'The world is my country'. Those famous words by Thomas Paine express the idea of a common thread linking all humankind and transcending distances, borders, and nations. The industrial revolution first, and then globalisation, gave that idea new impetus. Today, we are more connected than we have ever been–because of our travels, our means of communication, and our business exchanges. The private sector has largely contributed to this development: the business activities of our national and multinational companies have woven a complex web of mutual interdependencies. Globalisation is for the better when we derive mutual benefit from our respective advantages but for the worse when what takes place is not an exchange but exploitation. The ambivalence of this phenomenon is sensed the mostacutely in those parts of the world that are plagued by conflict and violence: economic factors are often either the direct causes of violence, or are at least likely to inflame and perpetuate violence.