Global California: Rising to the Cosmopolitan Challenge (Hardcover)

~ Abraham Lowenthal (Author)

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

Product Description

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.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Stanford University Press (March 4, 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 (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #769,515 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

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

By	ROROTOKO (www.rorotoko.com) - See all my reviews

"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.

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.