Globalization in the Twenty-First Century: Convergence or Divergence? [Hardcover]

Globalization in the Twenty-First Century explores the degrees of convergence and/or divergence attributed to the process of globalization. Theoretical contributions to the globalization debate within International Political Economy are empirically evaluated, covering different geographical parts of the world (Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America, Malaysia and South Africa), as well as particular issues of growing relevance (such as the genome project). The contributions are organised according to the three levels of analysis common in the social sciences.Introduction: Globalization in the Twenty-First Century; A.H?lsemeyer PART I: GLOBALIZATION AT THE MACRO LEVEL Transnational Practices and the Analysis of the Global System; L.Sklair Problematizing Technology and 'Globalization'; R.Leoppky PART II: INTERMEDIATE LEVEL 1 - GLOBALIZATION AND THE STATE Globalization and Other Stories: Paradigmatic Selection in International Politics; P.G.Cerny Post-Communist Transformation and Industrial Relations: A Fast Track to the 'Competition State' in Eastern Europe?; R.J.Leiteritz & L.Handrich Becoming 'Competitive': Globalization and State Transformation in Malaysia and South Africa; J.van der Westhuizen PART III: INTERMEDIATE LEVEL 2 - GLOBALIZATION AND REGIONAL INTEGRATION Globalization, Regionalization and Democracy; W.D.Coleman Toward the Competition Region: Global Business Actors and the Future of Regionalism; M.Spindler The New Wave of Trade Agreements in the Americas: Regionalism Converging to Globalization; A.Hester & E.Beaulieu PART IV: GLOBALIZATION AT THE MICRO LEVEL The Uneven Pluralization of World Politics; P.G.Cerny Conclusion: Convergence or Divergence?; A.H?lsemeyerEUGENE BEAULIEU Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, University of Calgary, Canada PHILIP G. CERNY Professor of Government, University of Manchester, UK WILLIAM D. COLEMAN Canada Research Chair in Global Governance and Public Policy, McMaster University, Canada LARS HANDRICH Resl*