Anthony G. McGrew – författare

This innovative new text is derived from a highly successful Open University course of the same title. It takes as a dominant theme the contested issue of ‘globalization’ (the apparent intensification of global patterns of inter-dependence) and its implications for the autonomy of the modern nation-state.Following a conceptual introduction, which critically examines the theoretical debates framing the study of world politics, the work is structured around four key processes of globalization which the authors identify as being the central determinants of contemporary global politics. These key processes are: the global impact of great power relations; the globalizing tendencies of technological innovation; the existence of a global economy; and the globalizing force of modernity. Reflecting this structure the text is organized into four discrete sections. Each section explores, both theoretically and empirically, one of the four processes of globalization. Throughout, particular attention is paid both to a critical evaluation of these globalizing processes as well as to their consequences for the sovereignty and autonomy of the modern nation-state. Moreover, the authors combine a lucid treatment of theoretical debates with topical case-study material to produce a text which is extremely accessible to undergraduate students studying international relations and politics and to those readers with little prior knowledge of world affairs.

This innovative new text is derived from a highly successful Open University course of the same title. It takes as a dominant theme the contested issue of ‘globalization’ (the apparent intensification of global patterns of inter-dependence) and its implications for the autonomy of the modern nation-state.

Following a conceptual introduction, which critically examines the theoretical debates framing the study of world politics, the work is structured around four key processes of globalization which the authors identify as being the central determinants of contemporary global politics. These key processes are: the global impact of great power relations; the globalizing tendencies of technological innovation; the existence of a global economy; and the globalizing force of modernity.

Reflecting this structure the text is organized into four discrete sections. Each section explores, both theoretically and empirically, one of the four processes of globalization. Throughout, particular attention is paid both to a critical evaluation of these globalizing processes as well as to their consequences for the sovereignty and autonomy of the modern nation-state. Moreover, the authors combine a lucid treatment of theoretical debates with topical case-study material to produce a text which is extremely accessible to undergraduate students studying international relations and politics and to those readers with little prior knowledge of world affairs.

In this book, the authors set forth a new model of globalization that lays claims to supersede existing models, and then use this model to assess the way the processes of globalization have operated in different historic periods in respect to political organization, military globalization, trade, finance, corporate productivity, migration, culture, and the environment. Each of these topics is covered in a chapter which contrasts the contemporary nature of globalization with that of earlier epochs.In mapping the shape and political consequences of globalization, the authors concentrate on six states in advanced capitalist societies (SIACS): the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden, France, Germany, and Japan. For comparative purposes, other states—particularly those with developing economics—are referred to and discussed where relevant. The book concludes by systematically describing and assessing contemporary globalization, and appraising the implications of globalization for the sovereignty and autonomy of SIACS. It also confronts directly the political fatalism that surrounds much discussion of globalization with a normative agenda that elaborates the possibilities for democratizing and civilizing the unfolding global transformation.