2004 – John Braithwaite and Peter Drahos

The globalization of business can be made to work for the common good, say two Australians who have won the 2004 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order.

Australian National University law professors John Braithwaite and Peter Drahos will share the $200,000 cash prize for the ideas outlined in their book, “Global Business Regulation,” published by Cambridge University Press in 2000.

The book sets forth strategies for developing regulations promoting social justice, fair trade, consumer protection and economic development of Third World nations while still allowing businesses to earn reasonable profits. The authors based their work on interviews with some 500 leaders in business, government, non-governmental organizations and international organizations such as the World Trade Organization and International Monetary Fund.

Braithwaite and Drahos argue that non-governmental organizations are crucial as networks promoting cooperation among governments and businesses, and that motivated citizens and groups can influence businesses “to produce a more just and equitable system benefiting global consumers.”

About the Winners

JOHN BRAITHWAITE

Braithwaite is a professor in the law program at Australian National University in Canberra , where he also serves as chair of Regulatory Institutions Network in the Research School of Social Sciences.

He holds a Ph.D. in sociology and a bachelor’s degree with a psychology major and honors in anthropology and sociology, both from the University of Queensland .

Widely considered a top scholar in the field of business regulation and tax compliance, Braithwaite has written or cowritten several books, including “Corporate Crime in the Pharmaceutical Industry” (1984), “Of Manners Gentle: Enforcement Strategies of Australian Business Regulatory Agencies” (1986), “Responsive Regulation” (1992) and “Corporations: Crime and Accountability” (1993).

A former consultant for the Australian Taxation Office, he was a delegate to Australia ‘s National Tax summit in 1985 and was a member of the country’s Economic Planning Advisory Council from 1983 to 1987.

PETER DRAHOS

Drahos, a member of the law faculty at Australian National University , was admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the South Australian Supreme Court in 1980. He is considered an expert in the area of intellectual property.

He holds a Ph.D. from Australian National, an L.L.M. from the University of Sydney, an L.L.B. and bachelor’s degree in legal practice from the University of Adelaide and a graduate diploma in legal practice from the University of South Australia .

For several years, Drahos was an officer of the Australian Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department, where he drafted legislation. Later he served as Herchel Smith Senior Research Fellow in Intellectual Property at Queen Mary College , University of London .

Active on a pro-bono basis with non-governmental organizations such as Oxfam and Doctors Without Borders, Drahos is a regular speaker at major international conferences. He has written several books, including “A Philosophy of Intellectual Property” (1986) and “Information Feudalism: Who Owns the Knowledge Economy?” (2002).