A Globalizing World

Today's news media is full of references to 'globalization' - a buzz word that is quickly becoming ubiquitous. But what exactly is globalization? What are its main driving forces? Does it truly embrace all aspects of our lives, from economics to cultural developments? A Globalizing World? examines these and other key questions in a highly accessible fashion, offering a clear and intelligent guide to the big ideas and debates of our time. In doing so, it does not take one particular stance for or against globalizaton; rather, it examines the arguments and evidence about its nature, form and impact. After introducing the main theoretical positions of those who have studied the subject, key chapters look at the changing form of modern communication and cultural industries, trade patterns and financial flows of the world economy, and whether or not the 'new political world order' is qualitatively different from the old state system. This is essential reading for all students of politics, economics and international relations.

A Brookings Institution Press and Visions of Governance for the 21st Century publication Far from being another short-lived buzzword, "globalization" refers to real changes. These changes have profound impacts on culture, economics, security, the environment—and hence on the fundamental challenges of governance. This book asks three fundamental questions: How are patterns of globalization currently evolving? How do these patterns affect governance? And how might globalism itself be governed? The first section maps the trajectory of globalization in several dimensions—economic, cultural, environmental, and political. For example, Graham Allison speculates about the impact on national and international security, and William C. Clark develops and evaluates the concepts of "environmental globalization." The second section examines the impact of globalization on governance within individual nations (including China, struggling countries in the developing world, and the industrialized democracies) and includes Elaine Kamarck's assessment of global trends in public-sector reform. The third section discusses efforts to improvise new approaches to governance, including the role of non-governmental institutions, the global dimensions of information policy, and Dani Rodrik's speculation on global economic governance.

A Globalizing World? offers a clear and intelligible guide to one of the key debates of our time, introducing the theoretical positions to examine globalization in practice, from the films we watch to the way we are governed.

Examining how youths in fourteen industrialized societies make the transition to adulthood in an era of globalization and rising uncertainty, this collection of essays investigates the impact that institutions working with social groups of youths have upon those youths' abilities to make adult decisions determining their life courses. Covering both Europe and North America, the book includes case studies, and contains country-specific contributions on conservative, social-democratic, post-socialist, liberal and familistic welfare regimes, as well as data from the GLOBALIFE project. Filling the gap in the market on the micro effects of globalization on individuals, and taking an empirical approach to the topic, this impressive volume brings the individual and nation-specific institutions back into the discussion on globalization.

Compelled by the extent to which globalization has changed the nature of labor relations, Harry C. Katz, Thomas A. Kochan, and Alexander J. S. Colvin give us the first textbook to focus on the workplace outcomes of the production of goods and services in emerging countries. In Labor Relations in a Globalizing World, they draw lessons from the United States and other advanced industrial countries to provide a menu of options for management, labor, and government leaders in emerging countries. They include discussions based in countries such as China, Brazil, India, and South Africa which, given the advanced levels of economic development they have already achieved, are often described as "transitional," because the labor relations practices and procedures used in those countries are still in a state of flux.Katz, Kochan, and Colvin analyze how labor relations functions in emerging countries in a manner that is useful to practitioners, policymakers, and academics. They take account of the fact that labor relations are much more politicized in emerging countries than in advanced industrialized countries. They also address the traditional role played by state-dominated unions in emerging countries and the recent increased importance of independent unions that have emerged as alternatives. These independent unions tend to promote firm- or workplace-level collective bargaining in contrast to the more traditional top-down systems. Katz, Kochan, and Colvin explain how multinational corporations, nongovernmental organizations, and other groups that act across national borders increasingly influence work and employment outcomes.

A former U.S. ambassador and author of The End of the Cold War? takes readers on a tour of Islamic history, reconstructing the complex historical and geopolitical trends that have created modern Islam. Simultaneous. (Islam)

Written by a leading social work academic whose work is internationally renowned, this book confronts contemporary challenges facing social workers in relation to globalization and the rise of international global problems.

Prepared by the Commission on Growth and Development, this volume brings together and evaluates the state of knowledge on the relationship between poverty, equity, and globalization.