Fragmenting Societies?: A Comparative Analysis of Regional and Urban Development (International Library of Sociology)

First Published in 2004. This book addresses a number of key themes in the debate about the nature of a contemporary capitalist society. It poses the question as to whether the present changes are creating a more fragmented society. Through a comparative historical analysis of Australia, New Zealand and Britain the book examines the restructuring of the workforce, the shifts towards more flexible work practices, rising unemployment, the growth of individualism, regional and local diversity, and the creation of new social formations. The book challenges both the more economistic versions of the New International Division of Labour thesis and the ethnocentrism of much contemporary debate on regional change. It argues for an approach based in the distinct experiences of localities, regions and nation states. Detailed empirical data are provided for Australia, Britain and New Zealand covering such areas as economic and employment change, regional diversity, restructuring of the state sector, consumption and home ownership and local social resistances and responses to change. The author is an established and widely published researcher who has conducted intensive research into the three societies examined in this book. The book will interest students in Sociology, Geography, Regional Science, Urban and Regional Planning and Political Science.

David C.Thorns is Reader in Sociology at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand.