Book Review: Robert J. Holton, ed., Globalization and the Nation-state
| Published date | 01 June 2014 |
| Date | 01 June 2014 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0973598414535065 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
90 Book Reviews
Jadavpur Journal of International Relations, 18, 1 (2014): 85–102
The author succinctly explains the various dynamics of US–China rela-
tions in the new world order. So far as North Korea is concerned, Sanger
observes that the USA could only rely on a strategy of ‘limited engage-
ment’. He rightly points out that, having failed to bring the North to the
negotiating table, Obama can only hope that poverty, corruption, and
despair of its people will catch up with the Kim dynasty and bring about
its downfall.
This book in many ways provides a rounded understanding of how
President Obama has dealt with his ‘inheritance’ of conflict that spanned
to Islamic nations with repercussions for its long term ally, Pakistan; his
response to the Arab Spring that brought to the fore the dubiousness of
America’s foreign policy; his commitment to greater and more precise
use of America’s power that no other president could achieve. Sanger
points out that President Obama will go down in history as a man who
dramatically expanded USA power to deal with threats to its national
security and maintain its predominance around the globe without resort-
ing to highly expansive, lengthy, and unpopular wars. This strategy has
obviously heralded an era where the USA would be constantly engaged
in a ‘state of low-grade daily conflict’ (p. 144).
Moutusi Paul Choudhury (Naskar)
Doctoral Research Scholar
Department of International Relations
Jadavpur University
Robert J. Holton, ed., Globalization and the Nation-state. Basingstoke,
Hampshire and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011 (second edition),
p. 267, US$ 35.67.
DOI: 10.1177/0973598414535065
Globalization has different meanings to different people. Some analysts
prefer to use the more specific term ‘international economic integration’,
thereby focusing on the economic and financial aspects. On the other hand,
globalization has multifarious political, social, and cultural dimensions.
Modern states need to deal with all the complex variations of the global
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