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ABSTRACT
The global restructuring of state–society relationships driven by neoliberal logic has not only allowed for the taming of the ‘state’, which has paradoxically accentuated its inadequacies, but has also facilitated, for better or for worse, the emergence of business – especially transnational corporations – as a major political force in global governance. Consequently, while the issues of peace and conflict have traditionally been the concern of governments, businesses are now increasingly being expected to make peace and conflict their concern. However, despite claims and counterclaims that businesses can be moneymakers and peacemakers, analyses of the relationship between business and peace remain largely embryonic. This paper seeks to contribute to this emerging business and peace debate by drawing on insights from the Niger Delta conflict to ascertain what we know and what we need to know if businesses are to become peacemakers in conflict zones in Africa.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank the editor and the two anonymous reviewers for their insightful feedback. The author acknowledges financial support for his research from the York University Small Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Grant. This paper emerged from a project that was not fully funded by any agency.
Notes on contributor
Uwafiokun Idemudia is Associate Professor of International Development Studies and African Studies at York University, Canada. Professor Idemudia's research interests lie in the area of natural resource development, development and conflict, and business and development. His recent works have been published in Business Strategy and Environment Journal, Community Development Journal;, Journal of Business Ethics, and African Journal of Management. [email protected]
Notes
1 UN, Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda.
2 Idemudia, ‘Oil Multinational Companies as Money Makers and Peace Makers.’
3 Haufler, ‘Symposium on Conflict, Management, and Peace’; Ballentine and Nitzschke, ‘Business and Armed Conflict.’
4 UN, Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
5 Miklian and Schouten, Business For Peace; Ford, ‘Evolving “Business and Peace” Debate.’
6 Cilliers, ‘Business and War’; Getz and Oetzel, ‘MNE Strategic Intervention’; Campbell, ‘Private Sector and Conflict Mainstreaming.’
7 Utting, Corporate Responsibility and Movement of Business’.
8 Ibid.
9 Cilliers, ‘Business and War.’
10 Ibid.
11 Ibid.
12 Miklian and Schouten, Business For Peace; Berdal and Mousavizadeh, ‘Investing for Peace.’
13 Westermann-Behaylo, Rehbein, and Fort, ‘Enhancing the Concept of Corporate Diplomacy,’ 395.
14 Forrer and Katsos, ‘Business and Peace in the Buffer Condition,’ 446.
15 Berdal and Mousavizadeh, ‘Investing for Peace.’
16 Idemudia, ‘Oil Multinational Companies as Money Makers and Peace Makers.’
17 Nelson, The Business of Peace.
18 According to Fort and Schipani, Track II diplomacy is when a corporation plays a mediating role in the contest for power between people for whom either power or security is at stake.
19 According to Fort and Schipani, ‘Action Plan for the role of Business Fostering Peace,’ Track II diplomacy is when a corporation plays a mediating role in the contest for power between people for whom either power or security is at stake.
20 Nelson, The Business of Peace.
21 Oetzel, Getz, and Ladek, ‘Multinational Enterprises Responding to Violent Conflict’; Forrer, Fort, and Gilpin, ‘How Business Can Foster Peace.’
22 Berman, ‘Boardrooms and Bombs’; Oetzel, Getz, and Ladek, ‘Multinational Enterprises Responding to Violent Conflict’; Calvano, ‘Multinational Corporations and Local Communities’; Driffield, Jones, and Crotty, ‘International Business Research and Risky Investments.’
23 Ford, ‘Evolving “Business and Peace” Debate.’
24 Dunfee and Fort, ‘Corporate Hypergoals and the Adapted Firm.’
25 Oetzel and Getz, ‘How Might Firms Respond Strategically to Violent Conflict?’; Oetzel et al., ‘Business and Peace’; Jamali and Mirshak, ‘Business–Conflict Linkages.’
26 Westermann-Behaylo, ‘Institutionalizing Peace through Commerce.’
27 Nelson, The Business of Peace.
28 Jamali and Mirshak, ‘Business–Conflict Linkages.’
29 Barbara, ‘Nation Building and the Private Sector’; Ford, ‘Evolving “Business and Peace” Debate.’
30 Banfield, Haufler, and Lilly, ‘Transnational Corporations in Conflict-Prone Zones’; Barbara, ‘Nation Building and the Private Sector.’
31 Fort, ‘Corporate Contribution to One Planet.’
32 Hönke, ‘Business for Peace?’
33 Ford, ‘Evolving “Business and Peace” Debate’; Ganson and Wennmann, ‘Confronting Risk, Mobilizing Action’; Idemudia, ‘Oil Multinational Companies as Money Makers and Peace Makers.’
34 Calvano, ‘Multinational Corporations and Local Communities’; Idemudia, ‘Oil Multinational Companies as Money Makers and Peace Makers.’
35 Oetzel, Getz, and Ladek, ‘Multinational Enterprises Responding to Violent Conflict.’
36 Ford, ‘Evolving “Business and Peace” Debate.’
37 Berman, ‘Boardrooms and Bombs.’
38 Oetzel et al., ‘Business and Peace.’
39 Galtung, ‘Cultural Violence.’
40 Ibid.
41 Ibid.
42 Haufler, ‘Symposium on Conflict, Management, and Peace.’
43 Kolk and Lenfant, ‘Multinationals, CSR and Partnerships’; Kolk and Lenfant, ‘Partnerships for Peace in Fragile States.’
44 Kolk and Lenfant, ‘Multinationals, CSR and Partnerships.’
45 Kolk and Lenfant, ‘Partnerships for Peace in Fragile States.’
46 Bond, ‘Business, Peace and Mining.’
47 Jamali and Mirshak, ‘Business–Conflict Linkages’; Bond, ‘Business, Peace and Mining’; Kolk and Lenfant, ‘Partnerships for Peace in Fragile States.’
48 Haufler, ‘Symposium on Conflict, Management, and Peace.’
49 Bendell, Collins, and Roper, ‘Beyond Partnerism.’
50 Ford, ‘Evolving “Business and Peace” Debate.’
51 Kolk and Lenfant, ‘Cross-Sector Collaboration and Fragility.’
52 Bendell, Collins, and Roper, ‘Beyond Partnerism.’
53 Haufler, ‘Symposium on Conflict, Management, and Peace.’
54 Kolk and Lenfant, ‘Business–NGO Collaboration’; Kolk and Lenfant, ‘Cross-Sector Collaboration and Fragility.’
55 Kolk and Lenfant, ‘Partnerships for Peace in Fragile States.’
56 Haufler, ‘Symposium on Conflict, Management, and Peace’; Ford, ‘Evolving “Business and Peace” Debate.’
57 Kolk and Lenfant, ‘Business–NGO Collaboration’; Kolk and Lenfant, ‘Cross-Sector Collaboration and Fragility.’
58 Kolk and Lenfant, ‘Partnerships for Peace in Fragile States.’
59 A total of 40 different ethnic groups speaking about 200 different dialects and languages across 3 000 communities. Examples of these ethnic groups include the Ijaws, Ogonis, Edos, Itsekiris, Urhobos, Ikwerres, Efiks, Ibibios, Annangs, and Kwale; see NDDC, ‘The Niger-Delta: A Brief History.’
60 Krasner and Risse, ‘External Actors, State-Building, and Service Provision.’
61 Watts, ‘Resource Curse?’
62 Idemudia, ‘Resource Curse and Decentralization of Oil Revenue.’
63 Beblawi, ‘The Rentier State in the Arab World.’
64 Ejobowah, ‘Who Owns the Oil?’
65 van Dessel, Environmental Situation in the Niger-Delta; Welch, ‘The Ogoni and Self-determination’; Ukeje, ‘Collapse of Public Order in the Niger Delta’; Ifeka, ‘Oil, NGOs & Youths’; Fleshman, ‘Crisis in Nigeria’s Oil Producing Communities’; Ikelegbe, ‘Encounters of Insurgent Youth Associations with the State’; Obi, Oil Minority Rights versus the Nigerian State; Omeje, ‘The State, Conflict & Politics in the Niger Delta.’
66 Naanen, ‘Oil-Producing Minorities and Nigerian Federalism’; Okoh, ‘Environmental Degradation, Conflicts and Peaceful Resolution in Nigeria.’
67 Olojede, ‘Nigeria: Oil Pollution and Threat to National Peace’; Uzodike and Isike, ‘Whose Security? Understanding the Niger Delta Crisis.’
68 Collier and Hoeffler, ‘Greed and Grievance in Civil War.’
69 Idemudia and Ite, ‘Demystifying the Niger Delta Conflict.’
70 Idemudia, ‘Corporate Social Responsibility and Community Development in the Niger Delta.’
71 Idemudia, ‘Changing Phases of Niger Delta Conflict.’
72 Dugan, ‘Nested Theory of Conflict.’
73 Idemudia, ‘Changing Phases of Niger Delta Conflict.’
74 Englebert, ‘The Contemporary African State.’
75 Englebert, ‘Economic Development in Tropical Africa’; Holsti, The State, War, and the State of War.
76 Bond, ‘Business, Peace and Mining’
77 Idemudia, ‘Rethinking Corporate Social Responsibility in Nigerian Oil Conflict.’
78 ‘Shell Admits Fuelling Corruption.’
79 Shah, ‘Organizational Legitimacy and Green Alliances.’
80 Ite, ‘Partnering with the State for Sustainable Development.’
81 Idemudia, ‘Corporate Social Responsibility and Rentier Nigerian State.’
82 Omotola, ‘From the OMPADEC to the NDDC.’
83 Idemudia, ‘Corporate–Community Engagement Strategies in Niger Delta.’
84 Aaron, ‘New Corporate Social Responsibility Models.
85 Alfred, ‘Global Memorandum of Understanding,’ 2.
86 Ibid., 8
87 Idemudia and Osayande, ‘Corporate Social Responsibility in Niger Delta.’
88 Faleti, Challenges of Chevron's GMoI Implementation.
89 NACGOND is a coalition of 25 NGOs that focus on environmental issues in the Niger Delta.
90 Idemudia, ‘Environmental Business–NGO Partnership in Nigeria.’
91 Shell, the Nigerian Agip Oil Company, Addax Petroleum, the Oando Group, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Pan Ocean, Total plc., the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), the Niger Delta Petroleum Resources Limited (NDPRL), the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas, and Schlumberger.
92 Forrer and Katsos, ‘Business and Peace in the Buffer Condition,’ 446.
93 Bond, ‘Business, Peace and Mining.’
94 Haufler, ‘Symposium on Conflict, Management, and Peace.’
95 Ford, ‘Evolving “Business and Peace” Debate.’
96 Kolk and Lenfant, ‘Business–NGO Collaboration.’
97 Jamali and Mirshak, ‘Business–Conflict Linkages.’
98 Galtung, The True Worlds.
99 Wolf, Deitelhoff, and Engert, ‘Conceptual Framework for a Comparative Research Agenda.’
100 Idemudia, ‘Environmental Business–NGO Partnership in Nigeria.’
101 Fuchs and Lederer, ‘The Power of Business.’
102 Weick, Sensemaking in Organisations.
103 Koerber and Fort, ‘Corporate Citizenship and Global Conflicts,’ 208.
104 Gitsham, ‘Impact of Corporate Citizenship in a Zone of Conflict?’