The MUA Library

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"As we revise this preface in January, 2021, we are struck by how much the events of the day both reflect, and are profoundly changing, the process of globalization. For example, all of our lives have been altered by the global pandemic of COVID-19. The deadly virus emerged in late 2019, and within a few short months, it had made its way around the entire globe. In a highly interconnected world, it was spread through cheap international air travel, cargo ships crossing the vast oceans, and domestic travelers carried it deeper into even remote regions. The pandemic brought the global economy to a grinding halt, plummeting international trade, and putting people out of work in virtually every country on the planet. The World Health Organization (WHO) coordinated a global response in an attempt to halt the virus but over a year into the pandemic, COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to mount. Fortunately, several promising vaccines have been developed and those too are making their way through global distribution networks in hopes of ending the deadly virus. It has been particularly fascinating to watch global events unfold as we have continued writing the first, second, and third editions of this book. For instance, the first edition was published in the midst of the Great Recession. While writing the second edition, the global economy had stabilized but it had not yet rebounded to its prerecessionary levels for most parts of the world. A great number of scholars and activists argued that it was neoliberal policy (see Chapter 4) that led to the Great Recession, and as the economic turmoil wore on, some predicted its demise. But economic growth would resume (until COVID-19), and having emerged from the Great Recession, it became clear that neoliberalism remains a strong force in both global politics and the global economy"--