Globalization and Belonging

Reviews / Votes

Is achieving a sense of personal belonging stymied by the dynamics of globalization?
Before we leap to a simplistic answer, Sheila Croucher makes us pause. She shows us here how to closely observe gendered, ethnicized local and global politics in daily interaction. In this era of refugees, Dreamers, fearmongers, nationalists and human rights activists, we need this thoughtful book. -- Cynthia Enloe, Clark University; author of The Big Push: Exposing and Challenging Persistent Patriarchy Full of contemporary world events exemplary of unprecedented interconnections and violent divisions and exclusions, this latest examination of the relationship between globalization and belonging navigates the paradoxes of simultaneous dilutions and resurgences of identity politics in a globalizing world. It attests to the persistence and reconfigurations of national, racial, ethnic, and gender attachments and inequalities despite and because of globalization in highly engaging, accessible, and complex ways. -- Anne Sisson Runyan, University of Cincinnati, University of Cincinnati; author of "Global Gender Politics" Globalization's populist critics fail to appreciate that the horse has left the barn. As Sheila Croucher's splendid book-at once sophisticated and accessible-makes clear, globalization has transformed and will continue to transform every facet of social life. The author's focus on its implications for political identities is full of profound insights, as is her analysis of its dark side. Readers will come away with ideas about how we might tame this runaway horse. -- Peter Kivisto, Richard A. Swanson Professor of Social Thought, Augustana College At a moment when pundits, politicians and scholars alike proclaim the end of the world as we once knew it, Croucher argues in crisp prose that something more complex and less sensationalist is afoot. Explaining that neither social identity nor class revenge is the primary culprit of rising populism and its discontents, Croucher convincingly demonstrates that new forms of interconnectedness are shaping social identity and class to forge destabilizing shifts such as Brexit, while also consolidating established institutions like the nation-state. A compelling introduction to the deep contradictions of our contemporary moment that includes accessible chapters on both the construction of ethnicity and gender, Globalization and Belonging is a terrific update on its authoritative precursor and will be sure to galvanize debate in the classroom and beyond. -- Denise M. Walsh, University of Virginia Dr. Croucher provides the reader with piercing and trenchant insights into the multidimensional facets of the complexities that define our post-modern world. Her first rate contribution fills a significant gap on the study of globalization and the identity politics. This is a must read for students and scholars of globalization alike. -- Manochehr Dorraj, professor of international affairs, Texas Christian University Great books stand the test of time. In the fifteen years since the initial publication of Globalization and Belonging, much has changed in the world. Yet Sheila Croucher's fundamental insight - that people use their identities to reckon with global interconnectedness and, in turn, reconfigure those identities to carve out a sense of belonging in this world - remains a compelling way to understand our world and its puzzling developments. Newcomers and admirers of the first edition alike will be rewarded by the rich and expanded empirical terrain, from Brexit and worldwide debates over immigration and citizenship to the Trump Presidency and a resurgent women's movement in the United States. -- Ryan Saylor, University of Tulsa The second edition of Globalization and Belonging is a welcome update that confirms the book's place as a solid cornerstone of global and international studies today for students, teachers, and scholars alike. Croucher's lucid and compelling prose belies the complexity of the issues she navigates in this book, as well as the impressive depth and breadth of her scholarship. Croucher guides readers methodically yet masterfully through the divisive polemics of 21st century identity, truly one of the wicked problems of our day. I look forward to using it with my Global Studies students in the future, because it lays out a blueprint for the conversations (political, social, cultural) we urgently need to have. -- Alexandra Sterling-Hellenbrand, Appalachian State University An engaging read that references developments in different countries across the world to explore the changing notions of citizenship and nationality and helps cultivate ideas of global citizenship. The book explores the dynamic relation between forces of globalization and identity issues in the light of current global economic, political, social, and cultural issues. -- Sonia Kapur, University of North Carolina at Asheville This book is impeccably researched and addresses important and timely issues regarding the politics of belonging in the current era of accelerated globalization. I highly recommend it. -- Richelle Schrock, Ohio Wesleyan University This is a lucid explanation of identitarian movements in the wake of the dislocations and crises endemic to the latest stage of world capitalism. It has been thoroughly updated so that we now have a convincing and non-reductionist, not to mention bold, argument that helps us understand puzzling and troubling phenomena such as Trump and Brexit. -- Kevin A. Yelvington, University of South Florida