Jaw dropping information about how corporations have muscled the "free" market under their control instead of trusting it as they claim is for the best.

A true account of well known multinational corporations and aid programs continuing the work of colonialism by knowingly manipulating the outcome with money, power and violence.

Everyone should read this book so we have a hope of changing humanity's bleak future.

Thanks! Now I have ten times the anxiety I already had and I knew democracy was dead already.
Thanks for the ARC.
I am so glad I read this book.

This book did a fine job describing how corporations overthrow government. What it didn't do for my needs is define that in the United States of America which is corrupt beyond repair and instead discussed the European role with exclusivity provided via the United Kingdom.
I was hoping to delve into the under belly of what happens in our country but sadly this centered upon WWII and the fall out that happened during said time.
Unfortunately, I was only able to complete roughly 39% and will happily take a DNF as it wasn't up to par nor in line with what I had hoped it would eventually become and I lost interest.
Thank you to Claire Provost and Matt Kennard for this ARC in exchange for this honest review.

Flawed Premise And (Slightly) Lacking Documentation Mar Otherwise Intriguing Discussion. Make no mistake - Provost and Kennard show quite a few corporate abuses in several different areas throughout this book, and they do in fact make a strong case that this has influenced government to a very strong degree in the post WWII era. Where their premise is flawed (which is where one of the two stars deducted comes from) is that they constantly state that this is "overthrowing democracy" when in fact it is *utilizing* democracy to effect a form of democracy known as "corporatism" - which is a term the authors never once use in the text at all, and which is actually much more precise to their overall premise. The other star deduction comes from the bibliography coming in at just 18% of the text, which is slightly under the 20-30% that is more typical of such texts in my own experience. (Though given how many books of late are coming in closer to 15%, I may in fact need to examine all relevant data and perhaps revise this down?)

Still, even with the flawed premise and not quite enough documentation supporting it, this really is quite an eye opening look at the various abuses of corporate power across the globe and how they have caused quite a bit of harm and perhaps unintended consequences, and for these looks alone, it is absolutely worthy of reading and could enhance the overall discussion of related topics. Recommended.

As European empires fell throughout the first half of the 20th century, the power vacuum left behind was rapidly filled by global corporate powers, supported by an international aid and development system that too often funneled government money into the hands of businesses out to make a profit, not necessarily to help others. Provost and Kennard spent years criss-crossing the globe in search of case studies that revealed the many ways that corporations have subverted democracy and overrode the power of elected governments: taking governments to court through the World Bank's International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes, privatizing public utilities, avoiding human rights obligations, creating corporate armies and hiring mercenaries, and more.

This book shines a light on the web of corporate intrusion into governance across the world, and it's way bigger than you think. If you wonder why your government doesn't do more to fight global climate change or why it's so difficult to get politicians to act on behalf of citizens, this book will help explain why. Sadly, it doesn't include a whole lot of suggestions for how to change the situation, other than to encourage grassroots resistance and to call out the media for not covering these matters. It also has an occasionally uneven writing style that makes it challenging for the reader to follow a train of thought (something I hope will be addressed in the final edition). Still, it's worth the read to help you recognize the many ways that corporations will advance their primary goal of making profits.

Thank you, Bloomsbury Academic and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.