Globalization in Question

'Globalization' is one of the key concepts of our time. It is used by both the right and the left as the cornerstone of their analysis of the international economy and polity. In both political and academic discussions, the assumption is commonly made that the process of economic globalization is well under way and that this represents a qualitatively new stage in the development of international capitalism. But is there in fact such a thing as a genuinely global economy? Globalization in Question investigates this notion, providing a very different account of the international economy and stressing the possibilities for its continued and extended governance.

The new edition of this best-selling text has been thoroughly revised and updated to take into account new issues which have become salient in the period since the first and second editions were published. Several new chapters have been added and others combined or re-written to assess the growing supra-national regionalization of the international economy, the emergence of India and China as new super-powers, and the possibilities for the continued governance of the global system. A new author has been added to strengthen the analytical embrace of the book given the untimely death of Paul Hirst in 2003.

Globalization in Question's third edition is a continuing intervention into current discussions about the nature and prospects of globalization. The book has far-reaching implications which will be of interest to students and academics in a number of disciplines including politics, sociology, economics and geography, as well as to journalists and policy-makers.

Preface

Acknowledgements

Chapter One Introduction: The Contours of Globalization

Chapter Two Globalization and the History of the International Economy

Chapter Three Multinational companies and the internationalization of business activity

Chapter Four Globalization and International Competitiveness

Chapter Five Emerging Markets and the Advanced Economies

Chapter Six Supra-national Regionalization or Globalization

Chapter Seven General Governance Issues

Chapter Eight Globalization, Governance and the Nation State

Notes for 3rd edition

References

Acclaim for previous edition:

"Paul Hirst and Grahame Thompson offer one of the best and most iconoclastic attempts yet at mapping the new global economy."

Will Hutton, The Observer

"A timely and critical study of the current discussion about the nature and prospects of a global economy."

Business Horizons

Paul Hirst (deceased) was Professor of Social Theory at Birkbeck, University of London.

Grahame Thompson is Professor of Political Economy at the Open University.

Simon Bromley is Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Studies at the Open University.

'Globalization’ is one of the key concepts of our time. It is used by both the right and the left as the cornerstone of their analysis of the international economy and polity. In both political and academic discussions, the assumption is commonly made that the process of economic globalization is well under way and that this represents a qualitatively new stage in the development of international capitalism. But is there in fact such a thing as a genuinely global economy? Globalization in Question investigates this notion, providing a very different account of the international economy and stressing the possibilities for its continued and extended governance.

The new edition of this best-selling text has been thoroughly revised and updated to take into account new issues which have become salient in the period since the first and second editions were published. Several new chapters have been added and others combined or re-written to assess the growing supra-national regionalization of the international economy, the emergence of India and China as new super-powers, and the possibilities for the continued governance of the global system. A new author has been added to strengthen the analytical embrace of the book given the untimely death of Paul Hirst in 2003.

Globalization in Question's third edition is a continuing intervention into current discussions about the nature and prospects of globalization. The book has far-reaching implications which will be of interest to students and academics in a number of disciplines including politics, sociology, economics and geography, as well as to journalists and policy-makers.