William Robinson is professor of sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is also affiliated with the Latin America and Iberian Studies Program, and with the Global and International Studies Program at UCSB. His main research interests lie in the filed of macro and comparative sociology; globalization; political economy; development; social change; political sociology; Latin America and the Third World.

Please visit my photo website here

Click here to listen to the keynote address I gave at Yale University's April 7-8, 2006 conference "In the Name of Democracy: U.S. Electoral Intervention in the Americas". The 20-minute address is titled "Democracy, Polyarchy, and U.S. Policy Towards Latin America."

Critical Globalization Studies, published by Routledge Press.

Roll mouse over image to see back cover. Click image to enlarge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Theory of Global Capitalism: Production, Class, and State in a Transnational World.  From the Back Cover: "William I Robinson has earned a reputation as one of the leading critical analysts of capitalist globalization as a system of power. This book--both rigorous and readable--develops his thesis that we are witnessing a world-historical transition into a new phase of capitalism, with new forms of power, resistance, and struggle. Whether or not you agree with Robinson's controversial thesis, you will agree that this book represents formidable scholarship and raises crucial political questions for the twenty-first century."

 

--Mark Rupert,
Syracuse University

 

 

"This is a fine, succinctly argued presentation of a critical theory of 'global capitalism.' The author regards globalization as a new phase in the history of capitalism--specifically, in the development of a transnational global economy. This book is particularly striking with respect to its cogency, vitality, and great commitment to a democratic global order."

--Roland Robertson,
University of Aberdeen

"Yet another book on globalization? If you think you have read too many already, think again! Here is a fresh look at the subject which shatters the illusion that globalization has to do with either free international trade or the disappearance of the state. Robinson expertly gathers the diverse threads that run through our world order and unerringly hones in on class and transnational power at the heart of it."

 

--Ankie Hoogvelt,
University of Sheffield

 

 

"The leading analyst of transnational class formation provides a clear, straightforward, and convincing account of the economic, political, and social contours of contemporary capitalism. This is a essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the global condition and prospects for its amelioration."

 

--Craig N. Murphy,
M. Margaret Ball Professor of International Relations,
Wellesley College, and Chair, Academic Council on the United Nations System

 

Transnational Conflicts: Central America, Social Change and Globalization, published by Verso Press.

From the Back Cover:     In this timely and provocative study, William I. Robinson challenges received wisdom on Central America. He starts with an exposition of the new global capitalism. Then, drawing on a wide range of historical documentation, interviews, and social science research, he proceeds to show how capitalist globalization has thoroughly transformed the region, disrupting the conventional pattern of revolutionary upheaval, civil wars, and pacification, ushering in instead a new transnational model of economy and society.

Beyond his focus on Central America, Robinson provides a critical framework for understanding development and social change in other regions of the world in the age of globalization. Demonstrating how the very forces of capitalism have brought into being new social agents and political actors unlikely to acquiesce in the face of the emerging order, Transnational Conflicts shows why the Isthmus is likely to return to the headlines in the near future.

 

Praise for Transnational Conflicts:

"This book operates at multiple levels. It is a detailed and original contribution to the study of Central America. And by positioning Central America in a broader historical and structural framing, Robinson also makes a major contribution to our understanding of global capitalism. Through it all, the narrative never loses track of human actors involved. Complex and brilliant!"

--Saskia Sassen,
Ralph Lewis Professor of Sociology,University of Chicago,
and author of The Global City

 

"Since independence, Central America has been caught between competing external infuences. Now globalization is sucking the region into its web in a dramatic new way. William I. Robinson, in this ambitious book, analyses these trends in great detail while offering the reader a bold and distinctive interpretation of globalization. The result is a fine piece of scholarship that deserves careful study."

--Professor Victor Bulmer-Thomas,
Director, Royal Institute of International Affairs

His 1996 book, Promoting Polyarchy: Globalization, US Intervention, and Hegemony, is a critical examination of United States foreign policy in the Third World won the Distinghished Scholarship Award of the Political Economy of the World System section of the American Sociological Association.

 

 

 

 

SOME ONE HUNDRED SCHOLARS, public intellectuals, and global justice activists from around the world gathered at UCSB on May 1 through 4, 2003 to discuss the future of globalization. Participants came from Armenia, Canada, Ecuador, France, Holland, Mexico, Pakistan, Philippines, Russia, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, and Uruguay, among other countries.  

The "Towards a Critical Globalization Studies: Continued Debates, New Directions, and Neglected Topics"conference successfully examined the development of global studies in the academy and explored the bridges between global studies and the global justice movement.  (see gallery)

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Bill Robinson was interviewed at the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam, February 2002. This interview was broadcast on March 14, 2002. Robinson discusses the rise of a global ruling class in an interview with Doug Henwood, who runs a radio show in New York that covers political and economic concerns. (download here)

The following is a speech delivered at the conference on “Social Activism and Socio-Economic Rights: Deepening Democracy in South Africa, convened by the Institute for Democracy in South Africa, Cape Town, August 11-13, 2003, on the occasion of ten years since the defeat of apartheid. The speech was delivered on August 11 before some 100 South African government and ANC officials, trade unionists, grassroots activists and social justice movement leaders.... (see pdf)

 

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