ABSTRACT
To an outside observer we live in an era of globalization. When we wake up, we eat our breakfast, drink a cup of coffee or tea, perhaps a glass of orange juice, all made from ingredients from different parts of the world, while we are reading the world news in our morning papers. After we finish breakfast, it is time to get in our foreign-made car to get to the multinational company we work for, in the meantime listening to rock classics on the radio. As we arrive at work, we start up our computer and get in touch with the rest of the world by checking our emails from colleagues and customers residing in other countries. During our walk to the coffee machine, we have a conversation about the recent developments within the European Union, discuss matters like the importance of peace missions, as well as lighter subjects like our plans for the next vacation. Drawing a map of all the international flows of money, goods, information, and people would result in quite a messy picture with lines moving all over the globe. At the same time, one would notice that most of the activity is concentrated in specific regions such as America, Europe and Japan.
