Political geographies of globalization

This chapter elaborates upon political geographies of globalization. By this we refer to the different political discourses and related imaginaries, policy practices and regimes of governance through which globalization can be understood as being constantly produced in and through political geographical formations. We comprehend globalization both as an actually existing process which links places – cities, regions, etc., institutions (especially the state) and people (notably workers) – and creates interdependencies between them, and as a politically loaded rhetorical device used to rationalize and legitimate political decisions and policy practices. We single out three interlinked and partly overlapping issues through which the political geographies of globalization can be mapped out: the spatial formations of globalization and the state, the ‘globalizing’ role and ‘globalized’ nature of public policy, and the globalizing regimes and policies of labour.