The making of a transnational capitalist class: Corporate power in the twenty-first century

Description

Throughout the world, there has been a growing wave of interest in global corporate power and the rise of a transnational capitalist class, triggered by economic and political transformations that have blurred national borders and disembedded corporate business from national domiciles. Using social network analysis, William Carroll maps the changing field of power generated by elite relations among the world’s largest corporations and related political organizations. Carroll provides an in-depth analysis that spans the three decades of the late 20th and early 21st century, when capitalist globalization attained unprecedented momentum, propelled both by the transnationalization of accumulation and by the political paradigm of transnational neoliberalism. This has been an era in which national governments have deregulated capital, international institutions such as the World Trade Organization and the World Economic Forum have gained prominence, and production and finance have become more fully transnational, increasing the structural power of capital over communities and workers. Within this context of transformation, the book charts the making of a transnational capitalist class, reaching beyond national forms of capitalist class organization into a global field, but facing spirited opposition from below in an ongoing struggle that is also a struggle over alternative global futures. About the author Tables and figures Tables 1.1 Strata in the 1976 and 1996 samples 1.2 Mean degree by type of line for the global network 1.3 Mean degree of interlocking for corporations domiciled in four regions, by type of line 1.4 National and transnational interlocks in the global network 1.5 Cross-classification of national networkers and transnationalists by highest status held 2.1 Classification of five leading global policy groups 2.2 The nucleus of six corporate directors and their organizational affiliations 2.3 Eleven additional members of the core group and their organizationalaffiliations 2.4 Distributions of companies and inner circle members by national domicile 2.5 Numbers of directorships on five global policy boards 3.1 Degree of interlocking, twenty most central cities in the global network 3.2 Primary and secondary interlocking in the global network 5.1 Internal and external ties for major segments of the global corporate elite 6.1 Leading billionaire families in the global corporate elite, 1996 and 2006 7.1 Mean degree for Top Dogs and other G500 European firms, 1996 and 2006 7.2 Bonding and bridging analysis, 1996 and 2006 7.3 Mean inter-corporate distances, with and without ERT mediation 7.4 Financial institutions in the European corporate network, 2006 7.5 Elite linkages between corporate Europe and the rest of the world 8.1 Eleven key transnational policy boards, 1996–2006 8.2 Policy-board memberships and corporate directorships, 1996 and 2006 8.3 Organizations ranking highest in coreness, 2006 8.4 Distribution of inter-corporate relations brokered by policy boards 9.1 A judgement sample of eight key organizations for paired comparisons 9.2 Eight key organizations: constituencies, organizational forms, action repertoires Figures 1.1 The core of the transnational network, 1976 1.2 The core of the transnational network, 1996 2.1 Number of interlocks among five global policy groups, 1996 2.2 Mean international distances among 271 corporations, based on corporate interlocks only 2.3 Mean international distances among 271 corporations, including paths mediated by five global policy groups 3.1 Participation in the transnational network, twenty-two cities 3.2 Mean degree of interlocking in the transnational network, fourteen cities 3.3 The transnational inter-urban network, showing all ties carried by transnationalists 3.4 The transnational inter-urban network, cities linked by four or more interlocking directorships 3.5 The Paris archipelago 3.6 The global inter-urban network of seventy connected cities 3.7 The network of primary inter-urban interlocks: twenty-eight cities with transnational ties 4.1 Industrial composition of the G400, 1996–2006 4.2 Regional trends in capital accumulation, 1996–2006 4.3 Main urban domiciles for G500 corporations, 1996–2006 4.4 UNCTAD transnationality among G400 industrial corporations of the triad 4.5 Mean board size for G500 corporations, 1996–2006 4.6 Degree of national and transnational interlocking for G500 corporations, 1996–2006 4.7 Proportions of national and transnational interlocking, key countries, 1996–2006 4.8 Financial and industrial interlocks among G7 countries, 1996 4.9 Financial and industrial interlocks among G7 countries, 2006 4.10 The international network of transnational interlocks, 1996 4.11 The international network of transnational interlocks, 2006 5.1 Distribution of G500 interlocking and non-interlocking directors, 1996–2006 5.2 Numbers of interlockers: national (G5 countries) and transnational 5.3 Typology of corporate interlockers in the global network 5.4 Domicile of principal corporate affiliation, trans-Atlantic linkers 5.5 National networkers and transnationalists in the global corporate elite, 1996 5.6 National networkers and transnationalists in the global corporate elite, 2006 6.1 Numbers of Forbes and G500 billionaires, 1996–2006 6.2 Distribution of Forbes and G500 billionaires, 1996 6.3 Distribution of Forbes and G500 billionaires, 2006 6.4 Main groupings of billionaires and their organizational affiliations, 1996 6.5 Main groupings of billionaires and their organizational affiliations, 2006 6.6 Social circles of billionaire networkers, 1996 6.7 Social circles of billionaire networkers, 2006 7.1 National domiciles in corporate Europe, 1996 7.2 National domiciles in corporate Europe, 2006 7.3 Degree of transnational interlocking within Europe, 1996 and 2006 7.4 Ties among thirty-six European firms most involved in pan-European interlocking, 2006 7.5 Types of interlockers in corporate Europe, 1996 and 2006 8.1 Typology of corporate interlockers: policy-board affiliations 8.2 The corporate-policy elite’s inner circle, 1996 8.3 The corporate-policy elite’s inner circle, 2006 8.4 Inter-organizational relations, 2006 8.5 Weighted sectoral densities, 1996 8.6 Weighted sectoral densities, 2006 8.7 Total brokerage scores for transnational policy boards, 1996 and 2006 8.8 Inter-corporate brokerage within and between regions for four global policy groups 8.9 Inter-corporate brokerage within and between regions for four transnational business councils Acronyms Acknowledgements Introduction The debate on the transnational capitalist class A global corporate community? Forms of corporate power Networks of corporate power What follows PART ONE The formation of a transnational corporate community 1 | Is there a transnational corporate community? Internationalization of ownership A transnational capitalist class? Corporate governance in international perspective Evidence from earlier studies The datasets of 1976 and 1996 Table 1.1 Strata in the 1976 and 1996 samples Changes in the global network of corporate interlocks Table 1.2 Mean degree by type of line for the global network Table 1.3 Mean degree of interlocking for corporations domiciled in four regions, by type of line National and transnational interlocking Table 1.4 National and transnational interlocks in the global network The network core and the transnationalists Figure 1.1 The core of the transnational network, 1976 Figure 1.2 The core of the transnational network, 1996 Table 1.5 Cross-classification of national networkers and transnationalists by highest status held (percentages) Conclusion 2 | Forging a new hegemony: the transnational corporate-policy network, 1996 Policy groups as construction sites for transnational hegemony Table 2.1 Classification of five leading global policy groups Five key transnational policy groups The transnational corporate-policy network, circa 1996 Table 2.2 The nucleus of six corporate directors and their organizational affiliations Table 2.3 Eleven additional members of the core group and their organizational affiliations Table 2.4 Distributions of companies and inner circle members by national domicile The network as an inter-organizational field Figure 2.1 Number of interlocks among five global policy groups, 1996 The integrative contribution of elite policy groups Table 2.5 Numbers of directorships on five global policy boards Figure 2.2 Mean international distances among 271 corporations, based on corporate interlocks only Figure 2.3 Mean international distances among 271 corporations, including paths mediated by five global policy groups Conclusion 3 | Global cities in the global corporate network Introduction Global cities: a networked hierarchy Corporate networks and corporate power Working hypotheses Participation and centrality in the transnational network Figure 3.1 Participation in the transnational network, twenty-two cities Figure 3.2 Mean degree of interlocking in the transnational network, fourteen cities Mapping the inter-urban transnational network Figure 3.3 The transnational inter-urban network, showing all ties carried by transnationalists. Figure 3.4 The transnational inter-urban network, cities linked by four or more interlocking directorships. Figure 3.5 The Paris archipelago Mapping the global network Table 3.1 Degree of interlocking, twenty most central cities in the global network Figure 3.6 The global inter-urban network of seventy connected cities Table 3.2 Primary and secondary interlocking in the global network Figure 3.7 The network of primary inter-urban interlocks Conclusion PART TWO Into the twenty-first century: the changing organization of corporate power 4 | Transnational accumulation and global networking Into the twenty-first century Recomposition of the accumulation base Figure 4.1 Industrial composition of the G400, 1996–2006 Figure 4.2 Regional trends in capital accumulation, 1996–2006 Figure 4.3 Main urban domiciles for G500 corporations, 1996–2006 Figure 4.4 UNCTAD transnationality among G400 industrial corporations of the triad The changing global corporate-interlock network Figure 4.5 Mean board size for G500 corporations, 1996–2006 Figure 4.6 Degree of national and transnational interlocking for G500 corporations, 1996–2006 Figure 4.7 Proportions of national and transnational interlocking, key countries, 1996–2006 Finance capital and directorate interlocking Figure 4.8 Financial and industrial interlocks among G7 countries, 1996 Figure 4.9 Financial and industrial interlocks among G7 countries, 2006 The international network, 1996 and 2006 Figure 4.10 The international network of transnational interlocks, 1996 Figure 4.11 The international network of transnational interlocks, 2006 5 | Transnationalists and national networkers Q1: How do transnational and national segments appear within the global corporate elite? Figure 5.1 Distribution of G500 interlocking and non-interlocking directors, 1996–2006 Figure 5.2 Numbers of interlockers: national (G5 countries) and transnational Table 5.1 Internal and external ties for major segments of the global corporate elite Q2: How does the regionalized character of global capitalism structure the global corporate elite in its national and transnational segments? Figure 5.3 Typology of corporate interlockers in the global network Figure 5.4 Domicile of principal corporate affiliation, trans-Atlantic linkers Figure 5.5 National networkers and transnationalists in the global corporate elite, 1996 Figure 5.5a Figure 5.5b Figure 5.6 National networkers and transnationalists in the global corporate elite, 2006 Figure 5.6a Figure 5.6b Conclusion 6 | Billionaires and networkers: wealth, position and corporate power Billionaires and networkers Forbes billionaires and G500 billionaires Figure 6.1 Numbers of Forbes and G500 billionaires, 1996–2006 The spatial distribution of billionaires Figure 6.2 Distribution of Forbes and G500 billionaires, 1996 Figure 6.3 Distribution of Forbes and G500 billionaires, 2006 Gendering the global corporate elite Kinship and policy-group affiliations Figure 6.4 Main groupings of billionaires and their organizational affiliations, 1996 Figure 6.5 Main groupings of billionaires and their organizational affiliations, 2006 Table 6.1 Leading billionaire families in the global corporate elite, 1996 and 2006 Figure 6.6 Social circles of billionaire networkers, 1996 Figure 6.7 Social circles of billionaire networkers, 2006 Transnational billionaires? Conclusion PART THREE A transnational historic bloc? 7 | Constituting corporate Europe Corporate Europe as a community Research questions Empirics 1 The unequal structure of national representation Figure 7.1 National domiciles in corporate Europe, 1996 Figure 7.2 National domiciles in corporate Europe, 2006 2 The social organization of corporate Europe Table 7.1 Mean degree for Top Dogs and other G500 European firms, 1996 and 2006 Table 7.2 Bonding and bridging analysis, 1996 and 2006 Figure 7.3 Degree of transnational interlocking within Europe, 1996 and 2006 Table 7.3 Mean inter-corporate distances, with and without ERT mediation 3 The issue of institutional completeness: towards European finance capital? Table 7.4 Financial institutions in the European corporate network, 2006 Figure 7.4 Ties among thirty-six European firms most involved in pan-European interlocking, 2006 Figure 7.5 Types of interlockers in corporate Europe, 1996 and 2006 4 Corporate Europe and the rest of the world Table 7.5 Elite linkages between corporate Europe and the rest of the world Conclusion 8 | Consolidating the transnational corporate policy network, 1996–2006 Introduction Eleven transnational policy boards Table 8.1 Eleven key transnational policy boards, 1996–2006 Consolidating a global corporate-policy elite Table 8.2 Policy-board memberships and corporate directorships, 1996 and 2006 Figure 8.1 Typology of corporate interlockers: policy-board affiliations Mapping the inner circle Figure 8.2 The corporate-policy elite’s inner circle, 1996 Figure 8.3 The corporate-policy elite’s inner circle, 2006 Figure 8.4 Inter-organizational relations, 2006 Figure 8.5 Weighted sectoral densities, 1996 Figure 8.6 Weighted sectoral densities, 2006 A core–periphery structure? Table 8.3 Organizations ranking highest in coreness, 2006 Policy boards as brokers: the structure of mediations Figure 8.7 Total brokerage scores for transnational policy boards, 1996 and 2006 Table 8.4 Distribution of inter-corporate relations brokered by policy boards Figure 8.8 Inter-corporate brokerage within and between regions for four global policy groups Figure 8.9 Inter-corporate brokerage within and between regions for four transnational business councils Conclusion 9 | Hegemony and counter-hegemony in a global field Global civil society as an emergent field Paired comparisons Table 9.1 A judgement sample of eight key organizations for paired comparisons Table 9.2 Eight key organizations: constituencies, organizational forms, action repertoires Conclusion Conclusion The geography of global corporate power Continuity and change in the power structure The issue of class hegemony Unity and difference within the TCC The crisis of 2008–10 and beyond Notes Introduction Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Conclusion Bibliography Index