The book, concise and coherent, following our previous edition on the same controversial issue of our time (Zygmunt Bauman, "Globalization"), provides a comprehensive interpretation of the contemporary debate on globalization. It is an effort by the authors to present briefly and comprehensively what are the main issues in the field and what answers are given to them.
What is globalization? What has caused such intense controversy? Does globalization create more disorder in the world or can it be controlled? This book provides the key to understanding the most important theoretical and political discussions of our time. Held and McGrew analyze the elements and assess the global trends of the phenomenon of globalization: issues of governance, culture, and economy, patterns of inequality and global ethics, which are analyzed in combination with the arguments and counterarguments of the two main groups in the globalization dispute, its supporters and skeptics. The authors answer crucial questions about political life, namely: who governs, whose interests are served, for what purpose, and by what means? Instead of a conclusion, they present a new political agenda for the 21st century - a global contract for a cosmopolitan social democracy.