Overview

In contrast to speculative, sweeping literature on globalization Global Exposure in East Asia grounds globalization theories in a detailed empirical analysis, providing a systematic investigation of what until now have been grand narratives of huge global phenomena. This book presents a micro-level explanation of globalization by examining individual global exposure and its influence in the values and perceptions of individuals, contending that individual and personal global experience, or 'microglobalization', is a key variable in understanding how modern mobile persons act and think in ways different from those who remain geographically immobile and constrained. Drawing on detailed empirical evidence from China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, Global Exposure in East Asia explores the structures of global exposure and their influences on values and identities in contemporary East Asia. A rich, comparative and grounded examination of modern theories of globalization, this book introduces an innovative perspective that highlights the significance of microglobalization in understanding quotidian lives in a context of ever expanding transnational exchanges and connectivities. As such, it will appeal to social scientists with interests in globalization, cosmopolitanism, mobility, migration and transnationalism, (national) identity and everyday life.