Excerpt

Globalization, by its very name, suggests political, economic, and cultural fusion, integration, or even unification across the world in every way. But this definition does not seem to stand up to closer scrutiny, as globalization has also brought about the diametrical opposite of globalizing homogeneity: for example, the emancipation and independence of nation-states, the emergence and strengthening of identities, and the accelerating frequency and ferocity of conflicts among nations or cultures. Not to mention the recent tragedies in Europe and the Islamic world—roughly, the West—it suffices to look at China, the East, for supporting evidence. The debate about the establishment…