In this audio lecture, Peter Eigen, founder of Transparency International, discusses how globalization has raised new issues concerning businesses that operate globally but that are not subjected to global regulation. Without the structures and rules necessary to offset the competitive drive for profit, he explains, little incentive exists for global companies to reduce corruption, environmental damage, or human rights abuses linked to corruption. Eigen suggests new responsibilities for civil society organizations working in partnership with business and academic organizations. Touching on the present trends in social activism, Eigen reports on the progress in Europe compared to movements in the United States.
Peter Eigen is a lawyer by training. He has worked in economic development for 25 years, mainly as a World Bank manager of programs in Africa and Latin America. Under Ford Foundation sponsorship, he provided legal and technical assistance to the governments of Botswana and Namibia, and taught law at the Universities of Frankfurt and Georgetown. From 1988 to 1991, he was the director of the Regional Mission for Eastern Africa of the World Bank. He is the founder and chair of the Advisory Council of Transparency International, a non-governmental organization promoting transparency and accountability in international development. Headquartered in Berlin, it supports national chapters in more than 90 countries.
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This free podcast is from our Ashoka series.