The Role of Business in Global Governance

In the view of many observers, business is one of the primary beneficiaries if not causes of the 'decline of the state' in a globalizing world. however, a sound analysis of the role of business in global governance is still lacking. In order to overcome this deficiency, this chapter provides a systematic integration of two disparate debates, one on 'new' forms of political activity by business and one on the power of business and its implications, and an embedding of the respective arguments and evidence in a sound theoretical framework. On the basis of this exercise, the chapter demonstrates that in our fascination with the newness of global governance, we should not ignore 'old' forms of political activity by business. These play a crucial complementary role in the current political game. In addition, the chapter draws our attention to a particularly noteworthy expansion in higher dimensions of business power.