Corporate Security Responsibility: The Role of Transnational Corporations in Conflict Zones
In the last two decades, corporations from various industry sectors have come under criticism for their operations in conflict zones. Some examples include oil industry operations in Nigeria, mining companies in the Democratic Republic Congo and private military companies in Iraq and Afghanistan. At the same time, there has been an increasing expectation within political discourse that corporations contribute to conflict prevention, peace-making and consolidation.
The behavior of corporations in conflict regions
Peace and conflict research has thus far devoted little attention to the potentially positive role that corporations could assume in conflict zones. This was the assumption on which the research project “Business in Zones of Conflict” was based, which was carried out from 2005 to 2011.
Within this project, researchers produced four case studies, which were, in part, based on field research in conflict zones, analyzing the behavior of corporations in different industries. These included: (1) oil companies in Nigeria, (2) corporations from the food and beverage industry in the Great Lakes Region (Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo), (3) tourism companies in Israel and the Palestinian territories, and (4) logistics companies in Northern Ireland.
Indirect rather than direct engagement
The findings showed that corporations do not directly contribute to the provision of peace and security; on the contrary, they shy away from such forms of engagement as they consider this task to belong to the state. On the other hand, corporations do indirectly contribute to peace and security in a variety of ways, such as through development projects at the local level or through anti-corruption measures.
A number of factors foster these forms of corporate engagement, including the general trend towards corporate social responsibility and critical activities carried out by civil society. Additionally, proactive policies in the home state and the availability of reliable public partners also exert influence on corporate behavior in the respective conflict zones.
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