Dr Chris Rumford, Senior Lecturer in Political Sociology, Royal Holloway, University of London

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Sheila L. Croucher (2004) Globalization and Belonging: The Politics of Identity In A Changing World. (Rowman & Littlefield)

Globalization and Belonging investigates the impact of globalization on four categories of belonging: citizenship, nationhood, ethnicity and gender. Again, it is emphasised that the issues are complex and multidimensional and the author avoids mono-causal explanations for the dynamics of globalization. The book offers very thorough treatments of the four aspects of belonging and draws upon a broad range of political science and sociological material in order to convey the complexity of the issues, and does so in such a way as to make them user-friendly for undergraduates. In terms of citizenship, the author concludes that its centrality as a form of belonging is both diminished and enhanced in the contemporary world. Traditional forms of citizenship have given way to new ways of acquiring membership in a political community. Likewise, neither nationalism or the nation-state have been swept away by globalization, but people exercise national belonging in new ways, and there is frequently a separation between nation and state. Ethnic belonging has also been transformed by globalization, in particular by new forms of constructing and exercising ethnic belonging, and new modes of ethnic interactions. Gender hierarchies have been reinforced by globalization at the same time as women have gained new opportunities to mobilize transnationally and resist oppression. The book will be sought out by students for its unusual juxtaposition of subject areas: globalization and gender for example, and for its comprehensive coverage of the subject matter and the discussions of key debates in the study of globalization and identity. The author is clearly in control of the subject matter and manages to combine exhaustive scholarship with the ability to reach to the heart of an issue and offer up the salient features for an undergraduate readership.

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