Global California: Rising to the Cosmopolitan Challenge [Hardcover]

Abraham Lowenthal (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2, 2009

California is at the cutting edge of technological change, demographic transformation, and international engagement. It has the country's largest population, and is its biggest producer of agricultural and manufactured goods, its main exporter and importer, and a leading center for higher education, research, the media, and philanthropy. Its population is the most international; more than a quarter of the state's residents were born in another country. But habits of thought and structures date from the mid-twentieth century, when California was turned inward. California today lacks ideas, institutions, and policies commensurate with its global stakes and clout.

Global California addresses an important subject: how the citizens of a state with the dimensions and power of a nation are affected by international trends, and what they can do to identify and promote their own interests in a rapidly changing world. In this fresh, well-informed, and balanced analysis, Abraham Lowenthal deals with numerous thorny issues—from globalization, trade, and infrastructure to immigration, environmental pollution, climate change, and California's ties with neighboring Mexico and the dynamic Asian economies.

A recognized authority on foreign affairs, Lowenthal argues that the real choices are not whether to cheer globalization or condemn it. Rather, Californians need to think strategically and act effectively to gain as much as possible from international engagement while managing its risks and costs. They need to build "cosmopolitan capacity" to understand and respond to global challenges and opportunities.

Too much is at stake for California—its citizens, government, firms and non-governmental organizations—to leave thinking and acting on international affairs to the federal government and to East Coast think tank experts. This volume shows Californians how to succeed in an ever more interconnected world.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Policy-makers and opinion-shapers throughout the American West and beyond will find much of interest and importance in this engaging and innovative book."—Governor Bill Richardson, New Mexico

"Informative, creative, and compelling... food for thought and ideas for action. —George P. Shultz, Former Secretary of State and Secretary of the Treasury

"Ground-breaking, timely and important Charts a way forward for cooperation between state and local officials, business and civic leaders, Congress and the new Administration."—Rep. Howard Berman, Chair, House Committee on Foreign Affairs

"Carefully researched, well-written and compelling, Global California is a must-read for policymakers nationwide. There are lessons here for every state in the union." —Carla A. Hills, CEO and Chair, Hills and Company, and Former U.S. Trade Representative

"This original and fascinating book shows how to strengthen California's capacity to think globally and act locally."—Joseph S. Nye, Harvard University

About the Author

Abraham F. Lowenthal, Professor of International Relations at the University of Southern California and president emeritus of the Pacific Council on International Policy, has combined two different but intersecting careers: as a scholar who has published a dozen previous well-regarded books on Latin America and inter-American affairs and U.S. foreign policy, and as a founder of think tanks at the nexus between the worlds of ideas and actions, including the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington and the Pacific Council, a West Coast leadership forum. In this book, Lowenthal brings together his two careers to develop innovative analysis and recommendations for both policy and institutions.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Stanford University Press (March 2, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804762260
• ISBN-13: 978-0804762267
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,047,357 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Abraham F. Lowenthal is a Professor of International Relations at the University of Southern California, president emeritus of the Pacific Council on International Policy, and non-resident senior fellow of the Brookings Institution. A recognized authority on Latin America and U.S.-Latin American relations, he was the founding director of the Woodrow Wilson Center's Latin American Program, the Inter-American Dialogue, and the Pacific Council.

His wife, Jane S. Jaquette, is Professor Emerita at Occidental College and former president of both the Latin American Studies Association and the Association for Women in Development. His two children, Linda and Michael, are writers and editors in Boston.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An essential read for anyone invested in California's future, February 19, 2010

By 

Matthew Devlin - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Global California: Rising to the Cosmopolitan Challenge (Hardcover)

Engagingly written and persuasively argued, Global California is a fascinating read for the specialist and the general reader alike. Lowenthal's approach is highly original; he explores California's ties to the rest of the world as if the state were a country unto itself, a free-standing actor on the global stage. While he certainly isn't calling for secession, he is pushing for a revolution in the way Californians see their place in the world.

As opening chapters make abundantly clear, what's needed, however, is not so much a revolution as a reality check. California has an economy larger than that of Brazil, Russia, or India. It's not so far off being the "C" in BRIC. The state's population is greater than Canada's and contains the highest number of Mexicans anywhere outside of Mexico. Its interests are inseparable from a whole range of international issues ranging from trade to immigration to intellectual property rights.

Yet California continues to lack a serious vision for its role as an international actor. While Californians are all too eager to be seen at the cutting edge of the Union, they are all too slow to get serious about their position as a major hub in an increasingly interconnected world. Lowenthal pulls no punches; such parochialism is dangerously anachronistic.

That said, Lowenthal is ultimately and firmly an optimist. He lays out concrete steps that politicians, businesspeople, and engaged citizens can all take to meet the challenges of an increasingly globalized world. Global California highlights how each of these groups can work to harness some of the most powerful forces shaping the 21st century. For anyone with a personal, political, or financial investment in the future of California, reading this book is the intellectual equivalent of coming across a $100 bill on the sidewalk.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As informed and informative as it is thoughtful and thought-provoking, April 14, 2009

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Global California: Rising to the Cosmopolitan Challenge (Paperback)

Performing a kind of 'canary in the coal mine' function, the state of California has often been a forerunner of cultural and economic developments that have gone on to influence and shape the cultural , political, and economic conditions of the nation (and even the world) as a whole -- and vice versa. "Global California: Rising To The Cosmopolitan Challenge" by Abraham F. Lowenthal (Professor of International Relations, University of Southern California) surveys the many ways in which California (a state with the demographics and economics that rival a great many countries) has been affected by international trends and how Californians can 'identify and promote' their own collective interests is a world that is in constant cultural, political, and economic flux. As the world grows ever more complex and intertwined, Professor Lowenthal advances ideas for how the residents, corporate and political authorities of California can emancipate themselves from leaving decision on how they relate to the broader world to such authorities as the federal government or East Coast Think Tank 'experts' for whom the best interest of California might be secondary to some other agenda. Deftly written , "Global California" is as informed and informative as it is thoughtful and thought-provoking.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars California at the boundary between international and domestic affairs, August 18, 2009

By 

ROROTOKO (rorotoko dot com) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Global California: Rising to the Cosmopolitan Challenge (Hardcover)

"Global California" is on the ROROTOKO list of cutting-edge intellectual nonfiction. Professor Lowenthal's book interview ran here as cover feature on June 8, 2009.