Deconstructing Engagement
169 Pages Posted: 21 Jun 2004
Date Written: January 2003
Abstract
This project triangulates the governance relationships between Canada, Canadian corporate citizens operating transnationally in conflict zones, and citizens of the host countries. We examine the human rights implications of militarized commerce and advocate state accountability for regulating the activities of transnational enterprises (TNEs) and domestic corporations operating transnationally. We will also explore the various policy instruments available to a home state to address the "governance gap" exposed and exacerbated by the global expansion of market relations and the recession of governance relations as the normative and institutional framework within which social, economic and human rights are organized and negotiated. We pursue these themes through analysis of a specific privatized human rights regime developed and operationalized by a Canadian corporate actor (Talisman Energy) in its operations in Sudan. Increasing public attention to, and concern about, the labor, environmental and human rights consequences of global corporate activity in zones of conflict or in so-called "failed states" has brought to the fore debates about the home state's role as regulator. Our research makes an original and timely contribution to the advancement of public policy on this issue.
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