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"Utting, Peter"
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Corporate social responsibility and regulatory governance : towards inclusive development?
\"This is the first volume of two books on the changing nature of state-business relations. This volume explores CSR in a historical trajectory and development context; is theoretically informed and contributes to the body of critical thinking that calls for more comprehensive regulatory frameworks\"--Provided by publisher.
Book
Social and solidarity economy
As economic crises, growing inequality and climate change prompt a global debate on the meaning and trajectory of development, increasing attention is focusing on 'social and solidarity economy' as a distinctive approach to sustainable and rights-based development. While we are beginning to understand what social and solidarity economy is, what it promises and how it differs from 'business as usual', we know far less about whether it can really move beyond its fringe status in many countries and regions. Under what conditions can social and solidarity economy scale up and scale out - that is, expand in terms of the growth of social and solidarity economy organizations and enterprises, or spread horizontally within given territories? Bringing together leading researchers, blending theoretical and empirical analysis, and drawing on experiences and case studies from multiple countries and regions, this volume addresses these questions. In so doing, it aims to inform a broad constituency of development actors, including scholars, practitioners, activists and policy makers.
eBook
csr and equality
Institutional reforms associated with neoliberalism and 'good governance' have altered the roles and responsibilities of states and transnational corporations (tncs) in relation to social development. Increasingly such firms are engaging more directly in social service provisioning through privatisation, claiming to be more responsive to the concerns of multiple 'stakeholders' through 'corporate social responsibility' (csr), positioning themselves as 'partners' in poverty reduction, and becoming more proactive in standard setting and 'privatised governance'. Given the extent of anecdotal or piecemeal 'evidence' regarding the impacts of csr, attention has turned in recent years to developing frameworks that identify a range of policies, practices and effects that need to be examined to adequately assess social and developmental aspects. This paper attempts to contribute to this discussion by focusing on the contribution of csr to equality and equity, understood here in terms of minimising deprivation; enhancing equality of opportunity; correcting gross imbalances in the distribution of income, wealth and power; and social justice. While the primary responsibility for promoting equality belongs to state and multilateral institutions, the csr agenda, with is emphasis on such aspects as improvements in working conditions, community support, labour and human rights, and stakeholder participation, clearly has implications for equality and equity. Four central components of equality are considered: social protection, rights, empowerment and redistribution. It is argued that the contribution of csr in relation to these different elements varies considerably. Most csr initiatives focus on social (and environmental) protection. Belatedly csr discourse has embraced issues of labour and other human rights but csr practice associated with the realisation of rights lags well behind. Other dimensions of equality related to empowerment and redistribution remain relatively marginal in the csr agenda.
Journal Article
Corporate responsibility and the movement of business
The corporate social responsibility (CSR) agenda has taken off since the 1980s, with both civil society and business actors involved in mobilising around it. This paper examines the reasons for civil society mobilisation on CSR issues, the types of organisations involved, and their different forms of activism and relations with business. It then identifies the ways in which big business is engaging with and shaping the CSR agenda, but questions whether this agenda can effectively contribute to development. The paper argues that the CSR agenda can deal with some of the worst symptoms of maldevelopment, such as poor working conditions, pollution, and poor factory-community relations, but that it does not deal with the key political and economic mechanisms through which transnational companies undermine the development prospects of poor countries. A final section considers how this agenda may evolve on the basis of recent developments in CSR activism and regulation.
Journal Article
United Nations-Business Partnerships: Good Intentions and Contradictory Agendas
In recent years, the United Nations has taken a lead in advocating public-private partnerships (PPPs), and various UN entities actively seek partnerships and alliances with transnational corporations and other companies. Although there has been a rapid growth of PPPs, relatively little is known about their contribution to basic UN goals associated with inclusive, equitable and sustainable development. In response to this situation, there are increasing calls for impact assessments. This article argues that such assessments need to recognize the range of ideational, institutional, economic and political factors and forces underpinning the turn to PPPs, and the very different logics and agendas involved, some of which seem quite contradictory from the perspective of equitable development and democratic governance. The article examines these different forces and logics, focusing on (a) the institutional turn towards \"good governance\", (b) economic contexts that relate to the very mixed \"fortunes\" of UN agencies and corporations, (c) structural determinants associated with \"corporate globalisation\" and (d) political drivers that relate to the struggle for hegemony and legitimisation. The article ends by reflecting critically on the tendency within mainstream development institutions and some strands of academic literature to highlight logics associated with good governance and pragmatism, and to disregard those associated with the strengthening of corporate interests and the neoliberal policy regime. It is argued that knowledge networks associated with the UN need to go beyond \"best practice learning\" and embrace \"critical thinking\", which has waned within UN circles since the 1980s.
Journal Article
Britain and the Threat to Stability in Europe, 1918-45
After the horrors of the First World War a dialogue began between European statesmen seeking some form of European integration as a way of achieving lasting peace. During the inter-war period this idea started to attract support in Britain even though Britain's strategic and economic interests remained focused outside Europe. This book explores Britain's relations with the continent between 1918 and 1945, focussing on diplomatic and military responses to the major crises and examining attitudes to the idea of Europe in the broader context of relations with the Empire, Commonwealth and the USA.
eBook
