On forgetful goldfish and failed mnemonics: Transforming political economies of conflict using voluntarism, regulation, and supervision

Authors

  • Neil Cooper

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15355/epsj.5.1.43

Keywords:

International economic order, multinational firms, international business, international conflicts, negotiations, sanctions, international organizations, colonialism, imperialism, postcolonialism, international institutional arrangements, regulation

Abstract

This article examines three types of initiatives that have been deployed in the effort to transform the political economies of civil conflict: Voluntary ethical trading initiatives, formal regulation to promote ethical trading or good resource governance, and economic supervision schemes. The article draws on brief case studies of the United Nations Global Compact, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, and the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme as well as discussing economic supervision schemes such as those imposed on Chad and Liberia. The article argues that the current representation of these initiatives obscures that they represent a retreat from the more ambitious programs of reform articulated in the 1970s.

References

Alexander, K. and S. Gilbert. 2008. Oil and Governance Report: A Case Study of Chad, Angola, Gabon, and Sao Tome é Principe. www.idasa.org.za/index.asp.

Ballentine, K. and H. Nitzschke. 2005. Profiting from Peace: Managing the Resource Dimensions of Civil War. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.

Chandler, D. 2006. Empire in Denial: The Politics of State-building. London: Pluto.

Cooper, N. 2008. “As Good As It Gets: Securing Diamonds in Sierra Leone,” pp. 103-115 in M. Pugh, N. Cooper, and M. Turner, eds. Whose Peace? Critical Perspectives on the Political Economy of Peacebuilding. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

Cramer, C. 2006. Civil War is Not a Stupid Thing: Accounting for Violence in Developing Countries. London: Hurst & Company.

Duffield, M. 2007. Development, Security and Unending War: Governing the World of Peoples. Cambridge, UK: Polity.

Global Compact. 2007. United Nations Global Compact Annual Review, 2007. Leaders Summit. New York: United Nations Global Compact Office.

Global Witness and the Bank Information Center. 2008. “Assessment of International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group Extractive Industries Transparency Implementation.” London: Global Witness.

Gurría, A. 2008. “The Global Dodgers.” The Guardian. 27 November 2008.

[Israel] 2007. Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor. The Israeli Economy at a Glance 2007. www.moital.gov.il/NR/exeres/C3969F21-C61D-4E23-90E9-5C7486E9029B.htm.

Jennings, K.M. 2008. “Securitizing the Economy of Reintegration in Liberia,” pp. 157-170 in M. Pugh, N. Cooper, and M. Turner, eds. Whose Peace? Critical Perspectives on the Political Economy of Peacebuilding. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

Kang, D. 2002. Crony Capitalism: Corruption and Development in South Korea and the Philippines. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Kell, G. and J.G. Ruggie. 2000. “'Reconciling Economic Imperatives with Social Priorities: The Global Compact.” Paper presented at the Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs, New York. 25 February 2000.

Krasner, S.D. 2004. “Sharing Sovereignty: New Institutions for Collapsed and Failing States.” International Security. Vol. 29, No. 2, pp. 85-120.

Le Billon, P. 2008. “Corrupting Peace? Peacebuilding and Post-Conflict Corruption.” International Peacekeeping. Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 344-361.

Le Billon, P. and E. Nicholls. 2007. “Ending ‘Resource Wars’: Revenue Sharing, Economic Sanction or Military Intervention?” International Peacekeeping. Vol. 14, No. 5, pp. 613-632.

Lunde, L. and M Taylor. 2005. “Regulating Business in Conflict Zones: Challenges and Options,” pp. 317-343 in K. Ballentine and H. Nitzschke, eds. Profiting from Peace: Managing the Resource Dimensions of Civil War. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.

Margolis, J.D. and J.P. Walsh. 2003. “Misery Loves Companies: Rethinking Social Initiatives by Business.” Administrative Science Quarterly. Vol. 48, Issue 2, pp. 268-305.

Partnership Africa Canada. 2006. Killing Kimberley? Conflict Diamonds and Paper Tigers. Occasional Paper No. 15. Revised edition. Ottawa.

Partnership Africa Canada. 2007. Land Grabbing and Land Reform: Diamonds, Rubber and Forests in the New Liberia. Occasional Paper No. 17. Ottawa.

Partnership Africa Canada. 2008. Diamonds and Human Security: Annual Review 2008. pacweb.org/e/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=42&Itemid=65.

Pugh, M. and N. Cooper (with J. Goodhand). 2004. War Economies in A Regional Context: The Challenges of Transformation. Boulder, Co: Lynne Rienner.

Pugh, M., N. Cooper, and M. Turner. 2008. Whose Peace? Critical Perspectives on the Political Economy of Peacebuilding. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Reno, W. 2008. “Anti-Corruption Efforts in Liberia: Are They Aimed at the Right Targets?” International Peacekeeping. Vol. 15, No. 3 (June), pp. 387-404.

Ross, M.L. 2004. “How do Natural Resources Influence Civil War? Evidence from Thirteen Cases.” International Organization. Vol. 58 (Winter), pp. 35-67.

Ruggie, J.G. 2007. “Business and Human Rights: The Evolving International Agenda.” Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives, Working Paper No 31, Cambridge, MA: John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

Schwab, K. 2008. “Global Corporate Citizenship: Working With Governments and Civil Society.” Foreign Affairs. Vol. 87, No. 1, pp. 107-118.

Smillie, I. 2005. “The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme for Rough Diamonds.” Verifor/Partnership Africa Canada. www.verfor.org/resources/case-studies/kimberley-process.pdf.

Smith, J. 2008. “Power, Interests and the United Nations Global Compact.” Paper presented at the International Studies Association Conference, San-Francisco, CA.

Taylor, S. 2008. “Resource Curse or Blessing: Africa’s Management of its Extractive Industries.” Hearing. United States Senate. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Subcommittee on Africa. 24 September. http//foreign.senate.gov/hearings/2008/hrg080924a.html.

Turner, M. 2006. “Taming Mammon: Corporate Social Responsibility and the Global Regulation of Conflict Trade.” Conflict, Security and Development. Vol. 6, No. 3, pp. 365-387.

[U.S. Senate]. 2008. Report of the Minority Staff of the United States Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations. “The Petroleum and Poverty Paradox: Assessing US and International Community Efforts to Fight the Resource Curse.” Draft. 9 September 2008. http://lugar.senate.gov/sfrc/pdf/DRAFT_petroleum_poverty_paradox.pdf.

Willett, S. 2008. “Trading with Security: Trade Liberalisation and Conflict,” pp. 67-84 in M. Pugh, N. Cooper, and M. Turner, eds. Whose Peace? Critical Perspectives on the Political Economy of Peacebuilding. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

Zohar, C.E. 2003. “Sierra Leone Diamond Sector Financial Policy Constraints.” MSI for Peace Diamonds Alliance and USAID. www.resourcebeneficiation.org/home.asp?id=12.

Downloads

Published

2010-01-01

How to Cite

Cooper, N. (2010). On forgetful goldfish and failed mnemonics: Transforming political economies of conflict using voluntarism, regulation, and supervision. The Economics of Peace and Security Journal, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.15355/epsj.5.1.43

Issue

Section

Articles

Similar Articles

<< < 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.