The Politics of Global Supply Chains

The Politics of Global Supply Chains analyses the changingpolitics of power and distribution within contemporary globalsupply chains. Drawing on over 300 interviews with farmers,workers, activists, businesses and government officials in garmentand coffee sector supply chains, the book shows how the increasedinvolvement of non-state actors in supply chain governance isre-shaping established patterns of global political power,responsibility and accountability.These emerging supply chain governance systems are shown to bemulti-layered and politically contested, as transnationalgovernance schemes interact with traditional state governancearrangements in both complementary and conflicting ways. Thebook's analysis of changes to the relationship between stateand non-state actors within transnational governance processes willbe of particular interest to scholars and students ofglobalisation, global governance and regulation.The Politics of Global Supply Chains also suggests somepractical ways by which the effectiveness and accountability ofsupply chain governance could be strengthened, which will interestboth scholars and practitioners in fields of global businessregulation and corporate social responsibility. Conclusions arerelevant to the business and civil society actors who participatedirectly in non-state governance schemes, and to state regulatorswhose distinctive governance capacities could play a much greaterrole than at present in supporting transnational, non-stategovernance processes.