Overview

Edward Ashbee examines the globalizing processes of the past thirty years and considers the extent to which there has been ""deglobalization"" or ""slobalization"" and the reasons for these apparent shifts. The book looks at the original promise held out by globalizing trends which became fully evident at the same time as the dot.com economy became part of everyday life. The book then charts the backlash against ""globalism"" and the ways in which it became pronounced across much of Europe, North America and Asia. And it asks how far has that backlash, together with the 2008 financial crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the rise of ""techno-nationalism"" led to a stalling or even reversal in globalizing processes. The analysis disaggregates the different trends that collectively constitute ""globalization"" and surveys competing perspectives on globalization and reviews the arguments of those who argue that the concept is either myth or hyperbole. The book reveals how globalization is being reconfigured in ways that weaken its former associations with neoliberalism and Americanization thereby laying the basis for a new economic and social settlement.

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9781788217316

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Reviews

A rigorous and thought-provoking analysis of the forces that have shaped globalization over the past three decades, critically assessing whether recent developments signal a shift toward “deglobalization” or “slowbalization.”... Ashbee raises critical questions... and contextualizes contemporary economic, political, and technological transformations within a broader historical framework, offering a critical reassessment of globalization’s trajectory and the counterforces that have contested its progress. -- Marina Yue Zhang, writing in Pacific Affairs Contrary to much conventional wisdom, globalization is not an inevitable force sweeping across the world. Edward Ashbee shows with clarity and insight that it is a variegated process that ebbs and flows in response to political struggles, economic competition, technological innovation, and structural contingencies. Indeed, there is nothing inevitable about it at all. -- John L. Campbell, Department of Sociology, Dartmouth College In this excellent book, Ashbee draws out the core social, political and economic pressures that first ushered in globalization, and then a faltering process of deglobalization (or 'slowbalization'). The combination of overall analytical narrative and insightful illustrative examples throughout this period of policy discussions does a truly excellent job of bringing to the reader's attention the way in which the debate over global economic governance, and the nature of the global political economy itself, have both shifted over the past thirty years. -- David J. Bailey, Department of Political Science and International Studies, University of Birmingham If you are intrigued by a possible common factor in the rise of Donald Trump, Nigel Farage and Viktor Orbán, and more broadly, populism and economic nationalism in many parts of the developed economies, this is a must-read. Ashbee succinctly yet eloquently captures the dynamic interaction between economic globalization and socio-political movements, and uncovers the resulting role of government in coping with the challenges. -- Toshiya Ozaki, Professor Emeritus, Rikkyo University, Japan

Contrary to much conventional wisdom, globalization is not an inevitable force sweeping across the world. Edward Ashbee shows with clarity and insight that it is a variegated process that ebbs and flows in response to political struggles, economic competition, technological innovation, and structural contingencies. Indeed, there is nothing inevitable about it at all. -- John L. Campbell, Department of Sociology, Dartmouth College

Contrary to much conventional wisdom, globalization is not an inevitable force sweeping across the world. Edward Ashbee shows with clarity and insight that it is a variegated process that ebbs and flows in response to political struggles, economic competition, technological innovation, and structural contingencies. Indeed, there is nothing inevitable about it at all. -- John L. Campbell, Department of Sociology, Dartmouth College In this excellent book, Ashbee draws out the core social, political and economic pressures that first ushered in globalization, and then a faltering process of deglobalization (or 'slowbalization'). The combination of overall analytical narrative and insightful illustrative examples throughout this period of policy discussions does a truly excellent job of bringing to the reader's attention the way in which the debate over global economic governance, and the nature of the global political economy itself, have both shifted over the past thirty years. -- David J. Bailey, Department of Political Science and International Studies, University of Birmingham If you are intrigued by a possible common factor in the rise of Donald Trump, Nigel Farage and Viktor Orbán, and more broadly, populism and economic nationalism in many parts of the developed economies, this is a must-read. Ashbee succinctly yet eloquently captures the dynamic interaction between economic globalization and socio-political movements, and uncovers the resulting role of government in coping with the challenges. -- Toshiya Ozaki, Professor Emeritus, Rikkyo University, Japan

Author Information

Edward Ashbee is Professor in the Department of International Economics, Government and Business at Copenhagen Business School. His books include Countering China: US Responses to the Belt and Road Initiative (2023) and US Politics Today (4th edn, 2019).

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