Book Review

When talking about globalisation, people often generally and sometimes loosely use the term ‘global citizenship’. But what does this term actually mean? How do changing patterns of global governance concretely influence the everyday lives and actions of citizens? And how does citizen engagement respond to this changing global architecture? Do these changes in the landscapes of authority lead to new forms of solidarity and inclusion or does globalisation rather lead to greater exclusion? And what factors and processes are crucial in trying to secure an inclusive and active citizenship in this globalised world?

Globalizing Citizens, edited by John Gaventa and Rajesh Tandon, attempts to formulate some answers to these questions from a citizen perspective, drawing on rich and in-depth case studies. It offers concrete insights into the ways in which citizens are affected by the shifts in global governance, and how citizens influence global authority through new forms of citizen engagement. Insightful analyses of these case studies, which constitute the main part of the book, lead to interesting and at times surprising conclusions.

The full book review is available here:

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09614524.2011.607895