Understanding Globalization: The Social Consequences of Political, Economic, and Environmental Change

This best-selling book examines the political, economic, and environmental changes that affect people's lives in the United States and around the world. It uses a narrative approach to explain the origins of debt crisis, democratization, and global warming, and explains how these global developments affect people everywhere. Globalization does not have uniform consequences, Robert K. Schaeffer argues, but instead has different meanings for people in diverse social and economic settings. This new edition features an explanation for the rise of China as a global economic power and a special section on the origins of September 11, which traces developments in the Middle East, from India to Israel since 1947-1948. It concludes with an analysis of the "collateral damage" associated with the attacks of September 11, 2001: invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, the war on terrorism, and economic recession.