The third force

the long version

From the landmines campaign to the Seattle protests against the WTO to the World Commission on Dams, transnational networks of civil society groups are seizing an ever-greater voice in how governments run countries and how corporations do business. This volume brings together a multinational group of authors to help policymakers, scholars, corporate executives, and activists themselves understand the profound issues raised. How powerful are these networks? Is their current prominence a temporary fluke or a permanent change in the nature of international power? What roles should they play as the world struggles to cope with the new global agenda? This book's six case studies investigate the role of transnational civil society in the global anti-corruption movement, nuclear arms control, dam-building and sustainability, democracy movements, landmines, and human rights. The conclusion draws out lessons learned and argues for a new understanding of the legitimate role of transnational civil society.