"In this volume international academics assess the contribution of the globalization thesis, in its various guises, to our understanding of social, political and economic change in contemporary societies. The authors cast a critical and in large part, sceptical gaze over some of the often exaggerated and wilfully extrapolated claims made in the name of globalization, whilst seeking to transcend the disciplinary shackles that have come to characterize, as they have come to limit, our understanding of the dynamic processes and mechanisms of globalization.
They expose, challenge and demystify many of our intuitive assumptions about this complex and contested process, developing a distinctive 'third wave' perspective on the phenomena variously referred to as economic, political, social and cultural globalization."--Jacket.