Since the mid 1980s there has been an explosion of interest in the idea of globalisation. Throughout this period there has also been an unprecedented rise in prominence and influence of a range of multilateral and supranational organisations, such as those tied into the system of global governance. There is now a thickening web of multilateral agreements, global and regional institutions and regimes as well as trans-governmental policy networks and summits that characterise the global economy and polity. Correspondingly, there have also been shifts in the nature of global production networks and the increasing penetration of multinational corporations and International Financial Institutions (IFIs) across the planet. The period has also produced new social inequalities across the world, particularly as a result of economic globalisation.