Suchergebnisse

In this piece I examine the recent trend of corporate benchmarks in the business and human rights (BHR) field. The most well-known benchmarking initiative is the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (CHRB), which I discuss along with the Responsible Mining Index (RMI). I argue that these initiatives, managerialistic in nature, fall short of including the voices of those whose rights are impacted by the corporations that they rank highly. In short, the benchmarks appear to be de-contextualized and ahistorical. Therefore, caution should be exercised when considering these benchmarks, because ranking certain corporations implies human rights performance despite disclaimers that mention their reliance on self-reported corporate data on human rights and, to a much lesser extent, information from select secondary sources, namely the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC). In short, I argue that the benchmarks are misleading in terms of human rights and corporate responsibility when considered from a rights holder perspective. To illustrate the shortcomings of these benchmarks, I use empirical secondary data from socio-environmental conflicts in which some extractives companies with high rankings on these benchmarks allegedly harm human rights. I also discuss the implications in relation to the growing interest in socially responsible or environmental social and governance (ESG) investing.1 I recommend that these benchmarks should be re-named to reflect more accurately their content and what they actually measure: corporate-reported human rights 'inputs'. ; This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 707485

This article analyses the ethics of how community engagement and dialogue as applied by a mining corporation in Chile led to erosion of the community's psychological freedom despite being aligned with best practice. This article details how a mining company squeezed the psychological freedom of the community in order to obtain an agreement between the period of 2000 and 2016. The findings focus particularly on a 9-month period between 2015 and 2016 when the company undertook intense community engagement. The article identifies six corporate action phases undertaken which curtailed the community's psychological freedom as paying off local leaders; challenging via courts of law; co-opting community lawyers; prohibiting a key debate during dialogue; and remaining silent after failing to honour its own self-imposed rule. The findings label the company's community engagement as contradictory; while it conducted transitional and transformational engagement (in line with best practice) in formal spaces, it also engaged in unethical strategies in the informal spaces of community engagement. The result was overall community consent and an even more fragmented community. This article finds that when it limits the psychological freedom of participants, who are already divided as a group, corporate–community engagement (CCE) can be viewed as ethically problematic. Based on analysis of the literature and an empirical case analysis, this article contributes a test for assessing the ethics of CCE. ; This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 707485

Global sustainable governance frameworks such as the Sustainable Development Goals, United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises are already being implemented by multiple actors. These frameworks emphasize the significance of meaningful stakeholder engagement for their effective implementation. Whilst acknowledging the shortcomings and inherent tensions of these frameworks within a neoliberal world order, we also feel it is appropriate to offer guidance in the hope of ensuring a more socially equitable implementation. We call for institutional investors and businesses to engage more with bottom-up approaches to stakeholder engagement where affected groups lead such initiatives. By doing so it would allow private sector actors to have 'meaningfully' engaged with stakeholders as opposed to merely listening. Ultimately, we contend, stakeholder engagement can lead to investment agendas to be included in people's agendas to improve their livelihoods. ; This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 707485

Many academic authors, policy makers, NGOs, and corporations have focused on top-down human rights global norm-making, such as the United Nations Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). What is often missing are contextual and substantive analyses that interrogate rights mobilization and linkages between voluntary transnational rules and domestic governance. Deploying a socio-legal approach and using a combination of longitudinal field and archival data, this article investigates how a local, indigenous community in Northern Chile mobilized their rights over a period of almost two decades. We found that rights mobilization was largely shaped by tensions between the different logics of legality and the business organization. In our case, the UNGP implementation process has been ineffective in giving rightsholders access to genuine remedy. On the contrary, it has led to weakened rights mobilization, dividing the local community. We conclude that greater attention to rights mobilization and domestic governance dynamics should be given in the business and human rights debate. ; This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 707485

This article investigates the profound ambiguity of the state in the organization of contemporary business–society relations. On the one hand, there has been a decisive shift from government to governance, encouraging private actors, such as corporations, communities and NGOs, to address social and environmental concerns themselves, i.e. without the state's involvement. On the other hand, however, the continued importance and relevance of the organized state is difficult to ignore. In this article we examine the role of the state in three cases of mining conflicts in Chile, one of the world's most important mining countries. Through longitudinal, qualitative research of conflictive mining governance relations between state organizations, large corporations and local communities, we show that the modes of influence conducted by the Chilean state oscillate between direct, central steering ('cathedral') and indirect, dispersed vouching ('bazaar'). Elaborating on Foucault's concept of governmentality, we offer a hybrid theory of state organization, where the dematerialization of the state's responsibility is seen not as the norm but rather as a particular mode of governance that sits alongside the underestimated, yet enduring, material involvement of the state. ; This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 707485

This article investigates the profound ambiguity of the state in the organization of contemporary business–society relations. On the one hand, there has been a decisive shift from government to governance, encouraging private actors, such as corporations, communities and NGOs, to address social and environmental concerns themselves, i.e. without the state's involvement. On the other hand, however, the continued importance and relevance of the organized state is difficult to ignore. In this article we examine the role of the state in three cases of mining conflicts in Chile, one of the world's most important mining countries. Through longitudinal, qualitative research of conflictive mining governance relations between state organizations, large corporations and local communities, we show that the modes of influence conducted by the Chilean state oscillate between direct, central steering ('cathedral') and indirect, dispersed vouching ('bazaar'). Elaborating on Foucault's concept of governmentality, we offer a hybrid theory of state organization, where the dematerialization of the state's responsibility is seen not as the norm but rather as a particular mode of governance that sits alongside the underestimated, yet enduring, material involvement of the state.

This article investigates the profound ambiguity of the state in the organization of contemporary business–society relations. On the one hand, there has been a decisive shift from government to governance, encouraging private actors, such as corporations, communities and NGOs, to address social and environmental concerns themselves, i.e. without the state's involvement. On the other hand, however, the continued importance and relevance of the organized state is difficult to ignore. In this article we examine the role of the state in three cases of mining conflicts in Chile, one of the world's most important mining countries. Through longitudinal, qualitative research of conflictive mining governance relations between state organizations, large corporations and local communities, we show that the modes of influence conducted by the Chilean state oscillate between direct, central steering ('cathedral') and indirect, dispersed vouching ('bazaar'). Elaborating on Foucault's concept of governmentality, we offer a hybrid theory of state organization, where the dematerialization of the state's responsibility is seen not as the norm but rather as a particular mode of governance that sits alongside the underestimated, yet enduring, material involvement of the state.

There are more than 3000 ongoing conflicts involving the extractive industries (mining, gas, and oil) and communities impacted by extractive activity. Most of these conflicts are in the developing countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In this paper we examine three resistance movements in Brazil, Chile, and India where Indigenous groups are resisting mining operations on their lands. We argue these movements represent forms of translocal subaltern resistance based on local political ecologies of marginalized communities. In particular, we develop the notion of disembeddedness to show how conflicts arise between local political ecologies and the political economy of resource extraction. We contribute to the literature by (1) bridging insights from subaltern studies and political ecology to explain how forms of resistance emerge (2) providing empirical support to theories of translocal resistance by conducting a comparative analysis of resistance movements from three countries. We discuss the theoretical implications of our findings for resistance movements.

This qualitative study scrutinises how green energy investment affects Indigenous Wayúu people in Colombia's La Guajira region. Employing coloniality of power and decolonial feminism frameworks, we delve into Wayúu women's struggles and resilience in defending territories against large-scale wind energy projects. Our findings suggest that governments and businesses are 'tuned in' to the economic benefits of these projects, yet 'tuned out' from Indigenous peoples' ontologies, concerns, needs and cosmovisions. This dynamic prompts questions about the unintended consequences of organisations' engagement with Indigenous peoples through corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies. Despite good intentions, CSR practices that are 'tuned out' from Indigenous peoples' cosmovisions may inadvertently reinforce power imbalances and further marginalise Indigenous communities. Our study highlights the need to honour Indigenous territories and protect Indigenous women's rights in long-term investments. Clean energy focus can mask green colonialism, which Wayúu women actively safeguard, upholding Indigenous worldviews via feminist decoloniality. We advocate for businesses to incorporate diverse perspectives beyond the dominant western worldview into their climate change mitigation actions and CSR strategies, and for public policies to balance decarbonisation efforts with Indigenous rights to contribute to sustainable and equitable energy transitions.

For almost 200 years, the expression "For the English to See" has been applied in Brazilian society as part of its colloquial language. We choose to examine the adage from a perspective of decolonial resistance. We seek to interrogate how an understanding of "For the English to See" can help us to better comprehend the ways resistance is shaped and manifest in contemporary Brazilian society. To do so, we conducted in-depth interviews with 76 Brazilian executives, drawing from a decolonial framework. We contribute to knowledge on resistance in Management and Organization Studies through introducing the concept of resistance by re-existing, which is located "in between spaces" of the colonized and colonizers worlds. We reveal several subjectivation strategies of re-existing as resistance, through the lens of the "For the English to See" expression, which range on a spectrum of embodiment and concealing of coloniality. Our study advances decolonial studies through its use of hybridity and borderization concepts that aid our understanding of organizing resistance in postcolonial settings such as Brazil.