This collection explores the connections between globalisation, competitiveness and human security and their relevance for development studies. Some of the theoretical issues raised include: How does the process of globalisation and drive for competitiveness affect people's lives? Does the rise of regionalism complement processes of trade liberalisation, thereby fostering globalisation, or does it fragment the world economy into trading blocs which hinder further globalisation? Is globalisation creating a 'Second Great Transformation' in which regionalism provides some human security? Can globalisation be interpreted as a project of Western cultural domination? These issues, amongst others, are also explored in a number of case studies taken from Asia, Africa and Latin America.