ABSTRACT
Against this backdrop, Kofi Annan’s original ‘call to arms’ had much logic to it. To create a compact between government, civil society and business seemed to be a way to new fruitful partnerships. Yet in the summer of 2003, whereas non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are complaining that not enough has happened, many businesses are being bombarded with a multitude of Global Compact initiatives and are trying to find links between these and their core business strategies at a time of economic downturn.
