Globalisation has emerged as a defining trend of the early twenty-first century. Many of the most crucial influences transforming Australia, its region, and international community are linked to processes often labelled as globalisation. Relationships between globalisation, the nation-state and national identity are also central to an understanding of the major currents of contemporary international change. Globalisation Studies examines the interactions of nations, economies, institutions, peoples, cultures, technologies and ideas against a background of increasing international integration and changing modernity.