Preface from the series editors

Summary

As the global older population continues to expand, new issues and concerns arise for consideration by academics, policy makers and health and social care professionals worldwide. Ageing in a Global Context is a series of books, published by Policy Press in association with the British Society of Gerontology, which aims to influence and transform debates in what has become a fast-moving field in research and policy. The series seeks to achieve this in three main ways: first, through publishing books which re-think key questions shaping debates in the study of ageing. This has become especially important given the re-structuring of welfare states, alongside the complex nature of population change, both of these elements opening up the need to explore themes which go beyond traditional perspectives in social gerontology. Second, the series represents a response to the impact of globalisation and related processes, these contributing to the erosion of the national boundaries which originally framed the study of ageing. From this has come the emergence of issues explored in various contributions to the series, for example: the impact of transnational migration, cultural diversity, new types of inequality, and contrasting themes relating to ageing in rural and urban areas. Third, a key concern of the series is to explore inter-disciplinary connections in gerontology. Contributions will provide a critical assessment of the disciplinary boundaries and territories influencing the study of ageing, creating in the process new perspectives and approaches relevant to the 21st century.

Given the above aims, we are delighted that one of the first books in the series has, as its central concern, the exploration of the impact of global interconnectedness on the lives of older people. The authors of the book – Martin Hyde and Paul Higgs – have played a leading role in applying sociological perspectives to the study of ageing, most notably in furthering our understanding of the transformative role of globalisation. This book represents a major assessment of the links between later life and global change, drawing together a wealth of theoretical and empirical material. It will certainly be essential reading for those working in the field of ageing but should also have much wider impact on the social and health sciences more generally.