ABSTRACT
The issue of desertification is intriguing to study for both scholars who perceive of globalization as a recent phenomenon with a decidedly new quality of global interdependencies and for those who are more skeptical about its distinctiveness and novelty. The chapter explores the key characteristics and underlying concepts of desertification and discusses the extent to which desertification actually constitutes a global issue. It addresses desertification from a geographical angle, thereby relating it to concepts of dryland degradation and drought. The chapter takes historical perspective on dryland degradation to show that, while there have always been deserts; desertification is a rather recent issue. It highlights some global issues that are related to desertification in that they are indicative of global interdependencies that affect the world's dryland regions. The chapter concludes with a brief outlook pertaining to the relevance of desertification for both global environmental governance and future research on globalization and the environment.
