Globalization

An excellent and an accessible textbook describing the key features of globalisation by a social anthropologist. The author highlights three dimensions of globalisation following the end of the Cold War: increased trade and transnational economic activity, faster and denser communication networks, and increased tensions between cultural groups involved in identity politics. The author dispenses with a few misconceptions up front such as that globalisation means homogenisation or is a threat to local identities. The main chapters then deal with various dimensions of the topic, including this embedding, acceleration, standardisation, interconnectedness, movement and vulnerability. There are excellent chapter summaries in this comprehensive coverage.