Understanding Globalization: The Social Consequences of Political, Economic, and Environmental Change
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 RobertsContemporary 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. (Wallerstein, Immanuel)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. (Judis, John B.)There are a number of interesting ideas contained in this book. (Rorden WilkinsonPolitical Studies)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. (Rosenau, James N.)