Global History: Interactions Between the Universal and the Local

Globalization is the buzz-word of today. It envelops our world, but it also has long historical roots. This edited volume shows how the universal principles embodied in the process of globalization have interacted with diverse localities across the globe during the past two centuries. A. G. Hopkins presents a collection of fresh case studies that draw on different parts of the world - ranging from the Navajo reservation to Japan, via the Middle East and Vietnam - and cover various types of history: economic, political, social, cultural and intellectual. Hopkins's Introduction places the new global history in the context of national history and world history; William H. McNeill, the pioneering historian of large-scale history, concludes the volume with a reflective Afterword. The historical record demonstrates that globalization has not only produced uniformity but has also reinforced difference. Global History offers a coherent explanation of these diverging outcomes, and in doing so points towards a new type of world history. It is essential reading for anyone studying international history, world history, globalization, or world politics.