The United Nations and Business: A Partnership Recovered

by NA NA

Overview

When 51 nations gathered in 1945 to witness the birth of the United Nations, international business groups urged governments to ratify the UN Charter without delay. During the following 55 years, UN and business leaders dismissed each other when they were not engaging in a war of words. This book examines why the global order of the 21st century demands a new partnership between the UN and business. If the UN fails to engage the business community, it is likely to become irrelevant. If global corporations y refuse to support the UN, they will face a closing world with disastrous consequences for the prosperity of all. The UN and business are bound to work together, and indeed they are.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780312230715
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication date:	01/01/2000
Edition description:	1st ed. 2000
Pages:	200
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.03(d)

About the Author

Sandrine Tesner manages private sector partnerships and outreach at UNOPS, a UN agency based in New York.

Table of Contents

	Map of the United Nations System	x
	List of Acronyms and Websites	xi
	Acknowledgements	xv
	Introduction	xix
Chapter 1	Overcoming the Past	1
	Back to the Future?
	At the UN's Creation
	From Partnership to Cold War
	The Age of Revolutions, All over Again
	Interdependence and the Return of Liberalism
	A Global World?
	Major Strides on the Terrain of UN Reform
	1997: A Turning Point
	Setting the Tone
	Getting Started
	Reviving the Dialogue
Chapter 2	Creating the Future	41
I.	The View from the 38th Floor
	A Conceptual Framework for Multilateralism in the Twenty-First Century
	Globalization and Its Effects
	NGOs and Multinationals: David and Goliath?
	The Diversity of the NGO World
	Corporate Responsibility: The New Imperative
	Fighting It Out over Trade
	The Global Compact: Rephrasing the "Compromise of Embedded Liberalism"
	Rules and Norms: Providing the Regulatory
	Infrastructure of the Global Economy
	The Opportunity Cost Argument: The Link to the
	Corporate Bottom Line
II.	The View from the Corporate Ladder
	Supporting the UN: Recovering the Spirit of 1945
	Looking Good: The Rewards of Corporate Responsibility
	The Profit Motive
Chapter 3	First Steps	69
I.	Guidelines for Cooperation: The Test of Time
	Definition of the "Private Sector"
	What Is a Partnership?
	The Objectives of Partnerships
	Policy-Related Activities
	Awareness and Advocacy
	Fund-Raising
	Operations
	Selection Criteria
	Use of the UN Name and Logo
	The Recognition of Contributions
	Conflict of Interest
II.	UN-Business Parnerships: An Illustrative Review
	Policymaking and Related Activities
	Policymaking at UN Headquarters
	The Follow-Up to the Global Compact
	At UNCTAD
	At UNDP
	Fund-Raising
	Traditional Fund-Raising Activities
	Following Up on Ted Turner's Gift
	Awareness and Advocacy
	The Traditional Media
	The Worldwide Web: The New Favorite Medium
	Advocacy Statements and Awards
	Operational Activities
	Knowledge-Based Partnerships
	Business Creation and Investment
	Complex Partnership Approaches
1.	UNDP's Global Sustainable Development Facility (GSDF)
2.	UNCTAD's Partners for Development
3.	UNOPS's Aid & Trade 2000 and Other Private Sector Partnerships
Chapter 4	The Road Ahead	107
I.	Lessons
	Conceptual Lessons
	The State Is Not Dead
	History Has Not Ended
	Lessons on Partnering
	The Limits of Fund-Raising
	Reputation Matters
	New Guidelines for Collaboration
	Operational Lessons
	Committing the Resources
	New Roles for UN Legal Departments
	The Cultural Gap
II.	Future Directions
	Operationalizing the Global Compact
	Advocating and Explaining the Global Compact
	The Regulatory Challenge
	Translating the Global Compact Into UN Partnerships
	Creating a Favorable Environment
	Organizational Change
	Human Resources Management
	From Partnership to Representation?
	The Logic of Representation
	The UN's Comparative Advantage
	Proposals for Giving Business a UN Representative Status
1.	Business Advisory Boards
2.	The Business Contribution to UN Reform
3.	An Official Representative Status: Some Possibilities
	Conclusion: What Is at Stake?	143
	The Argument
	The Future of Development Assistance
	Implications for the UN
	The U.S.-UN Relationship
	The United Nations: Pro and Con
	If Not the United Nations, Then What?
	Notes	163
	Bibliography	185
	Index	191

Editorial Reviews

Tesner (UNOPS) and Kell (Senior Officer, Kofi Annan's executive office) argue that the longstanding tension between the United Nations and business must be resolved, or else the UN will become irrelevant and business will find itself struggling in a world marked by instability and conflict. The book provides a brief history of UN-business partnerships to date, evaluates the efforts such partnerships represent, and describes the prospects for the future. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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