Peace Through Commerce

In today's global economy, business leaders need to develop new policies and practices aimed at promoting responsible corporate citizenship. The United Nations Global Compact, launched in 2000, serves as a forum in which multinational businesses work to promote human rights, prevent violent conflict, and contribute to more peaceful societies. Peace through Commerce: Responsible Corporate Citizenship and the Ideals of the United Nations Global Compact contains a foreword, introduction, and twenty-one chapters by major business leaders and scholars who discuss the issues set out by the UN Global Compact. The chapters address the purpose of the corporation; the influence of legal and peace studies; the experience of career NGO officials and of business leaders; how commerce can help promote peace; and how we might envision the future. Ten case studies document the efforts of individual businesses, including IBM, Chevron, Bristol-Myers-Squibb, General Electric, Nestle, and Ford, to successfully serve society's interests as well as their own. Peace through Commerce will lay the groundwork for courses in business schools on corporate social responsibility, corporate citizenship, and global environment of business. "This book makes a significant contribution to the literature on corporate social responsibility. While the general relationship between economic development and peace has been explored before, the practical exploration of corporate strategies embodied in this book is completely new. It will be of interest not only to those interested in corporate responsibility but also those who study development economics and those involved in peace studies." --Kirk O. Hanson, Santa Clara University "There are many books of readings on CSR and Corporate Citizenship available. But this book has a newness, a freshness and sense of quality about it, that I think makes it stand out. It is definitely global in perspective. Most of the articles and cases are very good and serve their specific purpose. Some new ground is broken and, of greater importance, this is an excellent book for a seminar on responsible corporate citizenship or for one focused on CSR on a global level." --Thomas A. Bausch, Marquette University

Peace through Commerce: Responsible Corporate Citizenship and the Ideals of the United Nations Global Compact contains a foreword, introduction, and twenty-one chapters by major business leaders and scholars who discuss the issues set out by the UN Global Compact. The chapters address the purpose of the corporation; the influence of legal and peace studies; the experience of career NGO officials and of business leaders; how commerce can help promote peace; and how we might envision the future. Ten case studies document the efforts of individual businesses, including IBM, Chevron, Bristol-Myers-Squibb, General Electric, Nestle, and Ford, to successfully serve society’s interests as well as their own. Peace through Commerce will lay the groundwork for courses in business schools on corporate social responsibility, corporate citizenship, and global environment of business. Contributors: Mark Moody-Stuart, Oliver F. Williams, C.S.C., Marilise Smurthwaite, Timothy L. Fort , Michelle Westermann-Behaylo, Douglass Cassel, Sean O’Brien, John Paul Lederach, Willie Esterhuyse, Mary Anderson, David B. Lowry, Donal A. O’Neill, Klaus M. Leisinger, Ofelia C. Eugenio, Brigitte Hélène Scherrer, Samery Abdelnour, Babiker Badri, Oana Branzei, Susan McGrath, David Wheeler, Gerald F. Cavanagh, S.J., Mary Ann Hazen, Brad Simmons, David Berdish, John Bee, Lisa Newton, Stanley Litow, Marshall Greenhut, Bob Corcoran, Daniel Malan, Alexandra Guáqueta, Thomas Costa, Lee Tavis, and Carolyn Y. Woo.

This volume offers a new history of the relationship between commerce and politics, from the eighteenth century to the present.

This book produced and published by McDonough Innovation, LLC, highlights William McDonough's integrated approach to design solutions - and refers to his three companies, McDonough Innovation, MBDC, and William McDonough + Partners.

The papers that comprise this book could hardly been conceived of 10 years ago. The idea of commercial republics having a positive impact on peaceful international relations was, of course, not new. Kant and Montesquieu argued for the idea and the idea that trade and peace might be linked has been standard political rhetoric in the west for decades. These were macro-level analyses of commerce and peace. This remains a field in its infancy and this book provides a foundation for further in-depth analysis and inquiry. Previously published in the Journal of Business Ethics, Volume 89 Supplement 4, 2009

A Foreign Affairs Best Book of the Year: “Tells the history of American trade policy . . . [A] grand narrative [that] also debunks trade-policy myths.” —Economist Should the United States be open to commerce with other countries, or should it protect domestic industries from foreign competition? This question has been the source of bitter political conflict throughout American history. Such conflict was inevitable, James Madison argued in the Federalist Papers, because trade policy involves clashing economic interests. The struggle between the winners and losers from trade has always been fierce because dollars and jobs are at stake: depending on what policy is chosen, some industries, farmers, and workers will prosper, while others will suffer. Douglas A. Irwin’s Clashing over Commerce is the most authoritative and comprehensive history of US trade policy to date, offering a clear picture of the various economic and political forces that have shaped it. From the start, trade policy divided the nation—first when Thomas Jefferson declared an embargo on all foreign trade and then when South Carolina threatened to secede from the Union over excessive taxes on imports. The Civil War saw a shift toward protectionism, which then came under constant political attack. Then, controversy over the Smoot-Hawley tariff during the Great Depression led to a policy shift toward freer trade, involving trade agreements that eventually produced the World Trade Organization. Irwin makes sense of this turbulent history by showing how different economic interests tend to be grouped geographically, meaning that every proposed policy change found ready champions and opponents in Congress. Deeply researched and rich with insight and detail, Clashing over Commerce provides valuable and enduring insights into US trade policy past and present. “Combines scholarly analysis with a historian’s eye for trends and colorful details . . . readable and illuminating, for the trade expert and for all Americans wanting a deeper understanding of America’s evolving role in the global economy.” —National Review “Magisterial.” —Foreign Affairs