Global Social Issues: An Encyclopedia

The still nascent and amorphous field of global studies has occasioned many reference works lately of which this is a recent example. Because the subject remains undefined – and, indeed, defies precise definition – there is no real standard to evaluate the disparate literature on the subject. Different works focus on a variety of topics. By concentrating on social issues of transnational concern, this three‐volume set helps shape the discussion. To be sure, it is a pretentious work, sweeping in scope, which “attempts to encompass … the enormous complexity of the world in which we live” by focusing on “contemporary...