The first great globalisation lasted from around 1840 to 1914 and was in its way a far more dramatic occurrence than the integration of world markets that has been taking place since 1945.

ECONOMIST: Business books (5)

Just after the Genoa summit, he told a foreign-ministry audience that it was only at first sight that globalisation reduced the role of the state.

ECONOMIST: Globalisation through French eyes: Putting the brakes on | The

The first is the globalisation of power.

BBC: News | UK Politics | Paddy Ashdown's speech

This will be the first proper test of globalisation.

ECONOMIST: A bad time to be an ostrich

Finally, globalisation went into reverse as the first world war and the Great Depression pushed governments further towards autarky.

ECONOMIST: Business books (5)

First, whether rising or not, because of globalisation or not, global inequality is shockingly high.

ECONOMIST: Rich man, poor man

Others point out that a similar period in history of surging globalisation ended not in universal peace but the first world war.

ECONOMIST: Banyan

The losers from globalisation triggered a political backlash against it, even before the first world war sealed its fate.

ECONOMIST: Business books (5)

Some 98% of the 27m net new jobs created in America between 1990 and 2008 were in the non-tradable sector of the economy, which remains relatively untouched by globalisation, and especially in government and health care the first of which, at least, seems unlikely to generate many new jobs in the foreseeable future.

ECONOMIST: The great mismatch