Can the World be Remade?

This week's debate brought up many interesting arguments surrounding the question about if the international environment can be fundamentally remade. Although we expanded our scope towards the end, there is a topic that we didn't really delve into much, and that is the role of corporations.

Corporations have always had a role in the international environment, but people could argue that they are taking on a different role than they have in the past. Multi-national corporations extend beyond the borders of any individual state. Many take on the roles that states have traditionally held a monopoly on, such as espionage and security. Private security firms, such as the former Blackwater, possess military capabilities comparable to some states.

Combined with an ability to evade laws by setting up operations in a state with a more permissive legal environment there is the potential for changes to the international system. We have debated if states act out of interest or ideas, but I don't think this question applies to corporations writ large. A state must govern. A corporation does not have to.

However, these issues are not new. The Dutch East India Company had many of the hallmarks of a modern corporation. It also took on many of the powers usually reserved for states. It waged war, operated a legal system, and had a currency. The company began as a state-sanctioned monopoly. It did not operate as independently of the Dutch government as many modern corporations do.

In the foreseeable future corporations will not challenge the primacy of states in the international realm. They will, however, take on an increasingly important role on the international stage. The role they take will be determined by how willing governments will be to enforcing their laws and norms on corporations.