When did globalization begin, and what characterizes it (that is, what are its primary social, cultural, political, and economic features)? How did Americans understand the role of the United States in the world after the Cold War? How did globalization shape this role?

Globalization is a phenomenon that includes the flow of goods, capital, ideas, and people on a global scale. The term means that societies, nations, and economies throughout the world are interconnected in increasingly meaningful and direct ways. Historians disagree about globalization's beginnings. Some note that global markets were integrated by the turn of the twentieth century, others argue it was earlier. But in popular usage, the term refers to the second half of the twentieth century, when various technologies and changing political conditions contributed to its emergence.
Globalization has included many different developments, including the large-scale migration of people from some parts of the world to others, a phenomenon that has drastically altered the demographic landscape of many countries in Europe in particular. Globalization has caused major economic shifts, as large "multinational" corporations moved their operations from countries like the United States to others around the world in an effort to reduce costs.
Politically, many enthusiasts of globalization thought that the spread of market capitalism would be accompanied by the spread of liberal democracy, but this development has not really come to pass. The economic rise of China in particular has altered the global political dynamic in ways not anticipated by many observers. Culturally, Western art, music, fashion, and material culture have spread throughout the world.
Americans still disagree about the role the nation should play in the world and about the nature of globalization itself. In general, during the Cold War, many Americans agreed that the nation should play an active role in the world, both to protect its economic interests and to promote democracy.
https://www.economist.com/free-exchange/2013/09/23/when-did-globalisation-start