceptions of gender identity and gender roles. Diane Perrons' enlightening book concludes that divisions by social class and gender are in some ways becoming more significant than divisions between nations, and suggests that new systems of social and economic organization are necessary for social peace in the new millennium.

This handbook offers readers various perspectives on globalization and multilateralism with Chinese characteristics. Its originality is derived from the hybrid approaches the handbook takes, where chapters provide complementary, intertwined, and multi-level analysis on the topic. Based on contributions of scholars and practitioners from a number of countries, the handbook helps readers to comprehend ongoing debates on the Belt and Road Initiative and global governance, within a shifting balance of world power, characterized by competing views between Western and Chinese norms, standards, values, and narratives. Split into three Parts, and consisting of 45 chapters, the handbook views globalization as comprehensive concept that benefits from the contributions of various disciplines such as geography, geo-economics, political science and international relations. In producing one of the most ambitious and updated outputs on the topic, the handbook as a whole seeks to discuss what globalization with Chinese characteristics looks like, and the role of the Belt and Road Initiative in this process.

Although Al Jazeera English has yet to receive to receive the attention accorded to its Arabic-language elder sibling, it is in many ways the more interesting of the two. It seeks to redefine global news coverage by focusing on areas that are traditionally neglected by most news organizations, and its potential audience is many times larger than that of the Arabic channel. This will be the first book to thoroughly examine this channel's coverage methods, effects on its audience, and its place in the world of mediated geopolitics.Al Jazeera recognized that if it was to expand its worldwide influence, it could not do so wholly in Arabic. And so, in 2006, it launched Al Jazeera English, the first English-language news channel to be headquartered in the Middle East. With its principal broadcast centers in Doha, Washington, London, and Kuala Lumpur, the channel faced the task of proving itself to be more than a curiosity and just a junior version of the all-news English-language channels such as the BBC or CNN. After several years of operation, Al Jazeera English seems well on its way to defining its place in the market. The breadth of its coverage, particularly its emphasis on reporting from the global South, has distinguished it from many of its competitors. Thorough coverage from the Middle East and from Africa provides a perspective that other major satellite channels have rarely offered their audiences. Initially, Al Jazeera English was available to 80 million cable and satellite households. It was, however, accessible by only a small number of viewers in the United States (mainly those accessing it through several online providers) primarily because of political reasons. Whatever the political back-story may be, gaining access to a larger global market will depend on audience demand. If Al Jazeera English does a better job of covering major stories, particularly in the Middle East and the global South, than other channels do, and if its competitors find themselves saying, "As Al Jazeera English reported today . . .," news consumers will eventually demand access. This book will examine these political issues and will also analyze the channel's audience base, particularly in Africa and South Asia. The book will also offer evaluations of Al Jazeera English's defining moments to date - its reporting during the 2008-2009 war in Gaza (written by Palestinian and Israeli scholars), and its coverage of the "Ground Zero Mosque" controversy in 2010. The volume will also consider Al Jazeera English in the context of public diplomacy and the growing significance of diasporic populations.

This book provides new data and perspectives on the development of 'world religion' in post-colonial societies through an analysis of the development of 'Hinduism' in various parts of Indonesia from the early 20th century to the present. This development has been largely driven by the religious and cultural policy of the Indonesian central government, although the process began during the colonial period as an indigenous response to the introduction of modernity.

This book examines the relationship between globalisation and regionalism through a detailed analysis of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) project. It analyses how the interaction between globalisation and domestic politics shaped the evolution of AFTA over the past 10 years, arguing that although AFTA was triggered primarily by the pressures of globalisation, it was a tussle between the imperatives of growth and domestic distribution that shaped the way economic cooperation unfolded and the forms it took.

eBook available with sample pages: 020313088X

Globalization has become perhaps the most central--and one of the most contested--terms in the social sciences in the present day. If one wishes to understand the conditions in which different groups of people live today, it seems increasingly impossible to ignore the aspects of those conditions that are seen to be characterized, or influenced, by "global" forces, movements and phenomena. Regarding particular phenomena, no matter how apparently "local" or parochial in nature, as being located within "global" flows or systems or structures, seems today to be a very necessary component of any effective sort of social investigation. Many social scientific scholars in the last decade or so have engaged in a "global turn" in their thinking, investigating key areas and facets of human life--such as work, economy, cities, politics, and media--in terms of how these are being affected, influenced and changed by (what can be taken to be) "globalizing forces." Themes of inter-societal, trans-societal and cross-planetary connections, structures, processes and movements are increasingly central across the social sciences, including sociology, anthropology, geography, political science, economics, international relations, and many humanities disciplines too. Moreover, such themes--and the controversies and polemics often attached to them--have become common currency in many spheres outside the academy, with politicians, businesspeople, political activists and citizens of all varieties taking up ideas associated with "globalization," and deploying them both to make sense of, and also sometimes to try to change, the world around them. This book covers the issues of globalization as they relate to food. Contributors include Carole Counihan, Alan Warde, Pat Caplan, Alex McIntosh, Rick Wilk, Jeff Sobal, Marianne Lien and Krishnendu Ray.

Examines the current state of Iran, looking at a wide range of areas including the economy, finance, politics, the media, the position of women and migration. The book discusses the uneasy balance between the theocratic conservatism, modernisation and globalization. Overall, the book suggests that forces for change in Iran are building up.

eBook available with sample pages: 020322101X

Cross-border regions are newly emerging social spaces stretching across national borders. Globalization makes national borders more permeable and leads to a rearrangement of economic and political interactions. This is particularly pronounced within supra-regional blocs featuring specific internal border regimes. The ensuing opportunities are increasingly seized to create border-spanning discourses and institutions. This is illustrated in the book by a range of experts analyzing cross-border regions in Europe, America, East Asia and Africa.

This work argues that due to domestic blockages presented to them in their respective countries, the Amazonian indigenous peoples organized via transnational networks. Through a comparative historical analysis of five Ecuadorian Amazonian indigenous organisations and two transnational Amazonian social movement organisations, the author illustrates the process of transnational collective action and its outcomes.

A seminal study, The University in Development explores how the university is indeed 'in development': pursuing a new 'third' mission of external societal development (alongside its two existing missions of teaching and research), and experiencing a major internal revolution as this impacts on its structural organisation. Already prevalent in many institutions internationally, this third academic mission has begun to pose troubling challenges to existing academic research cultures and systems in South Africa. Emerging from an extended longitudinal study, The University in Development provides a powerful analysis of the complex nexus of transformation occurring between universities and the rapidly changing global society of which they form a part. Embedded within the book is a central theoretical claim: that driving this new international transformation within universities is a global post-1970s new capitalist industrial revolution, with economies seeking out use-inspired basic research at universities in order to survive and grow within the competitive international market. The analysis thus provides new understandings of current concepts of 'globalisation', 'use-oriented' research, 'knowledge society and economy', and 'national system of innovation'. The book is structured in three parts. While the first considers case studies of this academic transformation globally, the second part homes in on new research centres at Western Cape universities to examine the combination of creativity and disruption arising as this third academic mission evolves in South Africa. Part 3 argues that new visions, concepts and policies of research are needed, if our universities are to unlock their 'knowledges' for societal development, with greater social justice not only for industry but also for civil society.

The practice of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been growing in attention, importance, significance, and acceptance in recent decades. CSR has been included in multiple debates, comments, theories, studies and research around the world. In the last decade, Ibero-America (including Brazil, Portugal, and Spain), has grown in economic terms, and corporate responsible practices have played a key role. A CSR approach in community-based experience has emerged in the last years in this region. This is due to the support of multilateral agencies that have served as a link between government, private sector and society. However, there are still many inequalities in this region. Therefore, this edited book focuses on how CSR and Corporate Governance in Ibero-America have been employed, analyzed, and examined in different sectors and scenarios (companies, NGOs, higher educational institutions, government). It does so from theoretical (theory development), conceptual, methodological, and empirical approaches. It takes a trans-regional approach unlike most research which has been focused on studying specific initiatives or experiences in a particular country.

This seventh volume in the Academy of Internation Business series focuses on the European dimensions of international business and presents the work of leading scholars. Increasingly dominant views held about globalization and universal modes of management are explored and challenged through three core themes: the European dimensions of human resource management; multinational subsidiary operations; and emerging issues for the future of international business in Europe.

International capital mobility is a fundamental aspect of the political economy of globalization, and this study develops a new framework for understanding this crucial phenomenon. Matthew Watson draws a distinction between the spatial and the functional mobility of capital, allowing fresh insights into existing work on the subject whilst repoliticizing the very idea of capital being 'in motion'. The dynamics of capital mobility and the patterns of risk exposure are illustrated through four cases: the Asian financial crisis; the Tobin tax; the Enron affair; and the proposed consolidation of the European stock market.

After nearly two decades of market liberalizing reforms in the Americas, small and medium size enterprises (SMEs)--the backbone of capitalization the world over--have expanded and deepened their presence in the region. This book highlights the continuing liberalization measures nations are adopting to facilitate SME creation and growth, the remaining barriers that have not yet been torn down (e.g. business licensing procedures, credit access, work rules) as well as new regulatory and financial impediments that have been threatening SME sector gains during the last decade. Using case studies from Latin America's big emerging markets along with the case of Costa Rica's important laboratory for entrepreneurship, the contributors address the current and prospective outlook for Latin American entrepreneurs and their enterprises in the new global environment.

Splintering Urbanism offers a path-breaking analysis of the nature of the urban condition at the start of the new millennium. Adopting a global and interdisciplinary perspective, it reveals how new technologies and increasingly privatised systems of infrastructure provision - telecommunications, highways, urban streets, energy, and water - are supporting the splintering of metropolitan areas across the world. The result is a new 'socio-technical' way of understanding contemporary urban change, which brings together discussions about:
* globalisation and the city
* the urban and social effects of new technology
* urban, architectural and social theory
* social polarisation, marginalisation and democratisation
* infrastructure, architecture and the built environment
* developed, developing and post-communist cities.



eBook available with sample pages: PB:0415189659 EB:0203452208

Globalization, the shape of cities, the future of cities, the increasing gap between rich and poor inhabitants, and ethnic and racial segregation, are the key themes of this book. From their experiences of a wide range of cities, from Warsaw to Istanbul, Sao Paulo to New York, the authors examine what might be done to improve the lot of the citizen.