ABSTRACT
The dominant trend in the international business environment in recent decades has been greater openness in trade, investment, finance and technology resulting in increased international integration and interdependence in business and between states. What is also apparent is that large swathes of the world’s population are effectively marginalized or excluded from these trends (although there have been some improvements in the first decade of the twenty-first century – see Chapter 2). This exclusion has been a major factor in contemporary anti-globalization campaigns and is frequently used to justify proposals to reform or even abolish international institutions and to reverse policies that have contributed to international integration.
