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Governance and Globalization Thomas L. Friedman (1999) The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. David J. Saari (1999) Global Corporations and Sovereign Nations: Collision or Cooperation? Westport, CT: Quorum Books. Paul N. Doremus, William W. Keller, Louis W. Pauly, and Simon Reich (1998) The Myth of the Global Corporation. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
During the last decade of the twentieth century, the term "globalization" has caught the imagination of the world community. Globalization has been portrayed as a phenomenon associated with the increased interdependence of the world economies (thus explaining both the world prosperity as well as the recurring crises), the integration of developing countries within global financial and product markets, and the increasing role of private corporations in managing world trade, among others. Although the celebration of globalization as an engine of expanding world prosperity continues, we are also witnessing a growing opposition to it as evidenced in the vast protests at the World Trade Organization (WTO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), and World Bank meetings during the last couple of years, as well as demonstrations at both Democratic and Republican party conventions. These oppositional viewpoints of both celebratory as well as negative aspects of globalization suggest that there are differential impacts of globalization on various constituencies. Furthermore, there is an increasing debate about the agents of globalization as well as the governance of the phenomenon including the role of national governments, individual businesses, and supranational bodies in effectively managing an interdependent world economy.
Three recent books, Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization, Global Corporations and Sovereign Nations: Collusion or Cooperation?, and The Myth of the Global Corporation, contribute to this debate about the nature and governance of globalization. Although Lexus and the Olive Tree is more ambitious and broad in scope, the other two books tackle very precise issues, with Global Corporations and Sovereign Nations analyzing the changing nature and importance of multinational/global corporations vis-a-vis nation states, and The Myth of the Global Corporation evaluating the very concept of the "global" corporation. Collectively, these three books highlight the different philosophical positions behind the growing debates on globalization, especially the current and future roles of national governments in managing economic policies.
FRIEDMAN, THE LEXUS AND...