New book by Anthea Roberts - Six Faces of Globalization: Who Wins, Who Loses, and Why It Matters

Professor Anthea Roberts of the ANU School of Regulation and Global Governance (RegNet) has published a groundbreaking new book on the virtues and vices of economic globalisation with Associate Professor Nicolas Lamp of Queen’s University. The book has been named one of the “Best Books of the Year” by both the Financial Times and Fortune Magazine, and was ranked 1st on Amazon’s Best Sellers list for “International and Foreign Law.”

“Six Faces of Globalization is a very smart book, and not just for people interested in globalization. The authors manage to help readers understand the many faces of globalization by identifying multiple narratives that fuel different political movements and perspectives of the punditocracy. Ultimately, however, this is a book not just about globalization, but also about the power and importance of narrative: how it is constructed and how it can contribute to a far more nuanced and complex understanding of the forces of change. Highly recommended.” —Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO, New America

About the book

The book is an essential guide to the intractable public debates about the virtues and vices of economic globalisation, cutting through the complexity to reveal the fault lines that divide us and the points of agreement that might bring us together. When it comes to the politics of free trade and open borders, the camps are dug in, producing a kaleidoscope of claims and counterclaims, unlikely alliances, and unexpected foes. But what exactly are we fighting about? And how might we approach these issues more productively? Anthea Roberts and Nicolas Lamp cut through the confusion, expertly guiding us through six competing narratives about the virtues and vices of globalisation. Instead of picking sides, they provide a more holistic framework for understanding current debates and, in so doing, showcase a more integrative way of thinking about complex problems.

Presentation and book discussion

Watch Nicholas discuss his new book Six Faces of Globalization at the WTO Public Forum 2022

Listen to Anthea discuss her new book Six Faces of Globalization on the Dancing with change Podcast

Watch Anthea and Nicholas discuss their new book in a roundtable discussion with Max Weber Programme.

Listen to Anthea and Nicholas discuss their new book and China’s role in a changing world — and how to think about common narratives on this or any other complex topic for the Sinica Podcast

Watch Anthea Roberts and Nicolas Lamp discuss their new book Six Faces of Globalization in an ARTNeT Webinar

Watch Anthea’s keynote address for the 2021 Harvard International Law Journal Annual Symposium: The Future of International Law

Watch Anthea Roberts and Nicolas Lamp discuss their new book Six Faces of Globalization with Paul Krugman and Branko Milanovic.

Watch Anthea Roberts and Nicolas Lamp discuss their new book Six Faces of Globalization for The Centre for Chinese Law, The University of Hong Kong.

Reviews and endorsements

“The Six Faces of Globalization is an important new book, which prompts reflection on how Western media outlets have shaped our understanding of globalization and how China’s distinctive perspective on globalization may be yet do likewise.” - Richard Cullen for Pearls and Irritations

“An essential guide to understanding today’s debates about the economic, social and geo-political effects of globalisation and what course it might take in the future. Roberts and Lamp distil six main narratives about globalisation used by supporters and detractors. If you want to understand Donald Trump’s election, or the current focus on economic sovereignty and security in countries like the United States and Australia, or why globalisation is less contentious in Asia than it is in the West, read this book.” - Asia society

“Six Faces is a very clever meta-analysis of the western Globalization debate, examining the main stories we tell about it, and how they have evolved in the face of turmoil over inequality, competition, climate and so on. Six Faces is the kind of stocktake book we all regularly need, but a form which, outside of textbooks is so rarely provided, and rarely with such insightful analysis.” - Andrew Carr for goodreads

“Six Faces of Globalization is … an essential guide to the intractable public debates about the virtues and vices of economic globalization, cutting through the complexity to reveal the fault lines that divide us and the points of agreement that might bring us together. Globalization has lifted millions out of poverty. Globalization is a weapon the rich use to exploit the poor.” - Analytics Insight

“At a time when many of us have only one view of the world, so much so that we only read the books and watch the media that support our vision, Roberts and Lamp present us with a real challenge: they lay out convincingly and comprehensively many different narratives of globalization and its political and economic effects. The book thus implicitly challenges the narrative that each of us finds most compelling. Like in a movie by Kurosawa, our view of events depends on our position. This book compels us to change our position, move out of our comfort zone, and see the world differently and more broadly.” —Branko Milanovic, author of Capitalism, Alone

“As in the proverbial story of five blind men trying to make sense of an elephant, globalization presents itself in different forms to its proponents and opponents. This immensely useful book clarifies the debates around globalization by developing six narratives rooted in contending values and perceptions of reality. It helps us not only understand the best version of other sides’ narratives, but also move beyond our own conceptual straitjackets.” —Dani Rodrik, Harvard University

“Six Faces of Globalization is … an indispensable guide to how and why many people have abandoned the old, time-tested ways of thinking about politics and the economy. This is the book the world needs to read now. It deserves a spot on every shelf of books about globalization.” —Richard Baldwin, Graduate Institute, Geneva

“Anthea Roberts and Nicolas Lamp have written a brilliant and extremely valuable book. They process an enormous amount of information but also, crucially, narratives and storylines about economic globalization and offer us a new way to sort and evaluate the various claims that circulate. The debates about ‘winners and losers’ explored in Six Faces of Globalization will be with us for years and will be the stuff of headlines for the foreseeable future.”— Quinn Slobodian, author of Globalists: The End of Empire and the Birth of Neoliberalism

What are people saying about the book?

Article from Politica Exterior on ‘Six Faces of Globalization: Who Wins, Who Loses and why it matters’

Article from the OECD Forum network on ‘Six Faces of Globalization: Who Wins, Who Loses and why it matters’

‘Framing Globalisation’ article from the Lowy Institute, The Interpreter website on ‘Six Faces of Globalization: Who Wins, Who Loses and why it matters’

‘The Corporate Power Narrative: How Corporations Benefit from Economic Globalization’ review from Promarket on ‘Six Faces of Globalization: Who Wins, Who Loses and why it matters’

“The book Six Faces of Globalization by Anthea Roberts and Nicolas Lamp is about 20th-21st century globalisation under capitalism. For an overview of the subject it is a very useful book.”
- Amiya Kumar Bagchi, The Wire

“In an excellent just-published book ‘Six Faces of Globalization,’ Anthea Roberts and Nicolas Lamp, produce six plausible narratives of globalization and what, according to each, went wrong or right with globalization…”
- Can globalization be “improved”?, Global Policy Journal, Branko Milanovic. View the Spanish and French version.

“Roberts and Lamp set out to disrupt our intellectual inertia … Across all of these narratives, Roberts and Lamp ‘try to remove contempt from the discussion.’ Their approach rewards readers who keep an open mind…”
– Asian Review of Books, James Herndon

“Policymakers and business leaders will appreciate this level-headed and wide-ranging look at a hot-button issue.”
– Publishers Weekly

Interviews

Nicolas Lamp interview with BRINK for DLG News, “What Does Globalization Look Like in a Post-Pandemic World?”

Anthea Roberts interview with ABC RN, “New narratives on globalisation”

Commentary and analysis

• Anthea Roberts and Nicolas Lamp’s commentary piece for Fortune on “Want to know what future battles over globalization will be about? Look to the chip shortage”.

• Anthea Roberts and Nicolas Lamp’s commentary piece for Barron’s on “How Facebook Switches Narratives to Put Us on Its Side”.

News Stories

Experts Unpack Links between the Multilateral Trade Regime and Globalization

Where to get a copy of the book?

Purchase the book from Harvard University Press

Purchase the book from Amazon.

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Anthea Roberts is Professor in the School of Regulation and Global Governance at Australian National University and author of the prizewinning Is International Law International? In 2019, she was named the world’s leading international law scholar by League of Scholars.

Nicolas Lamp is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law at Queen’s University, Ontario. He was previously a dispute-settlement lawyer at the World Trade Organization and has published widely on international trade lawmaking.