Global Capitalism: It's Fall and Rise in the Twentieth Century

Globalisation is a result of policy decisions and the politics that shape them. This book explores the golden age of globalisation during the early years of the twentieth century, its swift collapse in the crises of 1914-45, the divisions of the Cold War world, and the turn again towards global integration at the end of the century. International trade at unprecedented levels, millions of people migrating yearly in search of jobs, the world's economies more open to one another than ever before...Such was the global economy in 1900. Then as now, many people considered globalisation to be inevitable and irreversible. Yet, the entire edifice collapsed in a few months in 1914. Globalisation is a choice, not a fact. It is a result of policy decisions and the politics that shape them. In this insightful history of the economic and political events that have shaped our time, Jeffry A. Frieden explores the golden age of globalisation during the early years of the twentieth century, its swift collapse in the crises of 1914-45, the divisions of the Cold War world, and the turn again towards global integration at the end of the century. Full of character and event, as entertaining as it is enlightening, "Global Capitalism" deepens our understanding of the century just past and sheds light on our current situation.