The Clash Of Globalizations

Collecting and synthesizing a series of essays on the political economy of trade and development policy, this book explores the following research questions: to what extent is the global trading regime reducing the ability of nation-states to pursue policies for financial stability and economic growth; and what political factors explain such changes in policy space over time, across different types of trade treaties and across nations? Gallagher presents intriguing findings on the policy constraints on the Uruguay Round, as well as the significant restrictions that the USA places upon the ability of developing nations to deploy a range of development strategies for stability and growth. Analyzing the factors that have led to twenty-first-century trade politics being characterized by a “clash of globalizations,” this volume explores the role of economic power, institutional structure, domestic politics, currency fluctuations and ideas about globalization in effecting changes to global trade policies.

In his comprehensive study of the politics of international labor rights in the United States, Thomas Greven offers a concise analysis of the genesis of a viable policy alternative to the dominant free trade paradigm in U.S. foreign economic policy. The conceptual and coalition-building efforts of labor rights advocates, and particularly the critical learning processes within the U.S. labor movement, are at the center of analysis. Both theoretically and empirically, Greven breaks new ground by applying neo-Gramscian hegemony theory to an investigation of the career of a policy concept - the linkage of trade and fundamental labor rights - in U.S. trade policy discourse. This allows him to focus on the question of whether labor rights advocates altered the parameters of the debate beyond the traditional dichotomy of free trade and protectionism. Through careful analysis of discursive processes of interest-formation, without neglect of their material and institutional foundations, Greven can show how labor rights advocates successfully placed international labor rights on the U.S. trade policy agenda and how their policy proposals came to be key elements of globalization critique as well as of an evolving alternative.

Are we moving inexorably towards a ‘new empire’ or is global civil society transforming global politics into a ‘new cosmopolis’? In The Global Politics of Globalization, the alternatives of ‘Empire’ and ‘Cosmopolis’ are counter-poised as representative of two antithetical conceptions and practices of world order, both historically and in the present era, and each expresses an alternative idea of human unity and community. Today, global politics is embroiled in a clash of globalizations, a clash between these two opposed forms of world order. The contributions in the debate range from deep historical reflections on world civilizations, critique of neoliberal economics and imperialism, new thinking on the ideals and practices of (global) citizenship, the philosophical basis for cosmopolitan politics, and the emergence of new forms of global social forces and movements. Previously published as a special issue of Globalizations, this book brings together a very distinguished set of contributors to explore and debate the relationship between globalization processes and world order in light of recent controversies over the return of ‘empire’.

The rise of popular social movements throughout the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and North America in 2011 challenged two hegemonic discourses of the post-Cold War era: Francis Fukuyama's 'The End of History' and Samuel Huntington's 'The Clash of Civilizations.' The quest for genuine democracy and social justice and the backlash against the neoliberal order is a common theme in the global mass protests in the West and the East. This is no less than a discursive paradigm shift, a new beginning to the history, a move towards new alternatives to the status quo. This book is about difference and dialogue; it embraces The Dignity of Difference and promotes dialogue. However, it also demonstrates the limits of dialogue as a useful and universal approach for resolving conflicts, particularly in cases involving asymmetric and unequal power relations. The distinguished group of authors suggests in this volume that there is a 'third way' of addressing global tensions - one that rejects the extremes of both universalism and particularism. This third way is a radical call for an epistemic shift in our understanding of 'us-other' and 'good-evil', a radical approach toward accommodating difference as well as embracing the plural concept of 'the good'. The authors strengthen their alternative approach with a practical policy guide, by challenging existing policies that either exclude or assimilate other cultures, that wage the constructed 'global war on terror,' and that impose a western neo-liberal discourse on non-western societies. This important book will be essential reading for all those studying civilizations, globalization, foreign policy, peace and security studies, multiculturalism and ethnicity, regionalism, global governance and international political economy.

"Globalization: An Introduction to the End of the Known World" surveys the history of globalization from the earliest of ancient texts through contemporary debates and the prospects for anticipating the new worlds to come. At the end of the twentieth century, debates over the nature of globalization were unable to agree on a simple resolution, except to say that globalization is economic, political, and cultural all at once. Cultural globalization affects everyone with a smartphone, on which global youth from Los Angeles to Jakarta listen to Jay-Z and Beyonce. States are torn in several directions at once by unsettling economic, political, and cultural forces. Lemert concludes with a serious outline of the possible ways of imagining what the still-unknown global world will become next ways including optimism, caution, and skepticism."

The effects of globalization on poverty and inequality are a key issue in contemporary international politics, yet they have been neglected in international relations and comparative politics literatures. Arie M. Kacowicz explores the complex relationships between globalization and the distribution of wealth as a political problem in international relations, analyzing them through the prism of poverty and inequality. He develops a political framework (an 'intermestic model') which captures the interaction between the international and the domestic domains and explains those effects with a particular emphasis upon the state and its relations with society. He also specifies the different hypotheses about the possible links between globalization and the distribution of wealth and tests them in the context of Latin America during the years 1982–2008, with a particular focus on Argentina and the deep crisis it experienced in 2001–2.

This companion features original essays on the complexity of globalization and its diverse and sometimes conflicting effects. Written by top scholars in the field, it offers a nuanced and detailed examination of globalization that includes both positive and critical evaluations. Introduces the major players, theories, and methodologies Explores the major areas of impact, including the environment, cities, outsourcing, consumerism, global media, politics, religion, and public health Addresses the foremost concerns of global inequality, corruption, international terrorism, war, and the future of globalization Wide-ranging and comprehensive, an excellent text for undergraduate and graduate students in a range of disciplines