Review of Istanbul Between the Global and the Local by Ca-lar Keyder, ed. (Lanham, MD.Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 1999. 201 pages)

Abstract

With the picture of the city's skyline on its cover revealing the close
proximity of the golden arches of a McDonalds to the dome and minaret of
a mosque, this book automatically takes on the assumed conflict between
Islam and the West as the backdrop to its discussion of the globalization
of Istanbul. Recognizing globalization as the current paradigm of social
change for third world countries disillusioned by the failure of modernization,
Keyder does describe Istanbul as a global city, but more so in the sense
of an historical location of opposition than a truly "important node in the*global economy." He emphasizes that the city has experienced "a
different kind of economic globalization," with the typical global-city
perspective failing to explain its evolution and Present-day conflicts. Not
only does corruption run rampant, but defensive, localist attitudes also
prevail in regards to issues related to the cultural change associated with
globalization. Thus, while Istanbul is recognized as having the potential for
becoming a global city, this potential, generally remains unfulfilled ...