Multinationals and corporate social responsibility : limitations and opportunities in international law

During the course of my research, I found that the prevailing negativity about the capacity of international law to address contemporary problems of ‘globalisation’ often flowed through into discussions about CSR law and policy. But while this volume began as a critique of international law, I now believe that, while international law certainly has its limitations, it also presents more opportunities for the international regulation of multinationals than many people assume. In this book, I have tried to explain why.This volume is a revised, expanded and updated version of a thesis submitted for the degree of PhD from the University of Cambridge in 2002. Writing first the thesis, and then this book has been quite a challenge - not least because CSR is such a new and fast-moving area - and there are many people I would like to thank. The 'corporate social responsibility' ('CSR') movement has been described as one of the most important social movements of our time. This book looks at what the CSR movement means for multinationals, for states and for international law. International law is often criticized for being too 'state-centred', and ill-equipped to deal with the challenges of globalization. However, drawing from many and varied examples of state, NGO and corporate practice, this 2006 book argues that, while international law has its limitations, it presents more opportunities for the CSR regulation of multinationals than many people assume. The main obstacles to better regulation are, therefore, not legal, but political. Looks at what the 'corporate social responsibility' ('CSR') movement means for multinationals, for states and for international law. Zerk argues that international law presents more opportunities for the CSR regulation of multinationals than many people assume