Geographies of Globalization: A Critical Introduction (Critical Introductions to Geography)

Challenging such neoliberal assumptions as the ‘death of distance’ and suggestions that geography no longer matters within a shrinking globe, Geographies of Globalization is a critical introduction to the concepts and realities surrounding what has become the leitmotif of our contemporary world. The book shows that whatever else they may be, the contemporary processes that are impacting on the world economy and which are variously represented as ‘globalization’ and/or ‘internationalization’ are fundamentally geographical processes, for they are tying the planet together in new and different ways. Exploring a wide range of issues, from the integration of the world economy to how contemporary processes are shaping and shaped by nation-states and how workers are organizing transnationally in response to on-going transformations in the planet’s economic geography, Geographies of Globalization illuminates the many, often contradictory, facets of globalization. Andrew Herod is Professor of Geography, Adjunct Professor of International Affairs, and Adjunct Professor of Anthropology, at the University of Georgia, USA. He has written widely on issues of globalization and labour politics. His books include The Dirty Work of Neoliberalism: Cleaners in the Global Economy (with Luis Aguiar) (Blackwell, 2006), Geographies of Power: Placing Scale (with Melissa Wright) (Blackwell, 2002), Labor Geographies: Workers and the Landscapes of Capitalism (2001), Organizing the Landscape: Geographical Perspectives on Labor Unionism (1998), and An Unruly World? Globalization, Governance and Geography (with Gearid Tuathail, and Susan Roberts) (1998). He is also an elected official, being a member of the government of Athens-Clarke County, Georgia. List of Figures. List of Tables. Preface. A Note on Terminology, Naming, and the Calculation of Historical Monetary Values. List of Abbreviations. 1. Introduction. 2. Envisioning Global Visions. 3. Interpreting Globalization. 4. Talking Globalization. 5. Globalizing Empires. 6. Manufacturing Globalization. 7. Governing Globalization. 8. Globalizing Labor. 9. Conclusion. References. Index