Ngaire Woods - Böcker

Inequality is becoming an urgent issue of world politics at the end of the twentieth century. Globalization is not only exacerbating the gap between rich and poor in the world but is also further dividing those states and peoples that have political power and influence from those without. While the powerful shape more `global' rules and norms about investment, military security, environmental and social policy and the like, the less powerful are becoming `rule-takers', often of rules or norms they cannot or will not enforce. The consequences for world politics are profound. The evidence presented in Inequality, Globalization, and World Politics suggests that globalization is creating sharper, more urgent problems for states and international institutions to deal with. Yet at the same time, investigations into eight core areas of world politics suggest that growing inequality is reducing the capacity of governments and existing international organizations to manage these problems effectively. The eight areas surveyed include: international order, international law, welfare and social policy, global justice, regionalism and multilateralism, environmental protection, gender equality, military power, and security.

Inequality is becoming an urgent issue of world politics at the end of the twentieth century. Globalization is not only exacerbating the gap between rich and poor in the world but is also further dividing those states and peoples that have political power and influence from those without. While the powerful shape more `global' rules and norms about investment, military security, environmental and social policy and the like, the less powerful are becoming `rule-takers', often of rules or norms they cannot or will not enforce. The consequences for world politics are profound. The evidence presented in Inequality, Globalization, and World Politics suggests that globalization is creating sharper, more urgent problems for states and international institutions to deal with. Yet at the same time, investigations into eight core areas of world politics suggest that growing inequality is reducing the capacity of governments and existing international organizations to manage these problems effectively. The eight areas surveyed include: international order, international law, welfare and social policy, global justice, regionalism and multilateralism, environmental protection, gender equality, military power, and security.

History and theory are all too often treated as separate approaches to international relations. This book offers an accessible synthesis of sophisticated theory and in-depth history.The uses of theory are examined in the opening section which includes a defence of the historical method by John Lewis Gaddis and the arguments for a more scientific method by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita. The subsequent chapters of the book take major issues and episodes in international relations since 1945 (such as the rise of Japan, change in Latin America, wars in the Middle East, and decolonization) and demonstrate how it is that particular theories assist in explaining them. These include theories of power, cooperation, alliances, empire, integration, and arms control.The student is left with a nuanced view of history and a critical but constructive approach to theories of international relations. The book challenges both students and academics to think afresh about the ways they analyse international relations.

As companies 'go global' they increasingly use factories and facilities spread across the world. But who regulates their activities in far flung corners of the world economy? In many sectors such as textiles and apparel, chemicals, and forestry, the answer is that companies regulate their own behaviour through codes and standards which they agree among themselves. The recent growth in corporate self-regulation of labour, environmental and financial practices has attracted the attention of scholars who have detailed the number and content of self-regulatory efforts in various sectors. Missing so far, however, has been an analysis of the effectiveness and impact of self-regulation. Does self-regulation actually work and under what conditions is it most likely to be effective? The answer to this question is particularly important for developing countries where corporate self-regulation is often seen as substitute for weak governance structures. The chapters in this volume evaluate the effectiveness of self-regulation compared to other forms of global regulation. Across sectors and states, corporate self-regulation works best when those who are regulated have a voice in deciding the content of codes and standards and when some mechanism of compliance exists at the level of the state. Unfortunately, opportunities for voice and state capacity for regulation are often lacking in developing countries. Given this, the book suggests some minimal forms of government action and participation by global actors that can make global corporate self-regulation more effective in bettering conditions in the developing world.

Networks are thriving in global politics. Some bring policy-makers from different countries together to share problems and to forge possible solutions, free from rules of representation, decision-making, and transparency which constrain more formal international organizations. This book asks whether developing countries can benefit from such networks? Or are they safer to conduct their international relations in formal institutions? The answer varies. The key lies in how the network is structured and what it sets out to achieve. This book presents a fascinating account of how some networks have strengthened the position of developing country officials, both at home, and in their international negotiations. Equally, it points to conditions which make it perilous for developing countries to rely on networks.

The Political Economy of Globalization brings together original chapters by leading authorities to provide much-needed evidence and analysis in relation to a highly contentious phenomenon and concept. The book shows how investment patterns are being transformed, a global civil society is emerging, and governments are losing control of national currencies. However, it also makes it clear that globalization does not prohibit strong governments from maintaining a welfare state and good working conditions and how they can co-operate to manage the flow of goods, money, people, and problems across borders.The Political Economy of Globalization brings together original chapters by leading authorities to provide much-needed evidence and analysis in relation to a highly contentious phenomenon and concept. The book shows how investment patterns are being transformed, a global civil society is emerging, and governments are losing control of national currencies. However, it also makes it clear that globalization does not prohibit strong governments from maintaining a welfare state and good working conditions and how they can co-operate to manage the flow of goods, money, people, and problems across borders.

The Political Economy of Globalization brings together original chapters by leading authorities to provide much-needed evidence and analysis in relation to a highly contentious phenomenon and concept. The book shows how investment patterns are being transformed, a global civil society is emerging, and governments are losing control of national currencies. However, it also makes it clear that globalization does not prohibit strong governments from maintaining a welfare state and good working conditions and how they can co-operate to manage the flow of goods, money, people, and problems across borders.The Political Economy of Globalization brings together original chapters by leading authorities to provide much-needed evidence and analysis in relation to a highly contentious phenomenon and concept. The book shows how investment patterns are being transformed, a global civil society is emerging, and governments are losing control of national currencies. However, it also makes it clear that globalization does not prohibit strong governments from maintaining a welfare state and good working conditions and how they can co-operate to manage the flow of goods, money, people, and problems across borders.

Regulation by public and private organizations can be hijacked by special interests or small groups of powerful firms, and nowhere is this easier than at the global level. In whose interest is the global economy being regulated? Under what conditions can global regulation be made to serve broader interests? This is the first book to examine systematically how and why such hijacking or "regulatory capture" happens, and how it can be averted. Walter Mattli and Ngaire Woods bring together leading experts to present an analytical framework to explain regulatory outcomes at the global level and offer a series of case studies that illustrate the challenges of a global economy in which many institutions are less transparent and are held much less accountable by the media and public officials than are domestic institutions. They explain when and how global regulation falls prey to regulatory capture, yet also shed light on the positive regulatory changes that have occurred in areas including human rights, shipping safety, and global finance.This book is a wake-up call to proponents of network governance, self-regulation, and the view that technocrats should be left to regulate with as little oversight as possible. In addition to the editors, the contributors are Kenneth W. Abbott, Samuel Barrows, Judith L. Goldstein, Eric Helleiner, Miles Kahler, David A. Lake, Kathryn Sikkink, Duncan Snidal, Richard H. Steinberg, and David Vogel.

"The IMF and the World Bank have integrated a large number of countries into the world economy by requiring governments to open up to global trade, investment, and capital. They have not done this out of pure economic zeal. Politics and their own rules and habits explain much of why they have presented globalization as a solution to challenges they have faced in the world economy."—from the IntroductionThe greatest success of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank has been as globalizers. But at whose cost? Would borrowing countries be better off without the IMF and World Bank? This book takes readers inside these institutions and the governments they work with. Ngaire Woods brilliantly decodes what they do and why they do it, using original research, extensive interviews carried out across many countries and institutions, and scholarship from the fields of economics, law, and politics.The Globalizers focuses on both the political context of IMF and World Bank actions and their impact on the countries in which they intervene. After describing the important debates between U.S. planners and the Allies in the 1944 foundation at Bretton Woods, she analyzes understandings of their missions over the last quarter century. She traces the impact of the Bank and the Fund in the recent economic history of Mexico, of post-Soviet Russia, and in the independent states of Africa. Woods concludes by proposing a range of reforms that would make the World Bank and the IMF more effective, equitable, and just.

"The IMF and the World Bank have integrated a large number of countries into the world economy by requiring governments to open up to global trade, investment, and capital. They have not done this out of pure economic zeal. Politics and their own rules and habits explain much of why they have presented globalization as a solution to challenges they have faced in the world economy."—from the IntroductionThe greatest success of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank has been as globalizers. But at whose cost? Would borrowing countries be better off without the IMF and World Bank? This book takes readers inside these institutions and the governments they work with. Ngaire Woods brilliantly decodes what they do and why they do it, using original research, extensive interviews carried out across many countries and institutions, and scholarship from the fields of economics, law, and politics.The Globalizers focuses on both the political context of IMF and World Bank actions and their impact on the countries in which they intervene. After describing the important debates between U.S. planners and the Allies in the 1944 foundation at Bretton Woods, she analyzes understandings of their missions over the last quarter century. She traces the impact of the Bank and the Fund in the recent economic history of Mexico, of post-Soviet Russia, and in the independent states of Africa. Woods concludes by proposing a range of reforms that would make the World Bank and the IMF more effective, equitable, and just.

Can good governance be exported? International development assistance is more frequently being applied to strengthening governance in developing countries, and in Exporting Good Governance: Temptations and Challenges in Canada's Aid Program, the editors bring together diverse perspectives to investigate whether aid for good governance works. The first section of the book outlines the changing face of international development assistance and ideas of good governance. The second section analyzes six nations: three are countries to which Canada has devoted a significant portion of its aid efforts over the past five to ten years: Ghana, Vietnam, and Bangladesh. Two are newer and more complex ""fragile states,"" where Canada has engaged: Haiti and Afghanistan. These five are then compared with Mauritius, which has enjoyed relatively good governance. The final section looks at challenges and new directions for Canadas development policy. Co-published with the Centre for International Governance Innovation