Sassen identifies two sets of processes that make up globalization: the first an
d more commonly studied set of processes is global institutions, from the World
Trade Organization to the War Crime Tribunals; the second and less frequently ex
plored set of processes occur at the national and local level, including state m
onetary policy, small-scale activism that has an explicit or implicit global age
nda, and local politics. Emphasizing the interplay between global and local phen
omena, Sassen insightfully examines new forms and conditions such as global citi
es, transnational communities, and commodity chains. This unique approach to glo
balization offers new interpretive and analytic tools to understand the complexi
ty of global interdependence.
