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Global Corporate Power

Christopher May, editor
Global Corporate Power
ISBN: 978-1-58826-436-7
$75.00
ISBN: 978-1-58826-971-3
$75.00
2006/331 pages/LC: 2005029752
International Political Economy Yearbook, Vol. 15

"Conceptually innovative, topical, and broad ranging.... This distinctive book does an excellent job of helping us to better understand the power of corporations in the international political economy."—Tony Porter, McMaster University

"This valuable book effectively reconceptualizes transnational corporations, examines their role in global governance, and assesses the promise and limitations of the movement for corporate social responsibility."—David P. Rapkin, University of Nebraska

DESCRIPTION

Exploring the diverse ways that corporations affect the practices and structures of the global political economy, this innovative work addresses three fundamental questions: How can the corporation be most usefully conceptualized within the field of IPE? Does global governance succeed in constraining the power of multinational corporations? To what extent has the movement for corporate social responsibility been fruitful?

The authors' rich, detailed contributions covering topics ranging from environmental governance to control of the Internet, from the evolution of legal structures to issues of outsourcing cogently reestablishes the study of the corporation as a central concern for IPE.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Christopher May is professor of political economy at Lancaster University. His recent publications include A Global Political Economy of Intellectual Property Rights: The New Enclosures? and Intellectual Property Rights: A Critical History.

CONTENTS

  • Introduction—C. May.
  • CONCEPTUALIZING THE CORPORATION.
  • The Century of the Corporation—J. Harrod.
  • Making the Modern Multinational—L. Amoore.
  • The Restructuring of Global Value Chains and the Creation of a Cybertariat—U. Huws.
  • CORPORATIONS AND GLOBAL GOVERNANCE.
  • International Governance and the Private Sector—V. Haufler.
  • Shaping International Corporate Taxation—M.C. Webb.
  • Commercial Control of Global Electronic Networks—S.D. McDowell.
  • The Political Economy of the Firm in Global Environmental Governance—P. Newell and D. Levy.
  • CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.
  • Corporate Citizenship—I. Goldman and R. Palan.
  • Transnational Business Civilization, Corporations, and the Privatization of Global Governance—A.C. Cutler.
  • Instituting the Power to Do Good?—M. Ougaard.
  • World Leaders and Bottom Feeders: Divergent Strategies Toward Social Responsibility and Resource Extraction—S. Pegg.
  • AFTERWORD.
  • Global Corporate Power and the UN Global Compact—C. May.