Product Description

The Power of Identity is the second volume of Manuel Castells’s trilogy, The Information Age: Economy, Society, and Culture. It deals with the social, political, and cultural dynamics associated with the technological transformation of our societies and with the globalization of the economy. It analyzes the importance of cultural, religious, and national identities as sources of meaning for people, and the implications of these identities for social movements. It studies grassroots mobilizations against the unfettered globalization of wealth and power, and considers the formation of alternative projects of social organization, as represented by the environmental movement and the women’s movement. It also analyzes the crisis of the nation-state and its transformation into a network state, and the effects on political democracies of the difficulties of international governance and the submission of political representation to the dictates of media politics and the! politics of scandal.

This substantially expanded second edition updates and elaborates the analysis of these themes, adding new sections on al-Qaeda and global terrorist networks, on the anti-globalization movement, on American unilateralism and the conflicts of global governance, on the crisis of political legitimacy throughout the world, and on the theory of the network state.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #342467 in Books
• Published on: 2004
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 560 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781405107136
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Amazon.com Review
In the second volume of his Information Age trilogy, Manuel Castells examines the threat posed to the nation-state by the rise of collective "resistance identities," which may over time develop into "project identities" with specific socially transformative goals in mind. His scope is broad, encompassing everything from Mexico's Zapatista movement to the rise of militias in the United States to broader antipatriarchal projects launched by feminists, gay communities, and environmental activists. Castell's dry academic style may be distancing to some readers; Benjamin R. Barber's Jihad vs. McWorld provides a similar argument (with equal intellectual rigor) in slightly more accessible prose.

Review
"Every now and then one reads a book of social science that is uplifting and mind-expanding. These books are ambitious and lustrous, teaching us much about our world. Such is this work from the brilliant sociologist Manuel Castells. There is no other sociological work today that brings together in one panoramic expanse so many of the changes now occurring. This is a story not simply of global economic change, but of cultural upheavals. It is a tale not simply of the decline of sovereign states, but of the emergence of the new bases of power. And it is a narrative not merely about computer technology or the media, but of the very terms in which those agents work." Contemporary Sociology

"A magnum opus if ever there was one. In my view, the finest piece of contemporary social analysis for at least a generation." British Journal of Sociology

"A truly stunning achievement. A scholar who, with remarkable mastery, has brought his experience over a lifetime to bear on astonishingly diversified data set, pulling them together into a compelling account of the complex relationship between the progressive and the reactionary, the globalizing and particularizing forces that are transforming our perplexing world." The Los Angeles Times Sunday Book Reviews

"This is a powerful and insightful book that adds to Castell's reputation as one of the foremost social theorists writing today, and it offers something of interest to specialist and general readers alike." Autobiography Journal

Review
"Every now and then one reads a book of social science that is uplifting and mind expanding. These books are ambitious and lustrous, teaching us much about our world. Such is this work from the brilliant sociologist Manuel Castells. There is no other sociological work today that brings together in one panoramic expanse so many of the changes now occurring. This is a story not simply of global economic change, but of cultural upheavals. It is a tale not simply of the decline of sovereign states, but of the emergence of the new bases of power. And it is a narrative not merely about computer technology or the media, but of the very terms in which those agents work."
–Anthony M. Orum, Contemporary Sociology

"A magnum opus if ever there was one. In my view, the finest piece of contemporary social analysis for at least a generation."
–Frank Webster, British Journal of Sociology

"A truly stunning achievement. A scholar who, with remarkable mastery, has brought his experience over a lifetime to bear on astonishingly diversified data set, pulling them together into a compelling account of the complex relationship between the progressive and the reactionary, the globalizing and particularizing forces that are transforming our perplexing world."
–Benjamin Barber, The Los Angeles Times Sunday Book Reviews

Customer Reviews

Brave New World
Castells trilogy, The Information Age, was written in the late 20th century but it is really the first sociology classic of the 21st and, as such, comparable to the masterworks of Durkheim and Weber. The first audacious volume chronicled the rise of a new global order based on a network of information flows. Since Castells views the human species as essentially predatory, some remedial measures are needed to resist the injustices that will arise. This second volume is therefore prescriptive. A masterly presentation of the world's current social movements follows. The author's discussion of the affect of the internet on political action and political campaigns is especially useful. Despite the volatile subject matter, I thought that Castells never quite sacrificed his objectivity although a delicate balancing act does take place throughout the volume. This book and the previous one sometimes read like some great epic of science fiction but it is our own very real world in the 21st century that the author is discussing. As an introduction to our brave new planet, this book could hardly be bettered.

Globalized public sphere
This is the second volume of 'Information Age'. This volume deals with how the social movement has changed through internet and globalization.
The public sphere is where social movement projects itself. The internet has had great impact on the public sphere with its global reach. We's witnessed that kind of potential on the some handful of anti-globalization protest in recent years.
But what has changed is not only the way of protest. According to Touraine's typology, a social movement is defined by three principles: the movement's identity; its adversary; its vision or social model. Globalization transformed the identity of social movement. Zapatistas and recent environmental movements are the graphic examples. Now adversary is not confined to local government, but the government representing the interests of global agencies like TNCs. They oppose their specific identity and the well-being of society against the global adversary. The impact of these movements comes from their media presence and from their effective use of IT. Castells argues that the ability or inability of the state to cope with these challenges will largely condition the future of society in the 21st century.

Time of Change.... ?
The second book of already classic Castells' trilogy The Information Age, in which the author attempts to reveal structural similarities between various contemporary social movements opposing dominant socioeconomic order. Obviously inspired by Marxist's search for the subject of historical change, Castells tries to infer from these similarities what are necessary prerequisites for the rise of a successful global movement with a positive (constructive) program of social change - change that would remove at least the most serious inequalities and injustice that stem from capitalist logic of today's globalized world. Even if partly unsuccessful in its goal, this book represents very valuable source of sociologically, economically and historically relevant up-to-date (2004) information about contemporary resisting collective identities and their strategies - varying from feminists, Zapata and green movement to Al-Qaeda and Aum Shinrikyo. Castells is successful - although mostly in simplified form - in connecting development of selected collective identities with crisis of modern state, rise of network logic of social organization, development in the mass-media system, and globalization of national economies. This book represents essential reading for all social scientists who are interested in related problems. Because it is very readable and far from being assailed for academic babbling, I recommend this book to anyone who wishes to understand better the changes of the world we live in.