Search Results

Differentiated Europeanization: Large and Small Firms in the EU Policy Process

David Coen and Charles Dannreuther

in The Politics of Europeanization

This chapter explores the issue of Europeanization primarily at the horizontal level of European Union (EU) policy formulation and the adaptation and Europeanization of large and small business ... More

This chapter explores the issue of Europeanization primarily at the horizontal level of European Union (EU) policy formulation and the adaptation and Europeanization of large and small business interests in the new opportunity structures of Brussels. The movement of business and other societal interests towards the European level has long been associated with a neofunctional perspective on European integration and societal change. Business interests have always been associated with the changes in policy and polity described by the term Europeanization, begging the question of how does the study of ‘Europeanization’ add to the understanding of European business lobbying. To answer this, the first section of the chapter, ‘Europeanization and the Application to EU Public Policy’ defines what Europeanization is understand to be, and set outs a number of European policy-making process propositions to be explored empirically in the next section ‘The Europeanization of Business Interests in a Differentiated Policy Process’. This section looks at how institutional and organizational capabilities have affected representative ability over time, how firms of all sizes have developed ‘venue shopping’ strategies in a multilevel governance structure, and, finally (in resource dependency terms), how firm size affects the distinct rules and norms of interest representation with the European Commission.Less

Institutions, Lobbying, and Corruption: A Theoretical Framework

Vineeta Yadav

in Political Parties, Business Groups, and Corruption in Developing Countries

This chapter presents a theoretical framework that analyzes how differences in the lobbying strategies of business interest groups emerge from differences in their legislative institutions, ... More

This chapter presents a theoretical framework that analyzes how differences in the lobbying strategies of business interest groups emerge from differences in their legislative institutions, establishes the link between these institutionally inspired lobbying strategies and patterns of corrupt behaviors, and analyzes which of these patterns is more likely to lead to higher political and general corruption. It argues that countries with legislative institutions that incentivize lobbying directed at political parties will experience higher corruption than those countries that incentivize lobbying directed at individual legislators. This is the central hypothesis of this book.Less

Limits of Commercial Investor-State Arbitration: The Need for Appellate Review

Jacques Werner

in Human Rights in International Investment Law and Arbitration

This chapter explains why investor-state arbitration is often wrongfully likened to international commercial arbitration among private parties. Investor-state arbitrations involve not only private ... More

This chapter explains why investor-state arbitration is often wrongfully likened to international commercial arbitration among private parties. Investor-state arbitrations involve not only private business interests but also public policies of the host state and citizen rights. Arbitral awards on investor-state disputes risk lacking credibility and democratic acceptability if they overrule, in non-transparent proceedings, democratically legitimate government decisions on grounds of investor-state contracts. Similar to the introduction of appellate review in the GATT/WTO dispute settlement system, the transparency, legitimacy, and legal coherence of investor-state arbitration could be enhanced by introduction of an appellate instance.Less

The Changing Pressure Community

Kay Lehman Schlozman, Sidney Verba, and Henry E. Brady

in The Unheavenly Chorus: Unequal Political Voice and the Broken Promise of American Democracy

This chapter examines the evolution of the Washington pressure community, assessing changes in the number and distribution of active organizations over a twenty-five-year span. Of special concern is ... More

This chapter examines the evolution of the Washington pressure community, assessing changes in the number and distribution of active organizations over a twenty-five-year span. Of special concern is whether these patterns—in particular, the strong representation of business interests in contrast to the economic interests of less economically advantaged—are unique to a 2001 analysis or are a persistent aspect of organized interest representation in Washington. The chapter reveals how most of the organizations new to the pressure community are not organizations that never existed before; rather, they are organizations that have been outside of politics and, for reasons that are less well studied, are activated into politics. Thus the shape of the pressure community is influenced by a number of factors—of which an important one, but far from the only one, is the set of processes by which new political organizations come into being.Less

The national level: business and social policy in the UK

Kevin Farnsworth

in Corporate power and social policy in a global economy: British welfare under the influence

This chapter considers the national picture, examining the role that business has played in British social policy since 1979. It focuses on the views of organised business on social policy and its ... More

This chapter considers the national picture, examining the role that business has played in British social policy since 1979. It focuses on the views of organised business on social policy and its influence on the policy process and institutions of the welfare state. It also considers the role played by central government in creating a more influential and prominent role for business interests, and the private sector more generally, in social policy development and delivery. The chapter looks primarily at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the most important of the UK's business interest associations (BIAs), although the views of other BIAs, including the Institute of Directors (IoD) and the Engineering Employers Federation (EEF), are considered where appropriate. As the UK's only peak-level BIA, the CBI incorporates a national membership of firms of different sizes, originating from a range of different sectors, as well as smaller business associations.Less

“Meet the Movers and the Shakers of the Industry”: The Social Construction of Business Interests

Lyn Spillman

in Solidarity in Strategy: Making Business Meaningful in American Trade Associations

This chapter builds on the insights of neoinstitutionalist theory, which has suggested a cultural role for business associations in the production and reproduction of “industry interests.” Arguing ... More

This chapter builds on the insights of neoinstitutionalist theory, which has suggested a cultural role for business associations in the production and reproduction of “industry interests.” Arguing that recent neoinstitutionalist analysis has been overly preoccupied with questions about change and relies on unexamined assumptions about how orientations for economic action are reproduced and inculcated, the chapter shows how business associations routinely produce and reproduce cognitive categories, networks, and industry fields. This account also shows that recent work by economic sociologists on the importance of cognition, networks, and fields for economic action helps understand mechanisms of institutional production and reproduction.Less

“The Highest Level of Professional Recognition”: Business Associations and Technical Excellence

Lyn Spillman

in Solidarity in Strategy: Making Business Meaningful in American Trade Associations

This chapter analyzes the fact that intraindustry strategies of action are just as frequently seen in a more disinterested way as a matter of technical excellence and “professionalism.” It shows ... More

This chapter analyzes the fact that intraindustry strategies of action are just as frequently seen in a more disinterested way as a matter of technical excellence and “professionalism.” It shows businesspeople preoccupied with issues generated by the technical division of labor—the intrinsic technical features in an arena of production or line of work. Few scholars have taken account of the fact that business associations are as likely to be oriented to their members' interests in “professionalism” as they are to their collective business interests. The chapter argues that the theoretical distinctions usually made between “professions” and other work worlds cannot be sustained. The argument concludes with an extended illustration from the International Society of Certified Electronics Technicians.Less

Conclusion: corporate power and social policy in global context

Kevin Farnsworth

in Corporate power and social policy in a global economy: British welfare under the influence

This book has set out to investigate the importance of business to contemporary developments in social policy. This chapter presents the key developments of forms of influence, with a discussion of ... More

This book has set out to investigate the importance of business to contemporary developments in social policy. This chapter presents the key developments of forms of influence, with a discussion of their implications for present and future social policy. First, globalisation has increased corporate structural power and this, in turn, has had an impact on the capacity of the UK to formulate and deliver social policy. Second, globalisation has also increased both the capacity and reasons for business to organise internationally. Third, nationally organised business has become increasingly important to the shaping of social policy debate and delivery. Fourth, local business organisations and individual firms play an increasingly important role in the delivery of social provision. And last of all, business interest in and views on social policy are variable.Less

The future of the market

Andrew Bearpark and Sabrina Schulz

in From Mercenaries to Market: The Rise and Regulation of Private Military Companies

Any attempt to regulate this rapidly developing sector will have to take into account what new fields of activity will become more important in the years ahead. This chapter considers the future of ... More

Any attempt to regulate this rapidly developing sector will have to take into account what new fields of activity will become more important in the years ahead. This chapter considers the future of the market. It acknowledges that a delicate balance must be struck between legitimate business interests and those of the public, and turns to the regulatory tool favoured by the industry itself: self-regulation. It argues that this is both a realistic approach to current regulatory gaps and will be embraced as a competitive advantage for those firms accepting self-regulation, using the example of the British market as a case study.Less

Jobs for the Boys

Peter Robb

in Sentiment and Self: Richard Blechynden's Calcutta Diaries, 1791-1822

This chapter outlines Richard Blechynden's efforts to provide his sons with employment. It was necessitated by his growing family and responsibilities. To add to that, Richard's businesses also ... More

This chapter outlines Richard Blechynden's efforts to provide his sons with employment. It was necessitated by his growing family and responsibilities. To add to that, Richard's businesses also encountered difficulties. The discussion records his use of influence to secure a job for Arthur to a position to suit his business interests. In such efforts, one can see a major example of his paternal ambition and his concern with his children's immediate and future well-being, but also their character. This chapter also considers Blechynden's professional competence and moral turpitude.Less

Creating Support: Privatization and Business Power

Aldo Madariaga

in Neoliberal Resilience: Lessons in Democracy and Development from Latin America and Eastern Europe

This chapter focuses on support creation, emphasizing the increase of power resources through privatization for those business actors that are expected to defend the survival of neoliberal policies. ... More

This chapter focuses on support creation, emphasizing the increase of power resources through privatization for those business actors that are expected to defend the survival of neoliberal policies. It describes privatization as one of the most important and controversial aspects of market reforms. It also discusses new democracies from the 1980s to the 1990s in Latin America and Eastern Europe that tended to see the need for massive processes of ownership change and proper regulatory and institutional frameworks. The chapter elaborates how privatization had long-term and systemic effects beyond support for specific reforms during the transition period. It points out how privatization altered economic and political institutions by transforming the power of business interests.Less

Making Sense of the Complexity of Business-Government Relations in the EU

David Coen, Alexander Katsaitis, and Matia Vannoni

in Business Lobbying in the European Union

In this chapter, we develop a political theory of the firm that draws from a micro-, meso-, and macro-perspective. In doing so, we develop a theory that brings together a set of pieces that form a ... More

In this chapter, we develop a political theory of the firm that draws from a micro-, meso-, and macro-perspective. In doing so, we develop a theory that brings together a set of pieces that form a sum greater than its parts. Specifically, it looks at how the structure and functions of institutions affect how the firm behaves in the political arena. It goes on to look at the variation in business behaviour across policy areas and stages of the policy cycles and it concludes with the focus on the internal features of the company. The chapter concludes by providing some recommendations for scholars of business and politics, policy-makers, and lobbyists.Less

The Unravelling of Empire: Civil War and World War, 1914–19

in British Lions and Mexican Eagles: Business, Politics, and Empire in the Career of Weetman Pearson in Mexico, 1889–1919

This chapter examines the impact of World War 1 on Viscount Cowdray's business interests in Mexico. It describes the events which led Cowdray to withdraw from the direct management of the Tehuantepec ... More

This chapter examines the impact of World War 1 on Viscount Cowdray's business interests in Mexico. It describes the events which led Cowdray to withdraw from the direct management of the Tehuantepec Railway and to sell the controlling interest in El Aguila to the Shell Group in May 1919. It also discusses why the oil fields managed to retain an important degree of immunity from the bitter civil war which raged throughout Mexico between 1914 and 1920.Less

Price-Fixing (Fraud)

Roger W. Shuy

in The Language of Fraud Cases

Marc Whitacre of Archer Daniels Midland reported to the government that his company was involved in price-fixing. He then began tape-recording his meetings with his boss, Michael Andreas, and other ... More

Marc Whitacre of Archer Daniels Midland reported to the government that his company was involved in price-fixing. He then began tape-recording his meetings with his boss, Michael Andreas, and other lysine manufacturers. A 1993 meeting with Japanese lysine manufacturers was thought to contain the critical evidence of price-fixing. The parties talked about the growth of volume and possible legal problems of competition. The Japanese introduced the topic of possible allocation of market shares, moving the conversation into legally questionable territory. Andreas’s schema of the meeting changed when topics of the potential allocation and sharing market growth were raised. No agreement to allocate lysine was made during this meeting. This smoking gun evidence was produced by the Japanese executives, not by Andreas. This was about all that could be used to defend ADM, however, since during later tape-recorded meetings the speech act of agreeing was clearly made by all parties.Less

Introduction

in Lawyers of the Right: Professionalizing the Conservative Coalition

This introductory chapter sets out the book's purpose, which is to provide a window into the world of lawyers for conservative causes and probes the little discussed cultural conflict among them. It ... More

This introductory chapter sets out the book's purpose, which is to provide a window into the world of lawyers for conservative causes and probes the little discussed cultural conflict among them. It shows how lawyers for the various constituencies of the conservative alliance established highly specialized legal advocacy organizations to challenge the Left's vision of lawyers' proper roles and to reshape public policy. It analyzes their characteristics, values, professional identities, and strategies and the extent to which they, and the organizations they serve, operate as a coordinated whole. The lawyers examined here serve several strands of the conservative alliance that has coalesced behind the Republican Party during the past few decades. Most prominent among those elements are social conservatives, libertarians, and business interests. The book shows that there are striking differences among the lawyers who serve the primary constituencies of the conservative coalition. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.Less

Exclusive Club Under Stress: The G7 between Rising Powers and Non-state Actors after the Cold War

Dirk Peters

in Contested World Orders: Rising Powers, Non-Governmental Organizations, and the Politics of Authority Beyond the Nation-State

This chapter traces how the seemingly united front against the G7 by rising powers and civil society actors broke apart in the early 2010s. While rising power criticism of the G7 waned after the ... More

This chapter traces how the seemingly united front against the G7 by rising powers and civil society actors broke apart in the early 2010s. While rising power criticism of the G7 waned after the first G20 summits, civil society organizations (CSOs) maintained their critical stance and extended it to the G20. The chapter argues that, from the beginning, contestation by the two sets of actors had focused on different issues. Opposition by rising powers was driven mainly by their own exclusion from the governance club. In contrast, many civil society actors rejected not only the exclusiveness of the G7 on a much more fundamental level but also the idea of liberal macroeconomic coordination as such (policy content). To demonstrate this, the chapter develops a framework for analysis, based on the introductory chapter to this volume. It, then, describes the G7 and its post-Cold War development and analyses the key institutional bones of contention for the BRICS states and for important non-state actors. The analysis shows that rising power governments always had been much closer to business actors and G7 members than to CSOs in their vision for macroeconomic governance. The upgrading of the G20 brought the divergence of positions between the BRICS and CSOs clearly to light as it satisfied the BRICS’ desire for inclusion and left CSOs alone with their more fundamental critique of liberal governance through small groups of powerful states.Less

The Qianlong Emperor: Shifting the Arc of History

Norman A. Kutcher

in Eunuch and Emperor in the Great Age of Qing Rule

When the Qianlong emperor came to the throne, he abrogated his father’s compassionate and rational system for eunuch management. Qianlong saw his father’s innovations as a dangerous departure from ... More

When the Qianlong emperor came to the throne, he abrogated his father’s compassionate and rational system for eunuch management. Qianlong saw his father’s innovations as a dangerous departure from the gold standard of eunuch management. Qianlong would lower eunuchs’ status, cut their salaries, eviscerate their system of ranks, and reduce their education levels. In so doing, he came to perpetuate a series of myths about his eunuchs meant to perpetuate the notion that he was strict on them. He asserted that they only performed menial tasks, never left the palace, had no wives or children, were few in number in his palaces, and were carefully watched over by him personally. In truth, he was quietly allowing them new opportunities to come and go as they pleased, and to develop business interests on the outside. He did this because he faced a growing shortage of eunuchs to staff his ever-burgeoning number of palaces, including Yuanming Yuan.Less