Globalization or Empire?

Which trend is the most significant, globalization or empire? This book comes down on the side of globalization. Neoliberal globalization is still in motion and the particular form that empire now takes is grounded in neoliberal principles, which produces a novel cocktail of "neoliberal empire," a combination of threat and profit, war and business. "Globalization or Empire?" argues that "empire" is too narrow an angle for understanding American primacy, with empire as just one of the forms this takes. Thus the fundamental problems remain those of globalization, of which this book examines several.

In this smart and concise examination of the trends driving contemporary globalization, Jan Nederveen Pieterse argues that the United States' pursuit of global primacy is based upon a complex melding of neoliberal economics and hegemonic politics. Do alternate capitalisms offer viable alternatives to the American way? Globalization or Empire? looks at globalization with acuity and thoughtfulness and uncovers its underlying dramas.

Introduction 1. Neoliberal Globalization Dixie Capitalism Cold War and Neoliberalism Washington Consensus 2. Scenarios of Power Unipolar Moment or Imperial Episode? Another American Century? Scenarios and Analyses 3. Empire as Metaphor Capitalism = Imperialism? 4. Neoliberal Empire The Empire of Liberty Osmosis of Neoliberalism and Empire Occupational Hazards in Iraq Strategy Matters 5. Global Inequality: Bringing Politics Back In Measuring Global Poverty Examining Global Inequality Conventional Wisdom for Beginners Politics of Perplexity 6. Conflict: Technologies of Work, War and Politics Technologies of Work and War Technologies of Politics Technology Matters But Asymmetric Conflict New Politics of Containment Containment or Engagement? 7. Globalization North and South Perspectives on Globalization Representations of Global Divide Ethnic Politics? Beyond Blowback The Interplay of Modernities and Capitalisms 8. Hyperpower Exceptionalism American Exceptionalism Globalization the American Way Beyond American Exceptionalism? 9. Capitalisms: Asian-European Dialogue after Enron Varieties of Capitalism Enron in Wonderland Tipping Points An Alternative Rapport Eurasia

Jan Nederveen Pieterse is Professor of Sociology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, co-editor of the Review of International Political Economy and author of Globalization and Culture and Empire and Emancipation.