The Mediterranean in the Age of Globalization

"The Mediterranean in the Age of Globalization is a corrective to the tendency to present globalization as a homogenous concept, and the failure to describe how it operates in specific regions. Natalia Ribas-Mateos examines globalization and migration across the Mediterranean, using an innovative, integrated framework so as to map social places by describing how social, political, cultural, and economic forces are embedded within a globalizing environment." "The author articulates an original and compelling narrative, mapping the Mediterranean as a global place where international and regional forces are intertwined in multiple threads. In doing so, she identifies two key components of globalization - affecting specifically forms of welfare and issues of mobility - in the context of a weakening European welfare state and the relocation and reinforcement of Mediterranean borders. Nine Mediterranean cities are investigated as "gateway" cities, which shape two major effects of globalization: welfare and mobility. The book challenges conventional North-South perspectives, and focuses and systematizes the way international migration shoud be conceptualized." "Because of its intrinsically multidisciplinary nature, this volume will be of particular interest to academics and social science researchers as well as policymakers and international agencies."--Jacket.