As toxic pollutants and hazardous production emerged acrossthe twentieth century, first-world states came to play aguardian role, imposing constraints on capital to safeguardtheir workers, communities, and environments. As we enterthe new century, vigorous protest and debate over thecharacter and conditions of neoliberal globalization center onwhether or how to reaffirm or extend such protections in anera of free trade, capital mobility, privatization, and deregu-lation. From Rio to Seattle, Kyoto to Prague, controversyarises over where the locus of authority for codes of corpo-rate conduct might rest. Can states be redeemed as guardiansand still avert a destructive "race to the bottom"? Canexisting supranational bodies or regimes be charged withdesign and enforcement of global standards, or are newinternational institutions imperative? Dare we trust multina-tional corporations (MNCs) to police themselves? What isthe proper role of advocacy networks and civic organiza-tions?