ABSTRACT
One of the key images of the world in the early twenty-fi rst century is that of an increasingly interconnected globe, with goods and services being traded across national borders with greater intensity than ever before. Being involved in this economic globalization is viewed by some theorists and politicians as the main way in which individuals and communities across the world can improve their standards of living. Such ideas will be discussed in more detail in Part 4 of the book when we consider ideas of ‘development’ more explicitly. The present Chapter considers the spatial and temporal dimensions of global economic interconnectedness with a particular focus on the place of the Global South within the global economic system.
