ABSTRACT
Globalisation binds the syntax of the global and its derivation 'globalism' into a process which involves nothing less than the transformation of the world. If the global is the sum of multiple local activities with worldwide range, consequences and significance, then globalisation involves the interpenetration of local activities with world-wide range, consequence and significance. Renato Ruggiero, the first Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), was right to describe globalisation as a reality which 'overwhelms all others' we must still ask how 'real' it is for many people. The security community came to globalisation quite late in the day. 'Geo-economics' had allegedly displaced geopolitics, while economic wealth and 'soft' power were replacing violence and coercion as the ultimate currency of the 'global village'. And, culturally, the increased homogenisation of the world promised a future in which cultural identity would matter less than before. In the end, globalisation is ambiguous, which is why it promotes insecurity.
