Page 11 - Contemporary Political Sociology Globalization Politics and Power

Preface to the Second Edition

The fi rst edition of this book, published ten years ago, was written before
the “ Battle for Seattle ” brought issues of global justice into mainstream
public awareness; before the World Social Forum; before global climate
change moved from scientific controversy to undeniable fact; before

the world watched incredulously as one plane and then another hit the
Twin Towers in New York; before the invasion of Iraq in the name,

first, of global security, and then, when the threat of “ weapons of mass
destruction ” proved to be a fiction, of liberation and human rights; and

before the global financial crisis which has led to the nationalization of

banks in the UK and elsewhere, and talk of the dangers of free markets
everywhere.

In many respects, the framework provided by the first edition has held
up well. There has been a resurgence of social movements, in a new global
cycle of protest. Citizenship is well established as a branch of sociological
study in its own right. And questions of democracy and globalization have
become more pressing than ever before, nationally and internationally.
The book has been relatively easily updated within this framework, with
topical discussions of the internationalizing state; neo - liberalism, wealth,
and poverty; the continuing viability of multiculturalism; ongoing ques-
tions of post - national citizenship; and the concrete strategies adopted by
global social movements to democratize global governance. In addition,
I have tried to address some topics I did not look at in the fi rst edition,
especially new possibilities of global media, including activist uses of new
media technologies and the popular humanitarian imagination; and the
growing importance of human rights.
I have also made extensive revisions. To add material, I have had to
remove some. One of the main ways I have made room is to leave aside