[cross-posted at Daily Kos]

The A.T. Kearney/FOREIGN POLICY Globalization Index (free, registration required) ranks political, economic, personal, and technological globalization in 62 countries across 4 categories and 12 sub-items. Despite coming in as #4 on the overall list behind #1 Singapore, #2 Ireland, and #3 Switzerland, it’s very interesting to note the areas where the U.S. very nearly bottoms out.
In the overall Economic category, the U.S. ranks as #60 and in the specific economic item, Trade, ranks #61. In the Personal Contact category, Remittances and Personal Transfers ranks #58. In the Political Engagement Category, Treaties ranks #57. Even more interesting is that the U.S. is the only country in the top 27 that ranks in the bottom 10 in 3 items. The next country behind the U.S. to have 3 bottom-ranking items is 28th-ranked Japan. There are 21 countries that do not rank in the bottom 10 in any category or item.

Kearney explains the poor rating in the economic and trade categories this way.

   In part, the United States’ lackluster performance in economic areas is due to its vibrant domestic market. Because many U.S. producers can focus exclusively on satisfying U.S. consumers, the United States is a less trade-dependent nation than small exporting countries such as Singapore and Ireland. In some ways, the U.S. economy is a world unto itself.

The poor performance in the treaties category should be understandable to anyone who follows the news.

   Consider the United States’ skepticism of international treaty regimes. In 2003, the Bush administration continued to turn up its nose at a variety of international agreements. The White House’s opposition to the Kyoto Protocol and the International Criminal Court is well known. But the Bush administration didn’t even want to sign on to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes. The United States looks suspiciously at many of the new legal and institutional arrangements that are binding the world together, at least on paper. As a result, the United States ranks 57th of the 62 ranked countries–below China and Pakistan–when it comes to signing on the dotted line.

Comment: Below China and Pakistan? That’s embarrassing in light of how much the U.S. trumpets rule-of-law and global cooperation.

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Globalization Index and Rankings Chart of 62 Countries