A Short History
Buch, Englisch, 200 Seiten, Format (B × H): 139 mm x 216 mm, Gewicht: 236 g
ISBN: 978-0-691-13395-9
Verlag: Princeton University Press
"Globalization" has become a popular buzzword for explaining today's world. The expression achieved terminological stardom in the 1990s and was soon embraced by the general public and integrated into numerous languages. But is this much-discussed phenomenon really an invention of modern times? In this work, Jürgen Osterhammel and Niels Petersson make the case that globalization is not so new, after all. Arguing that the world did not turn "global" overnight, the book traces the emergence of globalization over the past seven or eight centuries. In fact, the authors write, the phenomenon can be traced back to early modern large-scale trading, for example, the silk trade between China and the Mediterranean region, the shipping routes between the Arabian Peninsula and India, and the more frequently traveled caravan routes of the Near East and North Africa--all conduits for people, goods, coins, artwork, and ideas. Osterhammel and Petersson argue that the period from 1750 to 1880--an era characterized by the development of free trade and the long-distance impact of the industrial revolution--represented an important phase in the globalization phenomenon. Moreover, they demonstrate how globalization in the mid-twentieth century opened up the prospect of global destruction though nuclear war and ecological catastrophe. In the end, the authors write, today's globalization is part of a long-running transformation and has not ushered in a "global age" radically different from anything that came before. This book will appeal to historians, economists, and anyone in the social sciences who is interested in the historical emergence of globalization.
Fachgebiete
Weitere Infos & Material
Preface vii
Chapter I. "Globalization": Circumnavigating a Term 1
A Diagnosis of the Present and a Term for a Historical Process 1
The Core Concept and the Controversies 5
Chapter II. The Dimensions of Globalization 13
World System--Imperialism--Global History 14
Networks and Interaction Spheres 21
Historical Periods 27
Chapter III. The Development and Establishment of Worldwide Connections Until 1750 31
Long-distance Trade, Empires, Ecumenes 31
Gunpowder Empires and Maritime Domains 42
Holes in the Net 49
Chapter IV. 1750-1880: Imperialism, Industrialization, and Free Trade 57
Early World Politics and Atlantic Revolutions 57
The Far-reaching Impact of the Industrial Revolution 62
Empires and Nation-States 69
The Emergence of a World Economy 76
Chapter V. 1880-1945: Global Capitalism and Global Crises 81
The Experience of Globality, Global Economy, and World Politics at the Turn of the Century 81
Imperialism and World War 90
1918-1945: Global Crises and Conflicts 99
The "American Century" 107
Chapter VI. 1945 to the Mid-1970s: Globalization Split in Two 113
Political Spaces: Power Blocs, Nation-States,
and Transnational Movements 113
The Institutions of the Global Economy 121
Sociocultural Globalization? 130
Chapter VII. Conclusion 141
A New Millennium 141
On the Road to a Global Age? 145
Globalization: Putting the Concept into Perspective 150
Notes 153
Recommended Literature 171
Index 181
