Globalization is much discussed but little understood. This study opens up new ways of seeing the global world around us. Drawing on contemporary and historical evidence, insights are offered into a range of subjects from the multi-national corporation and the future of the nation state, to the revival of ethnicity and the development of global culture. Globalization poses profound social challenges, but it is far from sweeping all before it. This is an important book for all those interested in economic, political and cultural change.