Strawberries in Winter

Over the last fifty years the world's population has doubled. Global wealth has tripled. These changes altered the nature of the global system. The book tries to track this impact on the environment, on the energy consumption, on the equality or inequality of income within and between states, on the use of war and of other organised forms of violence, etc. Have these developments brought progress, and if so, how could one measure it? Due to the growing density of world-wide linkages, the global system has become very complex. It needs governance so as to be stable and to remain evolving. International governmental and non-governmental organisations, trans-national enterprises, the US acting as global hegemon all have a role in governance, as do states which remain the most important global actors. However, global governance is insufficient still. The scope for social/political choice has widened. Yet we do not have the tools to rule out those options that would have truly disastrous consequences.

Autorentext

The Author: Thomas Nowotny is professor of political science. After retiring from the Austrian diplomatic service he was counsellor at OECD in Paris and at the EBRD in London. Presently he works in Washington for a development bank.

Zusammenfassung
"This is a wide ranging, informed and thoughtful commentary on the major issues raised by globalization. Whether or not one agrees with every part of Nowotny's argument, one will find his book both instructive and enjoyable." (Peter Berger)
"A very personal encyclopaedic and enlightening attempt to explain the intricacies of the global age." (Dominique Moisi)

Inhalt
Contents: World economic growth Demography Environmental issues Energy Social malfunctions War WMDs New forms of organised violence The Triad China and East Asia Globalisation The role of the US World markets Financial markets International organisations; INGOs Localisation The enduring power of the state Problems of democracy Evolution of the global system.