Globalization and Belonging: The Politics of Identity in a Changing World

In a world of instant communications, permeable borders, immigration quotas, and terrorist bombings, we might well stop and ask, "Who are we?" How do we identify ourselves and claim identity in a competing tug-and-pull of global homogenization and fragmentation? Are we Italians or European Unionists? Are we Muslims or ethnic Arabs? Are we residents of one state, citizens of another? Are we women no matter where we go? This book explores how various forms of sociocultural and political identification and attachment are being affected by the increasing interconnectedness of the globe. It looks at the forces of globalization--economic, technological, political, and cultural--and relates them to forces of identification including citizenship, nationhood, ethnicity, and gender. Through it all, author Sheila L. Croucher emphasizes the sense of belonging and its importance to us as individuals and as citizens of the world.