This paper investigates how the profound changes at work in the world, known commonly and somewhat opaquely as globalization, have altered the behaviors and orientations of those citizens who participate in the dynamics of globalization. The evidence of rapid and pervasive transformation seems to be everywhere as neoliberal economic policies, vast movements of people around the world, communications and transportation technologies, and a host of other dynamics have led to what has been called the death of time and distance. These changes are so profound that it calls into question the assumption that those who preside over economies, societies, and polities simply absorb these changes into traditional practices. Rather, we theorize that globalizing processes and the backlashes against them alter the lives, outlooks, practices and relationships of all people?rich and poor, leaders and followers, Northerners and Southerners. More than that, we suspect that some of the most extensive transformations have occurred in the lives of those elites in all walks of life who are on the cutting edge of the dynamics presently underway. Using two surveys of over 800 American elites conducted in the fall of 1999 and the winter of 2002-2003, this paper investigates the degree to which an individual’s participation in the processes of globalization transforms his or her loyalties to a nation-state, attitudes toward authority, and orientations toward other collectivities. It also measures whether protests against the WTO and World Bank, the September 11th terrorist attacks, and the war in Iraq have affected the orientations of elites to globalization. To identify those respondents on the cutting edge of global processes, the authors develop an index to measure a respondent’s involvement in global processes. The authors then use this index to conduct chi-square tests that uncover significant attitudinal and behavioral differences between elites on the cutting edge and the other respondents. These tests find that an individual’s participation in the processes of globalization significantly affects his or her orientation toward both the nation-state and other authorities. Those respondents on the cutting edge viewed globalization significantly more favorably than the other respondents. They travel significantly more; use communications technologies more extensively; are more likely to place their employers’ or organizations’ interests before their governments’ interests; and feel significantly more empowered in the face of global processes. These findings support the argument that global elites today are developing political orientations that are incommensurate with traditional, state-centered notions of identity and loyalty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]