Prospects for the emergence of a genuine world community are briefly examined, focusing on the barriers imposed by East-West competition & nationalist policies. The exclusion of the majority of the world from the economic & infrastructural advantages held by the two primary blocs is emphasized, & regional aggregation as a means of weakening this hegemony is evaluated. The growing cleavage between developed & developing countries is underscored; the threat of nuclear proliferation as perceived by Third World countries is given particular attention. 2 Photographs. L. Whittemore.
This wide-ranging examination of Arab society and culture offers a unique opportunity to know the Arab world from an Arab point of view. Halim Barakat, an expatriate Syrian who is both scholar and novelist, emphasizes the dynamic changes and diverse patterns that have characterized the Middle East since the mid-nineteenth century.The Arab world is not one shaped by Islam, nor one simply explained by reference to the sectarian conflicts of a "mosaic" society. Instead, Barakat reveals a society that is highly complex, with many and various contending polarities. It is a society in a state of becoming and change, one whose social contradictions are at the root of the struggle to transcend dehumanizing conditions. Arguing from a perspective that is both radical and critical, Barakat is committed to the improvement of human conditions in the Arab world
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The societies of the present world are experiencing many turbulent changes. New forces of change and modernization are driving people, business and cultures across borders. The world has become a home to a new generation of homo sapiens who are curious about others but, at the same time, cherish to preserve their own cultures. What is the nature of this evolving world society? Is the world driving toward a new global civilization-an "end of history"- or an inevitable civilizational clash? The present volume has brought together leading scholars in the field to examine the concept of globalization, deliberate on the character of its multifaceted nature and expressions, and delineate its impact on the emerging world economy, politics, culture, and science. A number of substantive issues such as the emergence of new global economic inequality, culture and the role of the trans-nationals, nature of the emerging global environmental regimes, rise of the NICs, and the conflicting role of the nation-states in the face of the advancing forces of globalization are addressed. It is contended that globalization should be perceived neither as an unbounded economic progress nor as an expansion of western domination. Globalization is, rather, defined as a new development strategy--a process of change that can be planned, guided, and controlled. For national political and business leaders of the world, the volume provides a blueprint of the emerging areas of policy concerns and guidance. For the world of social science, it presents a road-map of the emerging intellectual issues and challenges. Contributors are Alessandro Bonanno, Stephen W.K. Chiu, Douglas Constance, Richard J. Estes, R. Scott Frey, Archibald O. Haller, George A. Miller, Proshanta K. Nandi, Winifred R. Poster, J. Timmons Roberts, Shahid M. Shahidullah, Bam Dev Sharda, and Alvin Y. So
IN RECENT YEARS, MUCH HAS BEEN WRITTEN IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS LITERATURE ABOUT THE CHANGING ROLES AND STATUS OF NATIONAL OR TERRITORIAL STATES IN THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM. IN THIS ESSAY, THE AUTHOR FOCUSES ON THE NORMATIVE DIMENSION OF THESE CHANGES AND THE UNQUESTIONABLE NORMATIVE-INTEGRATIVE PERFORMANCE THAT THE TERRITORIAL STATE PROVIDES FOR THE SOCIETAL SPACE IT REPRESENTS. THE QUESTION IS WHETHER IT WILL BECOME IMPOSSIBLE FOR THE TERRITORIAL STATE TO CARRY OUT ITS TRADITIONAL FUNCTIONS UNDER CONDITIONS OF CONTINUING GLOBALIZATION AND WHO OR WHAT COULD PROVIDE VIABLE ALTERNATIVES TO THE STATE AS A PROVIDER OF INTEGRATIVE MECHANISMS.
