Over the last three decades, the rapid growth of transport and telecommunications systems and the expansion of transnational diasporas have intensified links between the urban spaces of Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Increasing global mobility has fostered the development of 'informal' trading networks in which diaspora communities play a central role. As a consequence, the shadow economies of societies with vastly different levels of prosperity have begun to come into contact with one another. While the economic consequences of diaspora trading networks have been extensively explored over the past few decades, the impact of globalization on the economic underground has received much less attention. This volume elaborates on the definition of globalization, on its impact on illegal and illicit activities, and on the role of the 'Global City' as the intersection between the local and the global which allows for the empowerment of generally marginalized actors often through technological progress. The contributors explore the dark side of globalization, more specifically, the relations between globalization and the new dynamics of legal/illegal practices in urban settings of global cities.

This edited collection addresses the state of liberalism in light of recent crises and shifts within the international system. As economic growth stagnates in the West, power is shifting away from liberalism's heartlands. Liberalism is under attack, both as explanatory theory and as normative prescription. Will liberalism be able to surmount the theoretical and real-world challenges it faces today?
In this volume, leading 21st-century thinkers provide their perspectives on the continuing role of the liberal paradigm, both as a theoretical approach to international relations, and as an ordering principle of international politics. The contributors examine liberalism's ability to function in view of its internal contradictions and the increasing complexity of a globalized world; assessing its future in view of the power shifts and political transformations in the international system and providing novel ways of thinking about liberalism's role, both in its practical workings and intellectual implications.
The range of international contributors to this volume include Jonathan Caverley, Philip G. Cerny, Michael Cox, Louise Fawcett, G. John Ikenberry, Beate Jahn, Charles A. Kupchan, Margot Light, Cornelia Navari, Nicholas Rengger, Christian Reus-Smit, Nabarun Roy, Frank Schimmelfennig, Brian C. Schmidt, Peter Trubowitz and Ren Xiao.

This volume uncovers the relations between globalization and dirty dealings in urban settings, focusing on some capital cities and on the relations between underground and overground dynamics all over the globe. It aims to provide a new take on the dark side of globalization.