Contemporary globalization is transforming and undermining the role of the nation-state, causing it to lose its grip on both the national economy and identity. This is a penetrating analysisof this phenomenon and an explorationn of how governments - national, regional, local, global city-regions - can respond.This original selection of essays discusses the impact of globalization on nation-states and the international system, the consequent political and sociological fragmentation ...

Inequality is not just about the size of our wallets. It is a socio-cultural order which, for most of us, reduces our capabilities to function as human beings, our health, our dignity, our sense of self, as well as our resources to act and participate in the world. This book shows that inequality is literally a killing field, with millions of people dying premature deaths because of it. These lethal effects of inequality operate not only in the poor world, but also, and increasingly, in ri...

This exciting new study provides an original and provocative exposé of the crisis of global capitalism in its multiple dimensions - economic, political, social, ecological, military, and cultural. Building on his earlier works on globalization, William I. Robinson discusses the nature of the new global capitalism, the rise of a globalized production and financial system, a transnational capitalist class, and a transnational state and warns of the rise of a global police state to contain th...

Contrary to the common view that globalization undermines social agency, ‘alter-globalization activists', that is, those who contest globalization in its neo-liberal form, have developed new ways to become actors in the global age. They propose alternatives to Washington Consensus policies, implement horizontal and participatory organization models and promote a nascent global public space.Rather than being anti-globalization, these activists have built a truly global movement that...

Until recently, dominant theoretical paradigms in the comparative social sciences did not highlight states as organizational structures or as potentially autonomous actors. Indeed, the term 'state' was rarely used. Current work, however, increasingly views the state as an agent which, although influenced by the society that surrounds it, also shapes social and political processes. The contributors to this volume, which includes some of the best recent interdisciplinary scholarship on state...

The foundational text for democratization studies for over 25 years.Political science scholars consider the four-volume work Transitions from Authoritarian Rule to be a foundational text for studying the process of democratization, specifically in those cases where an authoritarian regime is giving way to some form of democratic government. The most important of the four books is without a doubt the fourth volume, Tentative Conclusions about Uncertain ...

"Demonstrates that the study of international migration has really come of age. From acculturation to undocumented immigration, the authors consider more than three dozen concepts at the heart of migration studies. Clearly written in a highly readable style, the book is a valuable resource for students and scholars alike."- Nancy Foner, City University of New York"This very useful and authoritative compendium explicates thirty-eight concepts central...

The most up-to-date analysis of today’s immigration issuesAs the authors state in Chapter 1, "the movement of people across national borders represents one of the most vivid dramas of social reality in the contemporary world." This comparative text examines contemporary immigration across the globe, focusing on 20 major nations. Noted scholars Peter Kivisto and Thomas Faist introduce students to important topics of inquiry at the heart of the field, includ...

Gender and International Migration in Europe is a unique work which introduces a gender dimension into theories of contemporary migrations. As the European Union seeks to extend equal opportunities, increasingly restrictionist immigration policies and the persistence of racism, deny autonomy and choice to migrant women. This work demonstrates how processes of globalisation and change in state policies on employment and welfare have maintained a demand for diverse forms of gendered...

Globalization is undoubtedly the great overarching paradigm of our era. However, there is still little agreement on what globalization actually ‘is’ and some do not accept that it ‘is’ anything at all.This new book addresses the contestation of globalization by the anti- or counter-globalization movement. To contest means to challenge, to call into question, to doubt, to oppose and to litigate. This study shows how globalization is ‘contestable’ in many different ways and how the c...

Offering a general view of the development of subnational foreign action around the world, this work covers topics such as the repercussions upon subnational autonomy of the progressive consistution of international regimes such as the EU, NAFTA and APEC.

What is national identity? What are the main challenges posed to national identity by the strengthening of regional identities and the growth of cultural diversity? How is right-wing nationalism connected to the desire to preserve a traditional image of national identity? Can we forge a new kind of national identity that responds to the challenges of globalization and other deep-seated changes?In this important new book, Montserrat Guibernau answers these and other compelling quest...