The case for pragmatic solutions

Abstract

Large-scale investments in fragile states - in Latin America, Africa, the former Soviet Union and Asia - become magnets for conflict, which undermines business, development and security.

International policy responds with regulation, state-building and institutional reform, with poor and often perverse results. Caught up in old ways of thinking about conflict and fragility, and an age-old fight over whether multinational corporations are good or bad for peaceful development, it leaves business-related conflicts in fragile states to multiply and fester.

Surveying a new strategic landscape of business and conflict, Brian Ganson and Achim Wennmann conclude that neither company shareholders nor advocates for peaceful development need, or should, accept the growing cost of business-related conflict in fragile states. Drawing on decades of experience from mainstream conflict prevention and violence reduction efforts, as well as promising company practice, they show that even acute conflict is manageable when dealt with pragmatically, locally and on its own terms.

The analysis and conclusions of this Adelphi book will interest policymakers, business leaders and community advocates alike - all those hoping to mitigate today's conflicts while helping to reduce fragility and build a firmer foundation for inclusive development.

Notes

1 Interview by Brian Ganson.

2 Isabel Vogel, Review of the Use of ‘Theory of Change’ in International Development, Review Report commissioned by the UK Department of International Development (DFID), April 2012, http://r4d.dfid.gov.uk/pdf/outputs/mis_spc/DFID_ToC_Review_VogelV7.pdf.

3 See Patrick McGroarty, ‘African Pensions Funds Invest in Infrastructure Projects’, Wall Street Journal, 7 May 2015.

4 Will Jones and Ricardo Soares de Oliveira, Africa’s Illiberal State-Builders (Oxford: Refugees Studies Centre, 2013), p. 19.

5 Tessa Hebb, Heather Hachigian and Rupert Allen, ‘Measuring the Impact of Engagement in Canada’, in Tessa Hebb (ed.), The Next Generation of Responsible Investing (Dordrecht: Springer, 2012).

6 United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and Principles for Responsible Investment, Guidance on Responsible Business in Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas: A Resource for Companies and Investors (New York: UNGC, 2010), p. 7.

7 Marilise Smurthwaite, ‘The Purpose of the Corporation’, in Oliver F. Williams (ed.), Peace Through Commerce (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2008), p. 19.

8 Cedric de Coning, ‘Understanding Peacebuilding as Essentially Local’, Stability, vol. 2, no. 1, 2013, pp. 1–6; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Applications of Complexity Science for Public Policy: New Tools for Finding Unanticipated Consequences and Unrealized Opportunities (Paris: OECD, 2009); Mary B. Anderson and Peter Woodrow, Rising from the Ashes: Development Strategies in Times of Disaster (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1998).

9 OECD, States of Fragility: Meeting Post-2015 Ambitions (OECD: Paris, 2015), p. 9.

10 John Kania and Mark Kramer, ‘Collective Impact’, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Winter 2011, pp. 38–9.

11 Marjoke Oosterom, Fragility at the Local Level: Challenges to Building Local State–Citizen Relations in Fragile Settings (The Hague and Utrecht: Hivos and ICCO, 2009).

12 See Peter Middlebrook, Building a ‘Fragile Consensus’: Liberalisation and State Fragility (Paris: OECD, 2012).

13 UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights (UNWGBHR), Guidance on National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights (Geneva: UNWGBHR, 2015).

14 OECD, A New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States (Paris: OECD, 2011).

15 World Bank, World Development Report 2011: Conflict, Security and Development (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2011).

16 Ibid., p. 2.

17 Africa Peace Forum, Centre for Conflict Resolution, Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies, Forum on Early Warning and Early Response, International Alert, and Saferworld, ‘Introduction’, in Conflict-Sensitive Approaches to Development, Humanitarian Assistance and Peacebuilding: A Resource Pack (2004), http://www.international-alert.org/sites/default/files/Training_DevelopmentHumanitarianAssistancePeacebuilding_EN_2004_0.pdf.

18 Mary B. Anderson, Do No Harm: How Aid Can Support Peace – or War (Boulder, CO: Lynner Rienner, 1999), p. 1.

19 CDA Collaborative Learning Projects, Reflecting on Peace Practice Project (Cambridge, MA: CDA Collaborative Learning Projects, 2004).

20 Matt Andrews, The Limits of Institutional Reform in Development: Changing Rules for Realistic Solutions (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014), p. 217.

21 Middlebrook, Building a ‘Fragile Consensus’, p. 35.

22 Kania and Kramer, ‘Collective Impact’, p. 40.

23 Ibid., p. 41.

24 Interview by Brian Ganson.

25 Mervin Meintjies, ‘Marikana Hangs over Lonmin AGM’, Business Day Live, 30 January 2015.

26 Charles Duhigg, The Power of Habit (London: Random House, 2012).

27 Brian Ganson and Hendrik Kotze, The Community Contract: Applying Proven Solutions to Familiar Problems (Cape Town: Africa Centre for Dispute Settlement, 2015).

28 OECD, Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises: Responsible Business Conduct Matters (Paris: OECD, 2014), p. 3.

29 Interview by Brian Ganson.