Includes bibliographical references and index.

Our world, our lives --
Ch. 1. Communal heavens: identity and meaning in the network society --
Ch. 2. The other face of the Earth: social movements against the New Global Order --
Ch. 3. The greening of the self: the environmental movement --
Ch. 4. The end of patriarchalism: social movements, family and sexuality in the information age --
Ch. 5. Globalization, identification and the state: a powerless state or a network state? --
Ch. 6. Informational politics and the crisis of democracy --
Conclusion: Social change in the network society.

In this second volume of The Information Age trilogy, with an extensive new preface following the recent global economic crisis, Manuel Castells deals with the social, political, and cultural dynamics associated with the technological transformation of our societies and with the globalization of the economy. Extensive new preface examines how dramatic recent events have transformed the socio-political landscape of our world Applies Castells' hypotheses to contemporary issues such as Al Qaeda and global terrorist networks, American unilateralism and the crisis of political legitimacy throughout the world A brilliant account of social, cultural, and political conflict and struggle all over the world Analyzes the importance of cultural, religious, and national identity as sources of meaning for people, and its implications for social movement Throws new light on the dynamics of global and local change.