ABSTRACT
Business leaders, policymakers, and civil society groups are engaged in a complex process of redrawing the boundaries of the public and private sectors and redefining relationships. The international political economy is in the midst of an incredible transition, and international business is a key player in the process. The "soft power" of the private sector in the world economy and world politics has clearly expanded. The chapter demonstrates how private-sector diplomats play vital roles in the economic, financial, political, legal, social, and strategic agendas of both the state and the international community. Diplomacy is the practice of building relationships. From the outset, the business community was an obvious target of environmentalists and development activists, who make up the base of the sustainable development movement. Over the 1990s, the part played by business in the diplomacy of sustainability grew. Private-sector diplomacy dictates that business executives play an active role in world affairs.
