Few terms have evoked the range of responses, or been quite so used, and abused, as the term 'globalization'. It has been variously described as a process, a period, a force and a condition. The resulting ascriptions and attributions are diverse and invariably invite confusion. There are those who would enthusiastically argue for globalization's merits, setting it up as panacea to all the ills of contemporary political, economic and social organisation. Others argue equally vociferously and convincingly that it has done more harm than good, exacerbating and entrenching inequalities. For still others, there is no point in arguing for or against globalization; 'progress' (and by implication the neoliberal logic) inexorably leads us into more intensely global settings, and we must either adapt to it and move forward, or be left to languish by the wayside. Even though the term globalization is used liberally in political rhetoric and in the press, its meaning is somehow assumed to be intuitively known; it is rarely spelt out. Indeed, 'globalisation' is often the term being explained and the explanation itself. In contrast, the academic literature offers an amazing variety of different theories and definitions, with almost every researcher in the social sciences having something to add to the ongoing debates and discussions. However, here again, nothing about globalization is uncontested-there is little consensus on what globalization actually is, what drives it, whether it is a qualitatively new phenomenon, and whether it is a primarily beneficial or damaging process. Some define it as the development of a global society, characterized by the denationalization of markets, politics and legal systems. Other scholars tend to focus on the 'symptoms' of globalization, such as transnational migration, global cultural flows or external environmental effects. Globalization's critics regard it as something of a myth, created by the neoliberal school in order to spread capitalism around the globe, divert attention from the suppression of local cultures, and to eventually effect the 'Americanization' of the international political economy. Yet, also visible around the world is a greater involvement in grass roots organisations and movements, regionalism, and efforts for greater local autonomy, making any universal statement about globalisation, let alone its effects, quite untenable. This introduction will draw out some of the key trajectories of thinking on globalization, highlighting the complex nature of the subject, and offering a framework for navigating through the rest of the volume. It flags up some of the usages that dominate academic and non-academic discourses, applied to various dimensions of economic, political,