Understanding Globalization: The Social Consequences of Political, Economic and Environmental Change

Today "globalization" is bandied about by nearly everyone. But how many of us really understand the new complexities brought about by the changes that have only intensified near the end of this century? Students of sociology, politics, history and economics should appreciate this vibrant introduction to globalization by scholar and former journalist Robert Schaeffer. He examines the diverse social consequences of global problems for people in different settings, with detailed case histories of dollar devaluations, debt crises, political partitions, environmental dilemmas, drug trafficking, democratization, free trade agreements, food overproduction, and more. His analytic narrative clarifies how complex developments and arcane institutions (such as the World Bank of G-7) take actions that affect every-day lives. While examples are used from around the world, the first part of the book "brings the story home" by showing how global events impact people here in the United States.

About the Author :
Robert K. Schaeffer, associate professor of sociology at San Jose State University, is former managing editor of In These Times and Greenpeace and the author of Warpaths: The Politics of Partition and Power to the People: Democratization around the World.

Review :
"This clearly written and vastly comprehensive book is a valuable and fascinating read. . . . Schaeffer turns his gaze to topics as varied as inflation, debt crises at home and abroad, stock market booms and busts, hunger and agriculture, free trade agreements, global climate change, democratization, and the global drug trade. In nearly every case, the research is solid and the choice of details fascinating. . . I would recommend this book for general readers . . . or mid-level courses wishing to incorporate a global perspective." --J. Timmons Roberts, Tulane University, Contemporary Sociology "A remarkably clear exposition of the major economic developments of the last two decades. It cuts through jargon and pap, and is therefore a great assist to serious reflection and intelligent debate for all concerned citizens." --Immanuel Wallerstein, Fernand Braudel Center, Yale University "Robert Schaeffer has taken the entire world as his subject and has made it remarkably comprehensible. Schaeffer makes sense of everything from ethnic separation to global warming, from third world hunger to the inflation of stock prices, from trade deficits to the fall of communism. He shows how they are not discrete events, but part of a new global economy that has emerged over the last three decades. I can't think of a better guide to this new world." --John B. Judis, senior editor, The New Republic "There are a number of interesting ideas contained in this book." --Rorden Wilkinson, University of Sussex, University of Manchester, Political Studies Review "Globalization is a multifaceted phenomenon, and Robert Schaeffer's inquiry creatively-and yet in detail-traces both the uniformities and the diversities embedded in its dynamics. Using ample historical, economic, and political materials, he digs deep into diverse globalizing processes and, in so doing, convincingly demonstrates how these processes are tailored to particular circumstances even as they also reflect shared values, concerns, and practices." --James N. Rosenau, The George Washington University