Product Description

'Globalization' has become one of the defining buzzwords of our time - a term that describes a variety of accelerating economic, political, cultural, ideological, and environmental processes that are rapidly altering our experience of the world. It is by its nature a dynamic topic - and this Very Short Introduction has been fully updated for 2009, to include developments in global politics, the impact of terrorism, and environmental issues. Presenting globalization in accessible language as a multifaceted process encompassing global, regional, and local aspects of social life, Manfred B. Steger looks at its causes and effects, examines whether it is a new phenomenon, and explores the question of whether, ultimately, globalization is a good or a bad thing.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #48807 in Books
• Published on: 2009-01-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

About the Author
Manfred B. Steger is Associate Professor Politics and Government at Illinois State University and Affiliate Faculty Member at the Globalization Research Center of the University of Hawai'i-Manoa. His academic fields of expertise include theories and ideologies of globalization, comparative political and social theory, theories of non-violence, and international politics. His most recent publications include Globalism: The New Market Ideology, Gandhi's Dilemma: Nonviolent
Principles and Nationalist Power, Violence and its Alternatives: An Interdisciplinary Reader, and The Quest for Evolutionary Socialism: Eduard Bernstein and Social Democracy.

Customer Reviews

A bit biased, but otherwise the book is great
Although the introduction to such a complex topic as 'globalization' cannot be 'very short', Manfred B. Steger has done an excellent job by producing a succinct but nevertheless a comprehensive account of the subject. Not only does the book covers all the significant aspects of the globalization debate, it is also full of useful and well-structured graphs and tables. In addition, there is a list of literature at the end of the book with author's recommendations, which I think everyone who wants to explore the subject in depth will find very helpful. (I certainly did).

My main beef is that although the content is largely descriptive (as it should be); the author makes no secret of his own views about this changing world and about this rather controversial subject. His ideas and points he makes are germane and noteworthy, but tactless given that the aim of OUP series is an objective and balanced introduction to the topic.

On the whole, I will, of course, recommend this book to everyone who is unfamiliar with the concept of globalization. It will equip you with the basic knowledge about the nature of this phenomenon.

Shame about the diagrams
Generally a good introduction, clear to read and covering a lot of ground, but, while not extremely biased, it could still have been from a more neutral viewpoint. On the other hand, this bias did not really detract from the usefulness of the book as an introduction to the subject. The reading list at the back is definitely very helpful.
I would disagree with one of my fellow reviewers about the graphs and diagrams though- I found almost all of them totally pointless and difficult to understand! It would have been an even clearer book without them.

Excellent Introduction
An excellent introductory book to a complex topic. I like how he breaks globalization down into economic, political, cultural and ideological dimensions. He then explores the main themes and debates of each dimension. It provides a useful framework for your own thinking and is an easy read. I didn't find the book too badly biased although I would suspect him of being in the Universalist protectionists camp.