Political Globalization

"Brawley provides us with a remarkably balanced, systematic, and nevertheless accessible survey of the facts and debates pertaining to the issue of globalization." - Daniel Verdier, Ohio State University

We live today in an interconnected world in which ordinary people can became instant online celebrities to fans thousands of miles away, in which religious leaders can influence millions globally, in which humans are altering the climate and environment, and in which complex social forces intersect across continents. This is globalization. In the fifth edition of his bestselling Very Short Introduction Manfred B. Steger considers the major dimensions of globalization: economic, political, cultural, ideological, and ecological. He looks at its causes and effects, and engages with the hotly contested question of whether globalization is, ultimately, a good or a bad thing. From climate change to the Ebola virus, Donald Trump to Twitter, trade wars to China's growing global profile, Steger explores today's unprecedented levels of planetary integration as well as the recent challenges posed by resurgent national populism. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Morten Ougaard provides a new and distinct theoretical perspective to the analysis of the globalization of politics. The book analyzes global governance as the partial and uneven globalization of different aspects of statehood. It focuses on the institutional infrastructure, highlighting the role of the G7/OECD nexus in providing strategic leadership; discusses an emerging global function of societal persistence or public goods; governance and relations of power between social forces; and finally it discusses American hegemonic leadership in the light of the dual power/persistence perspective.

The Political Economy of Globalization brings together original chapters by leading authorities to provide much-needed evidence and analysis in relation to a highly contentious phenomenon and concept. The book shows how investment patterns are being transformed, a global civil society is emerging, and governments are losing control of national currencies. However, it also makes it clear that globalization does not prohibit strong governments from maintaining a welfare state and good working conditions and how they can co-operate to manage the flow of goods, money, people, and problems across borders. The Political Economy of Globalization brings together original chapters by leading authorities to provide much-needed evidence and analysis in relation to a highly contentious phenomenon and concept. The book shows how investment patterns are being transformed, a global civil society is emerging, and governments are losing control of national currencies. However, it also makes it clear that globalization does not prohibit strong governments from maintaining a welfare state and good working conditions and how they can co-operate to manage the flow of goods, money, people, and problems across borders.

The nature of the contemporary global political economy and the significance of the current crisis are a matter of wide-ranging intellectual and political debate, which has contributed to a revival of interest in Marx’s critique of political economy. This book interrogates such a critique within the broader framework of the history of political economy, and offers a new appreciation of its contemporary relevance. A distinctive feature of this study is its use of the new historical critical edition of the writings of Marx and Engels (MEGA2), their partially unpublished notebooks in particular. The sheer volume of this material forces a renewed encounter with Marx. It demonstrates that the international sphere and non-European societies had an increasing importance in his research, which developed the scientific elements elaborated by Marx’s predecessors. This book questions widespread assumptions that the nation-state was the starting point for the analysis of development. It explores the international foundations of political economy, from mercantilism to Adam Smith and David Ricardo and to Hegel, and investigates how the understanding of the international political economy informs the interpretations of history to which it gave rise. The book then traces the developments of Marx’s critique of political economy from the early 1840s to Capital Volume 1 and shows that his deepening understanding of the laws of capitalist uneven and combined development allowed him to recognise the growth of a world working class. Marx’s work thus offers the necessary categories to develop an alternative to methodological nationalism and Eurocentrism grounded in a critique of political economy. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the development of Marx’s thought and in the foundations of International Political Economy.

Re-Globalization examines the changing face of globalization, with political, economic, and social balances in flux, and tensions increasing in many parts of the globe. This book discusses and problematizes the current transition phase of globalization in response to issues such as inequalities, climate change, and health crises, offering a comprehensive collection of responses to the question “what is re- globalization?” The authors discuss the various definitions and forms of re-globalization, using a range of approaches, examples, and case studies in order to shed light on this process. The analysis of the phenomenon of re- globalization – understood as an economic, political, and social process – is both inter- and transdisciplinary. This volume offers contributions from academic disciplines within the social sciences, as well as technology, global security, global studies, health, and climate and environmental sciences. Overall, the book analyzes and illustrates how globalization shifts are interconnected and how they relate to a transition in global society, proposing a framework for a series of future scenarios. This socio- geographically diverse book will be of great interest to students, scholars, and researchers across a broad spectrum of disciplines exploring the future of globalization.

The book examines the kind of action that needs to be taken by world bodies in fields such as the trafficing of drugs, international terrorism, world hunger and other pressing problems, and the type of political activity through which individuals can seek to influence them.

First Published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.