Global Governance and the Quest for Justice: Volume II: Corporate Governance

Against the backdrop of perceived abuse of corporate power — alleged violations of human rights, degradation of the environment, abuse of labor, Enron-style financial scandals, and the like — the papers in the first part of this collection examine the nature and function of the corporation, as well as the way in which we should understand corporate governance and the power of transnational corporations. Central to the question is the issue of accountability, as well as the questions of social and environmental responsibility. The authors ask whether corporations should be more accountable relative to the broader public interest, and suggest that public law approaches to accountability may offer a way forward. The second part of the book considers the most appropriate regulatory locus (local, regional, or international) and the most effective form of response to the deficit in corporate responsibility and the abuse of corporate power. For example, are transnational corporations most effectively regulated internationally, regionally, or locally?