Globalization: An Asian Perspective on Modernity and Politics in America

The central metaphor is partly constructed out of Michel Foucault's metaphor of the Ship of Fools in Madness and Civilization. Building on Foucault's brilliant argument, the three themes of hope, progress, and optimism as used in this book represent idiomatic expressions of the business of modernity that have developed since the time of the Industrial Revolution in the West. With this in mind, this book has been designed for upper level undergraduates, graduate students, and readers who are interested in contemporary political theory. Those with a background in business, philosophy, political theory, popular culture, economics, international relations, cultural studies, literary studies, and American government will discover themselves at an advantage in understanding the issues explored in the book. It avoids overtly dense theories that often cloud the issue of globalisation and uses plain English to make sense of the most important political phenomenon in the world today. This book uses the American case as a way to understand the complex phenomena of globalization. READERSHIP: Policy makers, researchers, tertiary students and all those interested in the effects of globalisation on modern America & the consequence impact on Asia and rest of the world.

About the Author :
Antonio L Rappa is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the National University of Singapore. He held an SAF Overseas Training Award (Military)(New Zealand) in 1984, worked briefly at Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), and joined NUS officially as a staff member on an NUS Overseas Graduate Scholarship (OGS) in 1994. He received the Norman Meller Award in 1996 and founded the Eurasian Association Mentorship Programme (EAMP) in 1997. Dr Rappa was a Visiting Scholar at the Institute for Governmental Studies (IGS) at the University of California, Berkeley; a Visiting Scholar at RAND (Hewlett Foundation Program); and a Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science at the Johns Hopkins University Krieger School of Arts and Sciences.

Review :
"Rappa analyzes the nature of neoliberalism by raising important theoretical questions about the current relationships between American business structures, political norms, popular culture, and the world of business. The book is refreshing because it focuses on the three themes of 'hope', 'optimism' and 'progress' that constitute what has arguably come to represent the American Dream." - John A Quelch, Professor, Harvard Business School.