A stimulating appraisal of a crucial contemporary theme, this comprehensive analysis of globalizaton offers a distinctively cultural perspective on the social theory of the contemporary world. This perspective considers the world as a whole, going beyond conventional distinctions between the global and the local and between the universal and the particular. Its cultural approach emphasizes the political and economic significance of shifting conceptions of, and forms of participation in, an increasingly compressed world. At the same time the book shows why culture has become a globally contested issue - why, for example, competing conceptions of ′world order′ have political and economic consequences.

This is the fourth volume in the highly acclaimed Global Transformations series. It follows in the footsteps of Global Transformations, The Global Transformations Reader and Governing Globalization. All these volumes have been widely adopted in courses on globalization and global governance across the world, and Globalization Theory will find a place alongside these texts. This book focuses on elucidating leading theoretical approaches to understanding and explaining globalization, in both its current form and potential future shapes. It is divided into two parts: the first examines competing explanatory theories of globalization in its contemporary form, and the second looks at competing prescriptions for the future of globalization. The book’s contributors are world-renowned experts in their field, including : Chris Brown, Alex Callinicos ,Michael Doyle, David Held, G. John Ikenberry, Andrew Kuper, Anthony McGrew, Layna Mosley, Thomas Pogge, Thomas Risse, Saskia Sassen and John Tomlinson. This book is designed for courses on globalization and global governance at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. It will be of interest to students in politics, international relations, social geography, and sociology.

Theories of Globalization offers students and scholars a comprehensive and critical introduction to the concept of globalization. Barrie Axford expertly guides readers through the full range of perspectives on the topic, from international political economy to geography, global anthropology to cultural and communication studies. In so doing he draws out the common threads between competing theories, as well as pinpointing the problems that challenge our understanding of globalization. Key terms such as 'globalism' and 'globality' are carefully explained and central themes like capitalism, governance, culture and history explored in full. In assessing the contribution made by globalization theory, Axford's account also sheds new light on several crucial current issues. These range from the changing shape of democracy and citizen engagement with governance, to issues surrounding 'just war' and humane intervention, and problems relating to empire and post-colonialism. This wide-ranging and detailed new book will be essential reading for students and scholars of international politics, sociology and any area where the concept of globalization is discussed and disputed.

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

Globalization and Fragmentation offers a succinct, original critique of the century's international developments. It sets out a challenging analysis of globalization as a process reflecting political relations both between and within states.

Sure to stir controversy and debate, A Theory of Global Capitalism will be of interest to sociologists and economists alike.

Written by an international team of contributors this book is a critical examination of the ongoing enterprise of neoliberalism; its history, theory, practice, and most of all, of its outcomes.

The internet has fundamentally transformed society in the past 25 years, yet existing theories of mass or interpersonal communication do not work well in understanding a digital world. Nor has this understanding been helped by disciplinary specialization and a continual focus on the latest innovations. Ralph Schroeder takes a longer-term view, synthesizing perspectives and findings from various social science disciplines in four countries: the United States, Sweden, India and China. His comparison highlights, among other observations, that smartphones are in many respects more important than PC-based internet uses. Social Theory after the Internet focuses on everyday uses and effects of the internet, including information seeking and big data, and explains how the internet has gone beyond traditional media in, for example, enabling Donald Trump and Narendra Modi to come to power. Schroeder puts forward a sophisticated theory of the role of the internet, and how both technological and social forces shape its significance. He provides a sweeping and penetrating study, theoretically ambitious and at the same time always empirically grounded.The book will be of great interest to students and scholars of digital media and society, the internet and politics, and the social implications of big data.

The Follies of Globalisation Theory is an erudite and lively critique arguing that fashionable preoccupations with spatiality have generated deep intellectual confusions that stand in the way of a clear understanding of the modern world. And he shows how these confusions ultimately condemn globalisation theorists to a peculiar and quixotic stance: the more clearly they attempt to articulate their arguments, the more equivocal and evasive those arguments become, yielding at best the intellectual equivalent of an architectural folly.

′Globalization and Belonging′s headline message - that place matters, that locality remains vital to people, is arresting′ - Frank Webster, Professor of Sociology, City University, London Drawing on long-term empirical research into cultural practices, lifestyles and identities, Globalization and Belonging explores how far-reaching global changes are articulated locally. The authors address key sociological issues of stratification as analysis alongside ′cultural′ issues of identity, difference, choice and lifestyle. Their original argument: " Shows how globalisation theory conceives of the ′local′ " Reveals that people have a sense of elective belonging based on where they choose to put down roots " Suggests that the feel of a place is much more strongly influenced by the values and lifestyles of those migrating to it " reinvigorates debates in urban and community studies by recovering the ′local′ as an intrinsic aspect of globalisation Theoretically rigorous, the book is brought to life with direct quotations from the authors′ research, and appeals to students in urban sociology, urban geography, media studies and cultural studies.