Report on the World’s Most Powerful Companies
Schedule of Readings for Lectures and Tutorials
There are two textbooks for this subject, which are available for purchase from Booktopia, Amazon, the publishers themselves, and where all good books are sold:
Mikler, J. (2018), The Political Power of Global Corporations, Cambridge: Polity Press.
Wilks, S. (2013), The Political Power of the Business Corporation, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
All the required readings are also available from the library and from the eReserve link on this Canvas site.
The following are extremely useful resources as well:
Coen, D., Grant, W. and Wilson, G. (eds.) (2010), The Oxford Handbook of Business and Government, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Dicken, P. (2015), Global Shift: Mapping the Changing Contours of the World Economy, 7th edition, New York: The Guilford Press (the other editions are just as good although the data are not as up to date).
May, C. (ed.) (2006), Global Corporate Power, Boulder: Lynn Rienner Publishers.
Mikler, J. (ed.) (2013), The Handbook of Global Companies, Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Nölke, A. and May, C. (eds.) (2018), International Political Economy of the Corporation, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
INTRODUCTION
WEEK 1: INTRODUCING THE POWER OF BUSINESS VERSUS GOVERNMENT AND SOCIETY
Does understanding the power of business involve studying finance, economics, management and the functioning of markets? This introductory lecture sets the scene for the course by suggesting that such perspectives do not necessarily capture the reality of a world in which major corporations are also political, as well as economic and social actors. Putting it simply, politics is not confined to governments, political parties and formal political processes.
Required Reading:
Mikler, J. (2018), The Political Power of Global Corporations, Cambridge: Polity Press, chapter 1.
MODULE 1: THEORY
WEEK 2: FROM MARKET TO POLITICAL POWER
Huge corporations dominate the global economy. Those who like the idea of free and competitive markets believe that the relationship they have with states should be at arm’s length. Is it in reality though? This week we consider why corporations can be seen as possessing political power, and therefore not just viewed as market actors.
What is a ‘free market’? Does it ever exist?
Do you agree with Crouch (2011, p.49) that there has been a ‘corporate takeover of the market’?
Do you agree with the perspective that government should/must step back from markets to let them work ‘freely’?
If corporations are regarded as political actors, does that worry you? Why?
Required Reading:
Friedman, M. (1970), ‘The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits’, The New York Times Magazine, September 13, pp.32-33 and 122-126.
Wilks, S. (2013), The Political Power of the Business Corporation, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, chapter 1.
Crouch, C. (2011), The Strange Non-Death of Neoliberalism, Cambridge: Polity Press, chapter 3.
Recommended Reading:
Bakan, J. (2004), The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power, New York: Free Press.
Broome, A. (2014), Issues and Actors in the Global Political Economy, Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, chapter 7. Chandler, A. D. Jr. (1977), The Visible Hand: The Managerial Revolution in American Business, Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Forsgren, M. (2017), Theories of the Multinational Firm: A Multidimensional Creature in the Global Economy, 3rd Edition, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Galbraith, J.K. (1977), ‘The Bimodal Image of the Modern Economy: Remarks upon Receipt of the Veblen Commons Award’, Journal of Economic Issues, Vol.11, No.2, pp. 189-200.
Hertz, N. (2001), The Silent Takeover: Global Capitalism and the Death of Democracy, London: Arrow Books.
Korten, D.C. (2015), When Corporations Rule the World, 20th anniversary edition, Oakland: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
May, C. (ed.) (2006), Global Corporate Power, Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Micklethwait, J. and Wooldridge, A. (2003), The Company: A Short History of a Revolutionary Idea, chapters 7 and 8.Schwartz, H. (2000), States versus Markets: The Emergence of a Global Economy, 2nd edition, Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Strange, S. (1996), The Retreat of the State: The Diffusion of Power in the World Economy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
WEEK 3: THEORISING CORPORATE POLITICAL POWER
Globalisation is a master concept of our time. Those who stress its explanatory power for contemporary politics often point to how states are weakened because of it. They say that the economic aspects of it mean governments can no longer represent their societies the way they once did. The answer to the question of ‘who governs’ is therefore often ‘the market’, or nobody! But following from last week we theoretically explore why this is a problematic way to see political power in an economically interconnected world where power is also held by corporations.
How ‘real’ is the concept of globalisation? Which interpretation of it seems most relevant to you?
What does a ‘global corporation’ look like?
Where do you think they ‘fit’ in the international political economy theories? What role do they play as opposed to states and society?
How does a three faces of power approach help us to understand the power corporations possess? Give examples of the political power they possess in each of the three ‘faces’.
Required Reading:
Mikler, J. (2018), The Political Power of Global Corporations, Cambridge: Polity Press, chapter 2.
Wilks, S. (2013), The Political Power of the Business Corporation, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, chapter 2.
Recommended Reading:
Babic, M., Fichtner, J., and Heemskerk, E.M. (2017), ‘States versus Corporations: Rethinking the Power of Business in International Politics’, The International Spectator, Vol.52, No.4, pp.20-43.
Bell, S. (2012), ‘The Power of Ideas: The Ideational Shaping of the Structural Power of Business’, International Studies Quarterly, Vol.56, No.4, pp.661-673.
Busemeyer, M.R. and Thelen, K. (2020), ‘Institutional Sources of Business Power’, World Politics, Vol.72, No.3, pp.448-480.
Carstensen, M., and Schmidt, V. (2016), ‘Power Through, Over and In Ideas: Conceptualising Ideational Power in Discursive Institutionalism’, Journal of European Public Policy, Vol.23, No.3, pp.318-337.
Ciepley, D. (2013), ‘Beyond Public and Private: Toward a Political Theory of the Corporation‘, American Political Science Review, Vol.107, No.1, pp.139-158.
Fransen, L. and LeBaron, G. (2019), ‘Big Audit Firms as Regulatory Intermediaries in Transnational Labor Governance’, Regulation and Governance, Vol.13, No.2, pp.260-279.
Fuchs, D. (2007), Business Power in Global Governance, Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Geppert, M., and Dörrenbächer, C. (eds.) (2011), Politics and Power in the Multinational Corporation: The Role of Institutions, Interests, and Identities. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Harrod, J. (2006), ‘The Century of the Corporation’, in May, C. (ed.), Global Corporate Power, Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers. Jones, G. (2005), Multinationals and Global Capitalism, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kollman, K. (2008), ‘The Regulatory Power of Business Norms: A Call for a New Research Agenda’, International Studies Review, Vol.10, No.3, pp.397-419.
Martell, L. (2007), ‘The Third Wave in Globalization Theory’, International Studies Review, Vol.9, No.2, pp.173-196.
Porter, T. and Brown, S. (2014), ‘Why, When and How Global Companies Get Organised’, in Mikler, J. (ed.), The Handbook of Global Companies, Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.
Strange, S. (1996), The Retreat of the State: The Diffusion of Power in the World Economy, Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. Thompson, G. (2012), The Constitutionalisation of the Global Corporate Sphere, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Thompson, G. (2012), The Constitutionalisation of the Global Corporate Sphere, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
WEEK 4: DE- VERSUS RE-TERRITORIALISING CORPORATE POLITICAL POWER
There are limits as to how disembodied the political power possessed by corporations may be conceived. There are also limits to how deterritorialised it should be seen. In many ways, the patterns of economic power we see represented in the world’s major corporations mirror the geopolitical patterns of power between states. This week we consider the implications of corporations that can operate across multiple national and regional jurisdictions, versus states and societies that do not.
Are the world’s major corporations getting more or less global? In what respects?
Do you agree with Wilks (2013, p.42) that ‘corporations transcend the nation state’?
Or do you think that the world’s major corporations reflect the power of their home states? Or vice versa? What are the implications of the former versus the latter?
Why do you think that the globality, often transnationality, of the world’s major corporations is so often stressed?
Required Reading:
Mikler, J. (2018), The Political Power of Global Corporations, Cambridge: Polity Press, chapter 3.
Wilks, S. (2013), The Political Power of the Business Corporation, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, chapter 3.
Starrs, S. (2013), ‘American Economic Power Hasn’t Declined – It Globalized! Summoning the Data and Taking
Globalization Seriously’, International Studies Quarterly, Vol.57, No.4, pp.817-830.
Recommended Reading:
Amoore, L. (2006), ‘Making the Modern Multinational’, in May, C. (ed.), Global Corporate Power, Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Dicken, P. (2015), Global Shift: Mapping the Changing Contours of the World Economy, 7th edition, New York: The Guilford Press, chapter 5.
Doremus, P., Keller, W., Pauly, L. and Reich, S. (1999), The Myth of the Global Corporation, Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Fichtner, J. (2017), ‘Perpetual Decline or Persistent Dominance? Uncovering Anglo-America’s True Structural Power in Global Finance’, Review of International Studies, Vol.43, No.1, pp.3-28.
Gotoh, F. and Sinclair, T.J. (2017), ‘Social Norms Strike Back: Why American Financial Practices Failed in Japan’, Review of International Political Economy, Vol.24, No.6, pp.1,030-1,051.
Levitt, T. (1983), ‘The Globalization of Markets’, Harvard Business Review, Vol.61, No.3, pp.92102.
O’ Callaghan, T. and Vivoda, V. (2014), ‘How Global Companies Make National Regulations’, in Mikler, J. (ed.), The Handbook of Global Companies, Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.
Rugman, A. and Verbeeke, A. (2009), ‘Location, Competitiveness, and the Multinational Enterprise’, in Rugman, A. (ed.),
The Oxford Handbook of International Business, 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Saint-Martin, D. (2014), ‘Making Government More “Business-Like”: Management Consultants as Agents of Isomorphism in Modern Political Economies’, in Mikler, J. (ed.), The Handbook of Global Companies, Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.
Sklair, L. (2001), The Transnational Capitalist Class, Oxford: Blackwell.
Staples, C.L. (2007), ‘Board Globalisation in the World’s Largest TNCs 1993-2005’, Corporate Governance, Vol.15, No.2, pp.311321. Stopford, J. (1998), ‘Multinational Corporations – Think Again’, Foreign Policy, Vol.113, Winter, pp.12-24.
Vernon, R. (1981), ‘Sovereignty at Bay: Ten Years After’, International Organization, Vol.35, Summer, pp.517-529.
Weiss, L. and Thurbon, E. (2018), ‘Power Paradox: How the Extension of US Infrastructural Power Abroad Diminishes State Capacity at Home’, Review of International Political Economy, Vol.25, No.6, pp.779-810.
Voss, H. (2014), ‘The Global Company’, in Mikler, J. (ed.), The Handbook of Global Companies, Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.
MODULE 2: CONCEPTS
WEEK 5: NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
The ideological and institutional basis for the world is, broadly speaking, capitalist. This is seen as a good or bad thing depending on one’s ideological standpoint, and grand arguments are often mounted about the pros and cons of this state of affairs (especially by liberals versus Marxists). However, it is also the case that capitalism is not monolithic. It finds expression in different ways in different states. This week we consider the ways in which it varies, and what this means for the relations between government, business and society.
Esping Andersen (1990, p.10) makes the controversial statement that ‘liberals discovered that democracy would usurp or destroy the market’. What does he mean? Do you agree?
What are the varieties of capitalism?
Is this just a lot of nit-picking? Are capitalist relations of production inherently similar, and therefore we should
analyse the ‘wood’ rather than the ‘trees’?
Do you think certain varieties of capitalism are ‘better’ than others? Why?
Required Reading:
Esping-Andersen, G. (1990), The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism, Cambridge: Polity Press, chapter 1.
Mikler, J. (2018), The Political Power of Global Corporations, Cambridge: Polity Press, chapter 4.
Wilks, S. (2013), The Political Power of the Business Corporation, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, chapter 5.
Jones, L. and Hameiri, S. (2021), “COVID-19 and the Failure of the Neoliberal Regulatory State”, Review of International Political Economy, online in advance, DOI: 10.1080/09692290.2021.1892798.
Recommended Reading:
Braithwaite, J. (2008), Regulatory Capitalism: How it Works, Ideas for Making it Work Better, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar (or for a summary Braithwaite, J. (2006), ‘The Regulatory State?’ in Rhodes, R., Binder, S., and Rockman, B. (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Political Institutions, chapter 21).
Bremmer, I. (2010), The End of the Free Market: Who Wins the War Between States and Corporations?, New York:
Portfolio/Penguin. Coates, D. ed. (2005), Varieties of Capitalism, Varieties of Approaches, Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Crouch, C. and Streeck, W. (eds.) (1997), Political Economy of Modern Capitalism: Mapping Convergence and Diversity, London: Sage Publications.
Dore, R. (2000), ‘Will Global Capitalism be Anglo-Saxon Capitalism?’ New Left Review, Vol.6, pp.101-119.
Dore, R., Lazonick, W. and O’Sullivan, M. (1999), ‘Varieties of Capitalism in the Twentieth Century’, Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Vol.15, No.4, pp.102-120
Estevez-Abe, M. (2005), ‘Gender Bias in Skills and Social Policies: The Varieties of Capitalism Perspective on Sex Segregation’, Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State and Society, Vol.12, No. 2, pp. 180-215.
Feldmann, M. (2019), ‘Global Varieties of Capitalism’, World Politics, Vol.71, No.1, pp.162-196.
Goldstein, A. (2007), Multinational Companies from Emerging Economies: Composition, Conceptualization and Direction in the Global Economy, Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Goodin, R.E., Headey, B., Muffels, R. and Dirven, H-J. (1999), The Real Worlds of Welfare Capitalism, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hall, P.A. and Soskice, D. (2001), ‘An Introduction to Varieties of Capitalism’, in Hall, P.A., and Soskice, D. (eds.),
Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hancké, B. (ed.) (2009), Debating Varieties of Capitalism: A Reader, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Heidenreich, M. (2012), ‘The Social Embeddedness of Multinational Companies: A Literature Review’, Socio-economic Review, Vol.10, No.3, pp.549-579.
Hollingsworth, J. and Boyer, R. eds. (1997), Contemporary Capitalism: the Embeddedness of Institutions, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Jackson, G., and Deeg, R. (2008), ‘Comparing Capitalisms: Understanding Institutional Diversity and Its Implications for International Business’, Journal of International Business Studies, Vol.39, No.4, pp.540-561.
Kitschelt, H., Lange, P., Marks, G. and Stephens, J. eds. (1999), Continuity and Change in Contemporary Capitalism, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Nölke, A. (eds.) (2014), Multinational Corporations from Emerging Markets Economies: State Capitalism 3.0, Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Vogel, S. (2018), Marketcraft: How Governments Make Markets Work, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Vogel, S. (1996), Freer Markets, More Rules: Regulatory Reform in Advanced Industrial Countries, Ithaca: Cornell University Press. Walter, A., and Zhang, X. (eds.) (2012), East Asian Capitalism: Diversity, Continuity and Change, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
WEEK 6: SOCIETY
Individuals and social groups pressure business and government for the outcomes they desire. Generally, we tend to believe this is desirable because of a normative preference for representative democracy, as opposed to states characterised by authoritarianism and social repression in the name of ‘order’. This week we consider the manner in which the political power of corporations challenges the power of governments to act on the desires of their citizens, and whether or not it is possible/desirable that corporations claim to bear social responsibility themselves.
What responsibilities should government and business have in respect of society?
Do you think, in most liberal democracies, society’s role is increasingly relevant? Alternatively, are social interests increasingly threatened?
Are you positive or pessimistic about the potential for corporate social responsibility?
Are you optimistic that corporations will respond positively to demands that they pay their ‘fair share’ of tax?
Required Reading:
Wilks, S. (2013), The Political Power of the Business Corporation, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, chapter 9.
Vogel, D. (2005), The Market for Virtue: The Potential and Limits of Corporate Social Responsibility, Washington DC: Brookings Institute Press, chapter 1.
Bell, S., and Hindmoor, A. (2014). ‘The Structural Power of Business and the Power of Ideas: The Strange Case of the Australian Mining Tax’, New Political Economy, 19(3), 470-486.
Oxfam (2016), The Hidden Billions: How Tax Havens Impact Lives at Home and Abroad, https://www.oxfam.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/OXF003-Tax-Havens-Report-FA2-WEB.pdf, accessed 22 June 2021, pp.5-8.
Recommended Reading:
Barnett, M. (2016), ‘The Business Case for Corporate Social Responsibility: A Critique and an Indirect Path Forward’, Business and Society, Vol.58, No.1, pp.167-190.
Bloomfield, M.J. (2017), ‘Global Production Networks and Activism: Can Activists Change Mining Practices by Targeting Brands?’, New Political Economy, Vol.22, No.6, pp.727-742.
Brühl, T. and Hofferberth, M. (2014), ‘Global Companies as Social Actors: Constructing Private Business in Global Governance’, in Mikler, J. (ed.), The Handbook of Global Companies, Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.
Byrne, E.F. (2007), ‘Assessing Arms Makers’ Corporate Social Responsibility’, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol.74, pp.201-217.
Crane, A. (2008), Corporate Social Responsibility in Global Context, 2nd edition, Los Angeles: Sage.
Crane, A., Matten, D., McWilliams, A., Moon, J., and Siegel, D. S. (eds.) (2009), The Oxford Handbook of Social Responsibility. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Dashwood, H. (2012), The Rise of Global Corporate Social Responsibility: Mining and the Spread of Global Norms, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Elbra, A. and Mikler, J. (2017), ‘Paying a ‘Fair Share’: Multinational Corporations’ Perspectives on Taxation’, Global Policy, Vol.8, No.2, pp.181-188.
Favotto, A. and Kollman, K. (2021), ‘Mixing Business with Politics: Does Corporate Social Responsibility End Where Lobbying Transparency Begins?’, Regulation and Governance, Vol.15, No.2, pp.262-279.
MacDonald, K. (2014), ‘The Socially Embedded Corporation’, in Mikler, J. (ed.), The Handbook of Global Companies, Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.
McKnight, D. and Hobbs, M. (2013), ‘Public Contest through the Popular Media: The Mining Industry’s Advertising War against the Australian Labor Government’, Australian Journal of Political Science, Vol.48, No.3, pp.307-319.
Kang, N., and Moon, J. (2012). ‘Institutional Complementarity between Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility: A Comparative Institutional Analysis of Three Capitalisms’, Socio-economic Review, Vol.10, No.1, pp.85-108.
Margolis, J.D., and Walsh, J.P. (2001), People and Profits? The Search for a Link Between a Company’s Social and Financial Performance, Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Marsh, D., Lewis, C., and Chesters, J. (2014), ‘The Australian Mining Tax and the Political Power of Business,’ Australian Journal of Political Science, Vol.49, No.4, pp.711-725.
Marsh, D. and Lewis, C. (2014), ‘The Political Power of Big Business: A Response to Bell and Hindmoor’, New Political Economy, Vol.19, No.4, pp.628-633.
Murphy-Gregory, H., Elbra, A., Mikler, J. and Johnson, L. (2020), ‘The Australian Campaign Against Corporate Tax Avoidance: Agenda-setting, Narratives, and Political Opportunities, Australian Journal of Political Science, Vol.55, No.4, pp.399-415.
O’Callaghan, T. (2016), Reputation Risk and Globalization: Exploring the Idea of a Self-Regulating Corporation, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
OECD (2015), ‘Taxing Multinational Enterprises: Base Erosion And Profit Shifting (BEPS)’, OECD Policy Biref, BEPS Update No.3 (October), https://www.oecd.org/ctp/policy-brief-beps-2015.pdf, accessed 22 June 2021.
Ougaard, M. (2006), ‘Instituting the Power to do Good?”, in May, C. (ed.), Global Corporate Power, Boulder: Lynn Rienner Publishers.
Oxfam (2016), Tax Battles: The Dangerous Global Race to the Bottom on Corporate Tax, https://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/bp-race-to-bottom-corporate-tax-121216-en.pdf, accessed 19 June 2021, pp.1-8.
Putnam, R. (1993), Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy, Princeton: Princeton University Press, chapter 6.
Zadek, S. (2007), The Civil Corporation: The New Economy of Corporate Citizenship, 2nd edition, London: Earthscan.
WEEK 7: GLOBAL(?) GOVERNANCE
States are territorially defined. Their societies tend to be as well. However, the world’s major corporations are not. This means that they are potentially partners in global governance with states and international organisations in crafting global agreements and meeting societal needs across borders. This week we consider the extent to which they can/should be in a position to perform this role.
Do you agree with Sell (2003, p.96) that through their influence a handful of powerful corporations ‘made public law for the world’ with the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights?
‘Is the influence of multinationals simply an extension of the power of their home states (as state- centric comparativists would have it), or have global corporations, global markets and an international society taken on an autonomous and relatively stable existence?’ (Wilks 2013, p.155)
Do you think that cooperation between states and MNCs increases, undermines of transforms state sovereignty?
Should corporations have a ‘seat’ at the table in international organisations and international agreements?
Required Reading:
Wilks, S. (2013), The Political Power of the Business Corporation, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, chapter 7.
Sell, S. (2003), Private Power, Public Law: The Globalization of Intellectual Property Rights, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, chapter 5.
Seitz, K., Martens, J. (2017), ‘Philanthrolateralism: Private Funding and Corporate Influence in the United Nations’, Global Policy, Vol.8, No.5, pp.46-50.
Recommended Reading:
Aggarwal, V.K., and Evenett, S.J. (2014), ‘Do WTO Rules Preclude Industrial Policy? Evidence from the Global Economic Crisis’.
Business and Politics, Vol.16, No.4, 481-509.
Blackmon, P. (2014), ‘Global Companies, the Bretton Woods Institutions, and Global Inequality’, in Mikler, J. (ed.), The Handbook of Global Companies, Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.
Bell, S., and Hindmoor, A. (2009), Rethinking Governance: The Centrality of the State in Modern Societies, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Finger, M. (2014), ‘Global Companies and the Environment: The Triumph of TNCs in Global Environmental Governance’, in Mikler, J. (ed.), The Handbook of Global Companies, Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.
George, S. (2015), Shadow Sovereigns: How Global Corporations are Seizing Power, Cambridge: Polity Press. Graz, J-C. and Nölke, A. (eds.) (2008), Transnational Private Governance and its Limits, Abingdon: Routledge. Jones, O. (2014), The Establishment and How They Get Away With It, London: Allen Lane, chapters 7 and 8.
Nasen, R.W. (2008), ‘Structuring the Global Marketplace: The Impact of the United Nations Global Compact’, Journal of Macromarketing, Vol.28, No.4, pp.418-425.
Ougaard, M. and Leander, A. (eds.) (2010), Business and Global Governance, Abingdon: Routledge. Picciotto, S. (2011), Regulating Global Corporate Capitalism, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Roger, C. and Dauvergne, P. (2016), ‘The Rise of Transnational Governance as a Field of Study’, International Studies Review, Vol.18, No., pp.415-437.
Ruggie, J.G. (2013), Just Business: Multinational Corporations and Human Rights, New York: W.W. Norton and Company.
Seabrooke, L., and Sending, O.J. (2020), ‘Contracting Development: Managerialism and Consultants in Intergovernmental Organisations’, Review of International Political Economy, Vol.27, No.4, pp.802-827.
Starobin, S. (2014), ‘Global Companies as Agents of Globalisation’, in Mikler, J. (ed.), The Handbook of Global Companies, Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.
Voegtlin, C., and Pless, N. (2014), ‘Global Governance: CSR and the Role of the UN Global Compact’, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol.122, No.2, pp.179-191.
Woll, C. (2013), ‘Global Companies as Agenda Setters in the World Trade Organisation’, in Mikler, J. (ed.), The Handbook of Global Companies, Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.
WEEK 8: PRIVATE AUTHORITY AND PRIVATE GOVERNANCE
If global corporations are among the most powerful institutions on the planet, and they increasingly profess to respond to social concerns, why shouldn’t they govern in their own right? It may in any case be inevitable that in an interdependent, globalised world their private authority means that regardless of whether they potentially should do so, that they will do so. This week, we consider the extent of this and whether or not it is desirable.
What is private authority? What is the difference/relationship between it and private governance?
What is the role of the state and society in facilitating/constraining private authority?
Is private governance likely to be more or less effective in ensuring regulatory outcomes serve the greater good of society?
What overall do you see as the pros versus cons of corporations ‘increasingly engaged in authoritative decision-making that was previously the prerogative of sovereign states’ (Cutler et al. 1999 quoted in Mikler 2018, p.103)?
Required Reading:
Mikler, J. (2018), The Political Power of Global Corporations, Cambridge: Polity Press, chapter 5.
Wilks, S. (2013), The Political Power of the Business Corporation, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, chapter 10.
Cahill, D. and Konings, Martijn (2017), Neoliberalism, Cambridge: Polity Press, chapter 4.
Recommended Reading:
Barkan, J. (2013), Corporate Sovereignty: Law and Government Under Capitalism, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Bernstein, S., and Cashore, B. (2007), ‘Can Non‐state Global Governance be Legitimate? An Analytical Framework’, Regulation and Governance, Vol.1, No.4, pp.347‐371.
Büthe, T. and Mattli, W. (2011), The New Global Rulers: The Privatisation of Regulation in the World Economy, Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Culpepper, P. (2010), Quiet Politics and Business Power: Corporate Control in Europe and Japan, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Cutler, A.C., Haufler, V. and Porter, T. (eds.) (1999), Private Authority and International Affairs, Albany: State University of New York Press.
Dashwood, H. (2014), ‘Global Private Governance: Explaining Initiatives in the Global Mining Sector’, in Mikler, J. (ed.), The Handbook of Global Companies, Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.
Elbra, A. (2016), Governing African Gold Mining: Private Governance and the Resource Curse, Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
Hall, R., and Biersteker, T.J. (eds.) (2002). The Emergence of Private Authority in Global Governance, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Haufler, V. (2001), A Public Role for the Private Sector: Industry Self-Regulation in a Global Economy, Washington: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Heires, M. (2008), ‘The International Organization for Standardization (ISO)’, New Political Economy, Vol.13, No.3, pp.357-367.
Petry, J., Fichtner, J. and Heemskerk, E. (2021), ‘Steering Capital: The Growing Private Authority of Index Providers in the Age of Passive Asset Management’, Review of International Political Economy, Vol.28, No.1, pp.152-176.
Thissen-Smits, M. and Bernhagen, P. (2014), ‘Outsourcing Global Governance: Public-Private Voluntary Initiatives’, in Mikler, J. (ed.), The Handbook of Global Companies, Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.
Tucker, P. (2018), Unelected Power: The Quest for Legitimacy in Central Banking and the Regulatory State, Princeton: Princeton University Press.
WEEK 9 : NO LECTURES OR TUTORIALS
Complete your report on the world’s most powerful companies, and think about your essay.
MODULE 3: ISSUES
WEEK 10: FORCED LABOUR IN GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAINS
It appears that corporations’ global supply chains have forced labour built into them, whether by accident or design, to the extent that it might even be contended that there is a business case for it. That is a profoundly worrying thought, because it is akin to modern-day slavery. This week we consider why, who and what is responsible for it, and what can be done about it.
Do you think that corporations bear responsibility for forced labour in their global supply chains?
What is the potential for governments to respond to, and prevent, forced labour in global supply chains?
Corporations profess to be concerned about forced labour and are keen to prevent it. Do you believe them? Do you think that they can?
What is the potential for consumers in wealthy countries to act in order to prevent forced labour being used in the products and services they purchase?
Required Reading:
MacDonald, K. (2014), The Politics of Global Supply Chains, Cambridge: Polity Press, chapter 2 (read on to chapter 3 for the corporate response).
LeBaron, G. and Phillips, N. (2019), ‘States and the Political Economy of Unfree Labour’, New Political Economy, Vol.24, No.1, pp.1-21.
LeBaron, Howard, N., Thibos, C. and Kyritsis, P. (2018), Confronting Root Causes: Forced Labour in Global Supply Chains, openDemocracy and the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute, https://cdn-prod.opendemocracy.net/media/documents/Confronting_Root_Causes_Forced_Labour_In_Global_Supply_Chains.pdf, accessed 21 June 2021, pp.61-68 (or more if you feel the inclination).
Recommended Reading:
Amnesty International (2016), The Great Palm Oil Scandal: Labour Abuses Behind Big Brand Names,
https://www.amnesty.ch/de/themen/wirtschaft-und-menschenrechte/dok/2016/weltmarken-profitieren-von-kinder-und- zwangsarbeit/bericht_the_great_palm_oil_scandal.pdf, accessed 22 June 2018.
Allain, J., Crane, A., LeBaron, G., and Behbahani, L. (2013), Forced Labour’s Business Models and Supply Chains,
Joseph Rowntree Foundation, https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/forced-labour’s-business-models-and-supply-chains, accessed 21 June 2018.
Bartley, T. (2018), Rules Without Rights: Land, Labor and Private Authority in the Global Economy, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bright, C., Marx, A., Pineau, N., and Wouters, J. (2020), ‘Toward a Corporate Duty for Lead Companies to Respect Human Rights in their Global Value Chains’, Business and Politics, Vol.22, No.4, pp.667-697.
Fransen, L. (2014), Global Companies and the Private Regulation of Global Labour Standards’, in Mikler, J. (ed.), The Handbook of Global Companies, Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.
LeBaron, G. (2014), ‘Subcontracting is not Illegal, but is it Unethical? Business Ethics, Forced Labour, and Economic Success’, Brown Journal of World Affairs, Vol.20, No.2, pp.237-249.
LeBaron, G. (2015), ‘Unfree Labour Beyond Binaries’, International Feminist Journal of Politics, Vol.17, No.1, pp.1-19.
Merk, J. (2008), ‘The Private Regulation of Labour Standards: the Apparel and Footwear Industries’, in Graz, J-C. and Nölke, A. (eds.), Transnational Private Governance and its Limits, Abingdon: Routledge.
Myers, C. (2013), Corporate Social Responsibility in the Consumer Electronics Industry: A Case Study of Apple Inc., Georgetown University, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, http://lwp.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/Connor-Myers.pdf, accessed 20 June 2018.
Selwyn, B., Musiolek, B. and Ijarja, A. (2020), ‘Making a Global Poverty Chain: Export FootwearProduction and Gendered Labour Exploitation in Eastern and Central Europe’, Review of International Political Economy, Vol.27, No.2, pp.377-403.
Thelen, K. (2001), ‘Varieties of Labour Politics in the Developed Democracies’, in Hall, P. and Soskice, D. (eds.), Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Mayer, F. and Phillips, N. (2017), ‘Outsourcing Governance: States and the Politics of a “Global Value Chain World”’,
New Political Economy, Vol.22, No.21, pp.134-152. The article is in a special issue (2017, Vol.22, No.21) of New Political Economy on ‘The Political Economy of Governance in a ‘Global Value Chain World’’ edited by Frederick Mayer, Nicola Phillips and Anne Posthuma. You may like to consult other articles in this issue as well.
WEEK 11: TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION: PUBLIC OR PRIVATE?
Technological innovation was described by Alvin Toffler (1970, p.25) as ‘the great growling engine of change’. It is usually seen as central to capitalism, indeed as being ‘the fundamental impulse that sets and keeps the capitalist engine in motion’ (Schumpeter 1943 quoted in Dicken 2015, p.75). It produces both benefits and costs to society.
Governments are usually seen as encouraging the former while moderating the latter. This week, we consider the role played by government and business in driving technological innovation and whether or not this is in the public interest.
How is technological innovation crucial to the interests of government, business and society?
Do you agree with the need for intellectual property protection? Whose interests does it serve?
Do you agree with global rules for intellectual property protection?
Is intellectual property protection in the interests of developing countries?
Required Reading:
Chang, H. (2003), Globalisation, Economic Development and the Role of the State, London and New York: Zed Books, chapter 8.
Mazzucato, M. (2015), The Entrepreneurial State: Debunking Public vs Private Sector Myths, New York: Pubic Affairs, pp.48-77.
Lazonick, W. (2014), ‘The Big Idea: Profits Without Prosperity’, Harvard Business Review, September, pp.46-55.
Gubby, H. (2020), ‘Is the Patent System A Barrier to Inclusive Prosperity? The Biomedical Perspective’, Global Policy, Vol.11, No.1, pp.46-55.
Recommended Reading:
Block, F. and Keller, M. (2011), State of Innovation: The US Government’s Role in Technology Development, Boulder: Paradigm Publishers.
Braithwaite, J. and Drahos, P. (2000), Global Business Regulation, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, chapter 7. Chang, H. (2002), Kicking Away the Ladder: the Development Strategy in Historical Perspective, London: Anthem.
Dicken, P. (2015), Global Shift: Mapping the Changing Contours of the World Economy, 7th edition, New York: The Guilford Press, chapter 4.
Shiva, V. (2001), Protect or Plunder: Understanding Intellectual Property Rights, London and New York: Zed Books, chapter 7. Toffler, A. (1970), Future Shock, London: Pan Books.
Weiss, L. (2014). America Inc.: Innovation and Enterprise in the National Security State, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
World Trade Organization (2018), Intellectual Property: Protection and Enforcement, https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/agrm7_e.htm, accessed 21 June 2021. See also related pages from the WTO’s website.
WEEK 12: THE ENVIRONMENT: CORPORATIONS AS THE PROBLEM OR PART OF THE SOLUTION?
Corporations and capitalism are often seen as to blame for environmental problems. For example, on issues like climate change we are often told that there needs to be a ‘balance’ between economic and environmental outcomes (eg. by Australia’s current Federal Government), which suggests that they are mutually contradictory as opposed to mutually supporting. Yet others see potential for business to be part of the solution. In this lecture we consider the extent to which these contrasting perspectives are true for environmental problems to be addressed.
Do you agree with the double-dividend argument of Porter and van der Linde (1995) – ie. there is no trade-off between the environment and business interests?
Is government intervention the crucial factor in addressing environmental degradation?
What might be the role for those causing the degradation itself? Which is most crucial in finding solutions?
When are corporations likely to play a positive role in addressing environmental challenges?
Required Reading:
Porter, M. and van der Linde, C. (1995), ‘Toward a New Conception of the Environment-Competitiveness Relationship’, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol.9, No.4, pp.97-118
Tienhaara, K., Orsini, A. and Falkner, R. (2012), ‘Global Corporations’, in Bierman, F. and Pattberg, P. (eds.), Global Environmental Governance Reconsidered, Cambridge: MIT Press.
Kolleck, N. (2013), ‘How Global Companies Wield Their Power: The Discursive Shaping of Sustainable Development’, in Mikler, J. (ed.), The Handbook of Global Companies, Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.
Coll, S. (2012), ‘Gusher: The Power of ExxonMobil’, The New Yorker, 9 April, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/04/09/gusher, accessed 20 June 2021.
Recommended Reading:
Beder, S. (2002), Global Spin: The Corporate Assault on Environmentalism, Foxhole: Green Books.
Boons, F. (2014), ‘Ecological Modernisation and Industrial Ecology’, in Mikler, J. (ed.), The Handbook of Global Companies, Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.
Crowley, K. (2013), ‘Irresistable Force? Achieving Carbon Pricing in Australia’, Australian Journal of Politics and History, Vol.59, No.3, pp.368-381.
Dauvergne, P. (2016), Environmentalism of the Rich, Cambridge: MIT Press Mikler, J. (2009), Greening the Car Industry: Varieties of Capitalism and Climate Change, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Falkner, J. (2008), Business Power and Conflict in International Environmental Politics, Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Harrison, N.E. and Mikler, J. (eds.) (2014), Climate Innovation: Liberal Capitalism and Climate Change, Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Holliday, C., Schmidheiny, S. and Watts, P. (2002), Walking the Talk, Sheffield: Greenleaf.
Levy, D. and Newell, P. (eds.) (2005), The Business of Global Environmental Governance, Cambridge: The MIT Press.
MacLeod, M. and Park, J. (2011), ‘Financial Activism and Global Climate Change: The Rise of Investor-Driven Governance Networks’,
Global Environmental Politics, Vol.11, No.2, pp. 54-74
Mikler, J., and Harrison, N. (2013), ‘Climate Innovation: Australian Corporate Perspectives on the Role of Government’, Australian Journal of Politics and History, Vol.59, No.3, pp.414-428.
Mathews, J. (2014), ‘The Greening of Capitalism’, in Mikler, J. (ed.), The Handbook of Global Companies, Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.
Murphy-Gregory, H. (2017), ‘Governance via Persuasion: Environmental NGOs and the Social Licence to Operate, Environmental Politics, Vol.27, No.2, pp.320-34.
Newell, P. and Paterson, M. (2010), Climate Capitalism: Global Warming and the Transformation of the Global Economy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Paterson, M. (2007), Automobile Politics: Ecology and Cultural Political Economy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pearse, G. (2007), High and Dry, Camberwell: Viking/Penguin.
Pearse, G. (2009), ‘Quarry Vision: Coal, Climate Change and the End of the Resources Boom’, Quarterly Essay, Vol.33, pp.1-122.
Prakash, A. (2000), Greening the Firm: The Politics of Corporate Environmentalism, Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Brett, J. (2020), ‘The Coal Curse: Resources, Climate and Australia’s Future ’, Quarterly Essay, Issue 78, pp.1-81.
WEEK 13: IS THE STATE ABOUT BUSINESS? IS SOCIETY ABOUT MARKETS?
It is often claimed that the state needs to operate more like a business if it is to be efficient and effective. Likewise, market-type perspectives are seen as being important for good social outcomes, such as value for money, and individuals making choices in markets rather than governments delivering services. Such views should not go uncontested, and indeed they do not! As they should be the subject of ongoing debate, we too will finish the semester with some thoughts about the pronouncements we so often hear about the relationship between government, business and society.
What do you think should be the roles of government, business and society? Has your view changed since the beginning of the semester?
What do you think of Wilks’ (2013) ‘fairytales’, ‘facts’, ‘foci’ and ‘futures’?
Do you agree or disagree with Mikler’s (2018) three implications of the political power of global corporations?
Required Reading:
Galbraith, J.K. (1958), The Affluent Society, London: Hamish Hamilton, pp.195-203.
Mikler, J. (2018), The Political Power of Global Corporations, Cambridge: Polity Press, chapter 6
Wilks, S. (2013), The Political Power of the Business Corporation, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, chapter 11.
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