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ISSN 1835-4432

Scope and Concerns

The Global Studies Conference on Global Studies Journal are devoted to mapping and interpreting new trends and patterns in globalization. This journal and the conference attempt to do this from many points of view, from many locations in the world, and in a wide-angle kaleidoscopic fashion.

Towards the Twenty-First Century International Division of Labor

Arguably the twenty-first century momentum of globalization is markedly different from twentieth century globalization and involves a new geography of trade, weaker United States hegemony and a trend towards growing multipolarity. Like a giant oil tanker, the axis of globalization is slowly turning from North-South to East-South relations in trade and finance.

This presents major questions. Is the rise of East Asia, China, India and other newly industrialized economies just another episode in the rise and decline of nations, another reshuffling of capitalism, a relocation of accumulation centers without affecting the logics of accumulation? Does it advance, sustain or halt neoliberalism? The rise of Asia is codependent with neoliberal globalization and yet unfolds outside the neoliberal mold. What is the relationship between zones of accumulation and modes of regulation? What are the ramifications for global inequality?

About cutting-edge globalization there are two big stories to tell. One story tells of the rise of Asia and the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) economies and the accompanying growth of East-South trade and financial, energy and political relations. Much of this story is being covered in general media. In the words of Paul Kennedy, ‘we can no more stop the rise of Asia than we can stop the winter snows and the summer heat’. The other story, which receives mention only in patchy ways, is one of growing social inequality and major crises in agriculture and urban poverty in the emerging countries.

Mapping New Globalization

The new globalization can be mapped as trends in trade, finance, international institutions, hegemony, inequality, social movements and struggles, cultural changes, and ecological dynamics. Under each of these headings we present brief, challenging hypotheses or questions below.

In terms of political economy, the overall question is what the new trends mean for the emerging twenty-first century international division of labor. In general terms, the key question is what they mean for global futures, in particular from the viewpoint of the world majority.

Trend Estimates

• Trade: Growing East-South trade leads to a ‘new geography of trade’ and new trade pacts.
• Global value chains: Viewed in terms of global commodity chains, the role of emerging economies in East Asia, China, India, Russia and Brazil appears to be more limited. They generally play a subsidiary part in buyer-driven commodity chains and have so far established few producer-driven chains.
• Finance: The current imbalances in the world economy (American overconsumption and trade and current account deficits and Asian surpluses) are unsustainable and are producing a gradual reorganization of global finance and trade.
• Institutions: The 1990s architecture of globalization (built around the IMF, World Bank and WTO) is now fragile and the clout and influence of emerging economies is growing.
• Hegemony: The United States is losing influence. Arguably, what is taking place, rather than hegemonic rivalry, is global repositioning and realignments toward growing multipolarity.
• Inequality and social struggle: The flashpoints of global inequality are rural crises and urban poverty in emerging economies, chronic poverty in the least developed countries, and international migration. In advanced economies such as the United States social inequality is growing.
• Social movements: Social movements have succeeded in influencing policy changes, notably in Latin America. Planetary social movements such as international NGOs are increasingly important in articulating social demands. They also act as watchdogs of international institutions. The World Social Forum is a major global platform for formulating progressive alternatives.
• Cultural change: Overall trends are towards the growing hybridization or intermingling of cultural patterns (new combinations of cultural motifs giving rise to new differences). Geopolitical conflicts and resource wars in many arenas produce local political backlashes. An incipient cosmopolitanism is short circuited by many.
• Ecological changes: Climate change and global warming necessitate global collective action and there is a growing need for global public action.

Editors and Advisory Board

Editors |Advisory Board

Editors of the Global Studies Journal

• Mary Kalantzis, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA.
• Bill Cope, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA.

International Advisory Board

• Bill Cope, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA
• Jin-Ho Jang, Institute for Social Development and Policy Research, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea
• Habibul Haque Khondker, Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
• Iain Donald MacPherson, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
• Bhikhu Parekh, University of Hull, UK; Member, House of Lords, UK.
• Thomas Pogge, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA.
• Jan Nederveen Pieterse, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA
• Timothy Shaw, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad.
• Manfred B. Steger, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
• Gustavo Lins Ribeiro, Instituto de Ciências Sociais, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília
• Fazal Rizvi, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA

Associate Editors

The Global Studies Journal, Volume 1 (Download PDF)

Journal Profile

STATISTICS/CITATIONS

Statistics/Citations

At this stage we are unable to provide citation statistics as the journal is relatively new. However, we envisage a high impact factor insofar as the journal is both part of the conventional world of academic publishing and highly visible to internet search engines.

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