Living with Globalization

200 Pages·2006·1.05 MB·English

by  Paul Hopper

Living with Globalization
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Living with Globalization
Paul Hopper
Oxford • New York
English edition
First published in 2006 by
Berg
Editorial offices:
First Floor, Angel Court, 81 St Clements Street, Oxford OX4 1AW, UK
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA
© Paul Hopper 2006
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form
or by any means without the written permission of Berg.
Berg is the imprint of Oxford International Publishers Ltd.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hopper, Paul, 1963-
Living with globalization / Paul Hopper.— English ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-84520-192-0 (hardback)
ISBN-10: 1-84520-192-2 (hardback)
ISBN-13: 978-1-84520-193-7 (pbk.)
ISBN-10: 1-84520-193-0 (pbk.)
1. Globalization. I. Title.
JZ1318.H67 2006
303.48’2—dc22
2005037132
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN-13 978 1 84520 192 0 (Cloth)
978 1 84520 193 7 (Paper)
ISBN-10 1 84520 192 2 (Cloth)
1 84520 193 0 (Paper)
Typeset by JS Typesetting Ltd, Porthcawl, Mid Glamorgan
Printed in the United Kingdom by Biddles Ltd, King’s Lynn
www.bergpublishers.com
For Emma, Anna and my family
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Contents
Introduction: Globalization and Complexity 1
1 Globalization and the Third Way 15
2 Globalization and Conflict in Contemporary Europe 35
3 Globalization, Cosmopolitanism and the European Union 57
4 Globalization, Al-Qaeda and Global Terror 77
5 China and Globalization 99
6 The United States and Globalization 119
Conclusion: Living with Globalization 139
Notes 149
Bibliography 159
Index 187
vii
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Introduction: Globalization and Complexity
There is currently much debate about globalization. Some people stress the need
to adapt to globalization, others to resist it. But what does it mean to be living with
globalization? How do we experience and engage with its processes? And how are
governments, societies and different social and cultural groups responding to and
contributing to it? These are the concerns of this work. This is not to claim that
globalization operates as a kind of autonomous all-powerful force sweeping all
before it. Indeed, it will be shown that determining what globalization is and the form
it is taking is a difficult task. In this regard, it will be argued that we should conceive
of globalization emerging from the intersection and interaction of the global and the
local. More specifically, when thinking about globalization we need to pay closer
attention to how its numerous flows and processes are encountered and informed by
different actors and agencies in a range of cultural, political and social contexts. The
latter might be regional, national, local, religious, institutional, and so forth. As a
result of this interplay between these different forces and groups within these different
settings, we perhaps should not be surprised that complexity and heterogeneity are
the recurring tendencies that emerge from living with globalization.
In addressing these themes, this work examines some of the key developments of
the recent period, and seeks to determine the extent to which they are informed by
globalizing processes. These include political transformations, important regional
developments and socio-economic changes affecting particular countries as well as
new forms of conflict. The ‘third way’, arguably the most significant political project
of recent times, is examined in relation to globalization in Chapter 1. The resurgence
of ethnic nationalism and far-right politics in Europe and the development of the
European Union (EU) are investigated in Chapters 2 and 3, respectively. Chapter 4
looks at the emergence of Al-Qaeda and global terrorism. While Chapter 5 examines
how aspects of globalization are contributing to the growth of China’s power and
the dramatic changes taking place within that country. Finally, Chapter 6 considers
the United States of America’s attainment of pre-eminence in international affairs,
looking at how globalizing processes might have contributed to this development. By
adopting this approach this book will provide an insight into the different dimensions
of globalization and show how it is being interpreted by regional institutions,
national governments, religious movements and so on. But rather than providing
an exhaustive analysis and detailed case studies of the myriad of different ways in
which globalization is operating in countries and regions throughout the world – and
in a single book this would not be feasible – the primary intention is to emphasize
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