When
Abstract
Over the past decade, corporations have moved in the political sphere well beyond traditional lobbying. Many took public positions on climate change, racial justice, voting rights, immigration, and reproductive healthcare, redesigning internal policies and publicly opposing or supporting political developments. These interventions blurred the boundary between economic activity and political authority, raising a fundamental question: when corporations act as political and governing actors, what happens to democratic decision-making?
In Corporate Power and the Politics of Change, Matteo Gatti offers a comprehensive account of this phenomenon, which he terms “corporate governing.” The book traces the legal, strategic, and institutional forces that pushed firms into public-policy roles—from regulatory gridlock and political polarization to reputational pressures and market dynamics. It also explains why this period of heightened corporate visibility is now giving way to silence and retrenchment under more openly transactional political conditions.
Drawing on corporate law and insights from economics, finance, marketing, and political science, the book assesses the risks corporate governing poses to democratic accountability while questioning the assumption that firms can—or should—substitute for public institutions. The talk will explore these dynamics and consider what the rise and retreat of corporate political engagement reveal about power, responsibility, and governance in contemporary capitalism
Bios
Matteo Gatti is a professor of law at Rutgers Law School and a Research Member of the European Corporate Governance Institute. His work sits at the intersection of corporate law, financial regulation, and political economy, with a particular focus on corporate power, governance structures, and the interaction between firms, markets, and public institutions. He holds degrees from the University of Milan (J.D., summa cum laude), Harvard Law School (LL.M.), and the University of Brescia (S.J.D.), and has worked in private legal practice and in-house counsel roles in multiple jurisdictions on corporate and M&A matters.
His scholarly work has been published or accepted for publication in leading journals, including the Stanford Law Review, Journal of Corporation Law, BYU Law Review, North Carolina Law Review,Columbia Law Review Forum, Journal of Corporate Law Studies, and the European Business Organization Law Review. His research has been cited in major treatises and regulatory reviews, including by the European Commission. He is the author of two books, including Corporate Power and the Politics of Change (Cambridge University Press, 2026).
Gatti has held visiting appointments and fellowships at institutions including Goethe University Frankfurt and Harvard Law School, and lectures and presents regularly around the world. His work and commentary regularly appear in academic and policy forums such as the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, the CLS Blue Sky Blog, the Oxford Business Law Blog, and Jotwell, as well as in mainstream outlets including the Financial Times, CNN Business, Forbes, and Law360. He is admitted to the New York Bar.
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