Simon Learmount – författare

Understanding the ancient and long sidelined concept of cosmopolitanism has suddenly found a fresh impetus and urgency. Globalization, international migration, multiculturalism and global social movements, as well as atrocities committed by those with narrow religious and ethnic identities, have led to reposing of two basic cosmopolitan questions: Can we ever live peacefully with one another? What do we share, collectively, as human beings?The term cosmopolitanism has attracted many understandings and uses over the years. Covering the global, national, social and personal levels of analysis, the authors consider the multiple meanings of the term in the past and in the present and develop new ways of conceiving cosmopolitanism. Through challenging old assumptions and advancing new analytical frameworks, the collection provides a full and representative set of views on the nature, definition and prospects of cosmopolitanism.Written by eminent scholars and publicly recognised intellectuals from a variety of cultural backgrounds, this book is the most comprehensive account of the theory and practice of cosmopolitanism yet attempted.

This book explores current thinking on corporate governance by way of a detailed study of the governance practices of fourteen Japanese companies. The author was granted extensive access to these Japanese companies, as well as to their partner companies, their shareholders, and their banks, and is therefore able to provide a detailed insight into the way that Japanese companies are actually governed on a day-to-day basis. The book suggests that current mainstream conceptualizations of corporate governance are inadequate, as they do not help to understand the way that these Japanese companies are directed and controlled in practice. In the majority of cases, governance operates through a system which draws on the reciprocal obligations, responsibilities, and trust generated in everyday interactions at the individual and organizational level. The conclusions of the research have important implications not only for our understanding of the Japanese system of corporate governance, but also for international corporate governance policy and research in general. In particular, the book commends greater recognition that alongside the currently dominant concern 'controlling' the behaviour of company managers, the governance of companies might equally be considered in terms of the responsibilities, reciprocal obligations, and trust inherent in everyday interactions.The book is equally accessible and relevant to both academics and to those involved with corporate governance issues on a day-to-day basis, including financial services providers, lawyers, policymakers, and company directors.