IPE is most generally concerned with the interaction of the two dominant forces of social organization in the modern world, 'the state' and 'the market'. While it is charged that the process of globalization is altering the interrelationship between the two in favour of the latter, whether or not economic globalization is leading to some measure of convergence among the institutions and actors involved in this interaction has not been given much explicit consideration. Against this backdrop, this volume provides the first systematic assessment of the convergence/divergence question by arranging the chapters according to the level of analysis (macro, intermediate or micro) to which they speak. Utilizing this technique helps disentangling the complexity that stems from the fact that the processes of convergence and divergence often occur simultaneously in the same empirical context. This approach makes it possible to identify avenues for further research to enhance the theoretical understanding of globalization.

Introduction: Globalization in the Twenty-First Century; A.Hülsemeyer
PART I: GLOBALIZATION AT THE MACRO LEVEL
Transnational Practices and the Analysis of the Global System; L.Sklair
Problematizing Technology and 'Globalization'; R.Leoppky
PART II: INTERMEDIATE LEVEL 1 - GLOBALIZATION AND THE STATE
Globalization and Other Stories: Paradigmatic Selection in International Politics; P.G.Cerny
Post-Communist Transformation and Industrial Relations: A Fast Track to the 'Competition State' in Eastern Europe?; R.J.Leiteritz & L.Handrich
Becoming 'Competitive': Globalization and State Transformation in Malaysia and South Africa; J.van der Westhuizen
PART III: INTERMEDIATE LEVEL 2 - GLOBALIZATION AND REGIONAL INTEGRATION
Globalization, Regionalization and Democracy; W.D.Coleman
Toward the Competition Region: Global Business Actors and the Future of Regionalism; M.Spindler
The New Wave of Trade Agreements in the Americas: Regionalism Converging to Globalization; A.Hester & E.Beaulieu
PART IV: GLOBALIZATION AT THE MICRO LEVEL
The Uneven Pluralization of World Politics; P.G.Cerny
Conclusion: Convergence or Divergence?; A.Hülsemeyer

AXEL HÜLSEMEYER is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. His research interests concentrate on processes of regional economic integration and theories of the state in International Relations. His work has been published in several German and English speaking publications.