Prospects and Ambiguities of Globalization

Assumptions and institutions that we have taken for granted for fifty years are proving inadequate for the world now emerging. Moreover, mono-casual explanations of rapid global change do not work. Religious as well as economic dynamics, cultural as well as political forces, environmental as well as military constraints, are frequently working at cross-purposes in shaping a globe we cannot yet fathom. The essays in this volume reach beyond the mere description of phenomena to explore deeper currents of institutional breakdown and competing cultural drives that are radically reshaping our world. Covering topics ranging from the New Silk Road to changes in school governance around the world, the authors offer a critical, historically-informed assessment of the diverse dynamics that are undermining or nullifying current paradigms of thought and action. Drawing on their diverse backgrounds in economics, international affairs, ethics, history, education, and religion, the authors share the conviction that long-standing assumptions about a state-centered, secular-tending, economically converging world are in large measure mistaken. A paradigm shift is required if we are to understand and constructively shape the twenty-first century world.

Auteur
James W. Skillen is president of the Center for Public Justice, Washington D.C.

Contenu
Chapter 1 To Look at the World Entirely Afresh
Chapter 2 Kaleidoscopic Change in World Affairs: Emerging Patterns of Sovereignty and Governance
Chapter 3 Faith and Globalization
Chapter 4 Globalization and the State: A View from Economics
Chapter 5 The New Silk Road: Central Asia at the Global Crossroads
Chapter 6 Schooling and the Not-So-Sovereign State
Chapter 7 Evangelical Christians: The New Internationalists?
Chapter 8 Contending Ways of Life