Full Description
In Corporate Power and the Politics of Change, Matteo Gatti examines how corporations have taken on roles traditionally reserved for governments - advocating on social issues, setting internal norms, and stepping in where public institutions fall short. This phenomenon, called corporate governing, takes two forms: socioeconomic advocacy, when companies take public stances, and government substitution, when they deliver services or protections the state does not provide. Drawing on legal doctrine and insights from the social sciences, Gatti shows how this shift reflects broader pressures within firms and deep dysfunction outside them. The rise of corporate governing has also triggered political, legal, and cultural backlash that challenges its legitimacy and reach. Clear-eyed and timely, this book offers a framework for understanding how corporate power reshapes policymaking and what that means for business and democracy.
Contents
Introduction; Part I. The Landscape: 1. Corporations as Agents of Socioeconomic Change: Where Are We Now? 2. Corporations as Agents of Socioeconomic Change: Why Now? Part II. The Law and the Merits: 3. Corporate Governing and the Law; 4. Normative Foundations for Assessing Corporate Governing; 5. The Promises and Risks of Corporate Governing; Part III. The Way Forward: 6. Corporate Governance Safeguards for Safe Corporate Governing; Conclusion.
