This book explores the nature of, and conditions for, theoretical innovation in international studies. Highlighting classic and new research problems, this collection of critically minded, original essays pushes international relations scholarship in uncharted directions. Bridging social theory and international relations theory, it searches for sources of intellectual innovation in the everyday lives of ordinary people. The seventeen contributors are drawn from four continents and include such leading scholars as Richard Falk, James Rosenau, Yoshikazu Sakamoto, and Susan Strange. Although a diverse group, they find the contemporary world order is in the throes of a structural transformation, which can be partly understood in terms of emancipation: the self-actualisation of human potential and community that looks beyond the current era in which neo-liberal globalisation is dominant, to a more democratic and just world order.

Globalization is usually said to be about markets and power, and, as a byproduct, culture. Whither Globalization? goes further, arguing that globalization may also be understood as a way of knowing and representing the world. Mittelman debunks several prevalent myths about globalization and 'anti-globalization', presenting alternatives to this force and indicating a new common sense about future world order. Drawing on considerable original research, this book shows how globalization itself and globalization studies have changed since 9/11. Compact and accessible, Whither Globalization? is a major contribution to the study of globalization by one of the leading scholars in the field and is essential reading for students of international relations and international political economy. Key content includes: Part 1: Power Part 2: Knowledge Part 3: Ideology Part 4: Transformative Possibilities

What are the moral codes and normative principles inscribed in globalization? How do diverse communities optimize their positions, and try to capture these processes? What are the foremost cultural and political attempts to govern the market? What are the social and ethical limits to a framework based on deregulation, privitization and liberalization? These related themes reveal how issues such as religion, private capital flows, poverty, the state and democracy, transnational class structures, disruptions in culture and new patterns in the use of language are part of the globalization process.
Empirically, the research derives from data from fieldwork within and outside Southeast Asia, with a common reference point based on research in Malaysia. Following the trauma of the late 1990s - with environmental abuses in Southeast Asia, transnational turmoil in currency trading and the meltdown of stock markets - this book seeks to understand how, and to what extent, communities can reclaim political and social control over the dynamics of globalization. This highly original contribution to the globalization debate will be invaluable to researchers in a number of disciplines including political science, anthropology, history, economics, Asian Studies and sociology.

Why the paradigm of the world-class university is an implausible dream for most institutions of higher education Universities have become major actors on the global stage. Yet, as they strive to be “world-class,” institutions of higher education are shifting away from their core missions of cultivating democratic citizenship, fostering critical thinking, and safeguarding academic freedom. In the contest to raise their national and global profiles, universities are embracing a new form of utilitarianism, one that favors market power over academic values. In this book, James Mittelman explains why the world-class university is an implausible dream for most institutions and proposes viable alternatives that can help universities thrive in today’s competitive global environment. Mittelman traces how the scale, reach, and impact of higher-education institutions expanded exponentially in the post–World War II era, and how the market-led educational model became widespread. Drawing on his own groundbreaking fieldwork, he offers three case studies—the United States, which exemplifies market-oriented educational globalization; Finland, representative of the strong public sphere; and Uganda, a postcolonial country with a historically public but now increasingly private university system. Mittelman shows that the “world-class” paradigm is untenable for all but a small group of wealthy, research-intensive universities, primarily in the global North. Nevertheless, institutions without substantial material resources and in far different contexts continue to aspire to world-class stature. An urgent wake-up call, Implausible Dream argues that universities are repurposing at the peril of their high principles and recommends structural reforms that are more practical than the unrealistic worldwide measures of excellence prevalent today.

Development may be best understood in terms of the interplay among capital accumulation, the state, and class. Subject to globalizing structures, classes, in turn, are examined in light of their interactions with culture, especially gender and religion as well as ecology. Case-studies - Brazil, the Asian newly industrializing countries, China, and Mozambique - reveal three possibilities for overcoming underdevelopment: joining, leaving, or weaving through global capitalism. The conclusions do not fail to present specific principles upon which policies can be based.

This collection of original essays is the first attempt to explore the relationship between theoretical innovation in international studies and historical transformations. Leading scholars reflect on the flux, uncertainty and transformation of world orders, and sketch the contours of the emerging world order. The contributions revolve around four specific themes: the remaking of global theory; structural change in political economy and ecology in an age of globalization; social movements of transformation and emancipation; and reflection on world order in the next century.

Here James Mittelman explains the systemic dynamics and myriad consequences of globalization, focusing on the interplay between globalizing market forces, in some instances guided by the state, and the needs of society. Mittelman finds that globalization is hardly a unified phenomenon but rather a syndrome of processes and activities: a set of ideas and a policy framework. More specifically, globalization is propelled by a changing division of labor and power, manifested in a new regionalism, and challenged by fledgling resistance movements. The author argues that a more complete understanding of globalization requires an appreciation of its cultural dimensions. From this perspective, he considers the voices of those affected by this trend, including those who resist it and particularly those who are hurt by it.

"The Globalization Syndrome" is among the first books to present a holistic and multilevel analysis of globalization, connecting the economic to the political and cultural, joining agents and multiple structures, and interrelating different local, regional, and global arenas. Mittelman's findings are drawn mainly from the non-Western worlds. He provides a cross-regional analysis of Eastern Asia, an epicenter of globalization, and Southern Africa, a key node in the most marginalized continent. The evidence shows that while offering many benefits to some, globalization has become an uneasy correlation of deep tensions, giving rise to a range of alternative scenarios.

Globalization is usually said to be about markets, power and culture. "Whither Globalization? "goes further, arguing that globalization may also be understood as a way of knowing and representing the world. Mittelman debunks several prevalent myths about globalization and 'anti-globalization', presenting alternatives to this force and indicating a new common sense about future world order. Drawing on considerable original research, this book shows how globalization itself and globalization studies have changed since 9/11. Compact and accessible, "Whither Globalization?" is a major contribution to the study of globalization by one of the leading scholars in the field and is essential reading for students of international relations and international political economy.
Key content includes:
Part 1: Power
Part 2: Knowledge
Part 3: Ideology
Part 4: Transformative Possibilities