An emerging consensus in the academic literature explicitly recognises large corporations as political actors. Against this background, this research investigates how corporate power operates through political practices in international multi-stakeholder governance processes and how it is legitimised. The central focus of research is the EITI, a sophisticated and well regarded international standard for natural resource governance in which corporations from the extractive industries and institutional investors have been granted decision-making rights at the Board level. Moreover, the research aims at understanding the consequences of corporate power on the Standard's design and performance. Relying on a conceptual framework based on the writings of French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, this thesis proposes a refined theoretical approach to corporate power by introducing the concepts of corporate symbolic authority and corporate political practice. This research was undertaken using a mixed-methods approach consisting of content analysis, interviews and participant observation. The findings suggest that companies are privileged partners in the EITI while members from resource-rich countries are effectively disadvantaged. The companies' privileged status is legitimised through taken-for-granted-assumptions portraying them as positive, responsible and exceptional agents. It rests on possession and deployment of various forms of resources, and is enshrined into EITI's principles and procedures. Thus, despite EITI's emphasis on transparency, inclusion and equality (in decision-making), the Standard ultimately reflects and perpetuates the existing power asymmetries which cause disempowerment and poverty of people in resource-rich countries in the first place. This effectively undermines EITI's impact and outcome. In conclusion, the argument is presented that by including corporations into international governance processes already influential actors not only gain direct access to decision-making, but additionally to symbolic authority. This further enhances and consolidates corporate power with substantial consequences for legitimate and effective governance at the international level. Therefore, this thesis enhances our understanding of corporate power and its deployment in multi-stakeholder governance at the international level.

How do we work in projects that are expected to bridge cultural, social and historical boundaries? Is it possible to apply stated instructions across these boundaries so that, for example, the task of producing a requirement specification is interpreted in the same way by all the parties involved? In this thesis, the author takes a stand against his personal experience from such a trans-cultural project – a project in which he failed. A factor that made a strong contribution to this failure was the inability of the companies involved to manage the underlying complex of problems, problems associated with the philosophy of language. They possessed neither the knowledge nor the instruments to bridge the chasms of language. Essential reflection and analysis was replaced by the power language of the enterprise; individuals were singled out and held responsible, and the failure was relegated by definition to the level of personal issues. Experience does not automatically become knowledge; this is a process that requires reflection. The author suggests a number of ways of tackling communications problems among people who not only do not understand one another, but do not understand that they do not understand. The latter may mean that two people think that something is unambiguous, yet their interpretations diverge. This is when problems occur. Nobody has made a mistake – both parties have acted properly, they have even (perhaps) talked the matter through and reached agreement, yet the result still does not coincide with what they anticipated. A central concept is dialogue. Through its organised form, dialogue can make openings in problems that cut through cultural, social and historical boundaries. It is an approach that may be illustrated through authors and philosophers such as Witold Gombrowicz, Ludwik Fleck, Oscar Wilde, Joseph Conrad and Galileo Galilei. This study has its basis and its origins in the research area of Skills and Technology at the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm (KTH). / QC 20101104

The dissertation reinterprets the concept of forces of production through an ecological lens and analyzes the fettering of “green productive forces” in the context of the deepening climate crisis. In contrast to more established interpretations, I define forces of production broadly as the practices, processes, relations and objects through which we are purposefully linked to and transform the rest of nature. I demonstrate the basis for this interpretation in Marx’s own work and develop its implication through contemporary scholarship. In present circumstances, it allows us to see that ecological knowledge itself, as well as associated developments in renewable energy technology and green infrastructure, represent advancements in productive forces. However, I argue that such green productive forces are today fettered by capitalist relations of production. The second portion of the dissertation analyzes this process through case studies focusing on Canadian fossil capitalism. In this context, I examine the deepening of fossil-fuelled productive forces and simultaneous blockages in the development and productive utilization of renewable energy and ecological knowledge. This includes a focus on carbon capital’s strategic efforts to colonize such productive forces and fashion them in a manner that is consonant with the accumulation strategies and power relations permeating fossil capitalism. / Graduate / 2020-03-29

In political philosophy, power and responsibility are known to be two sides of the same coin. Yet surprisingly, corporate political power has not been strongly featured in the long-standing debate surrounding Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), despite the parallel debate on the influence of business in policy-making. The political dimension of CSR and its intrinsic relationship with Corporate Political Power (CPP) has been under-researched. This thesis adds to the CSR debate by investigating the processes and mechanisms by which CSR activities contribute to the power of the firm in the political arena, in the context of the British construction industry. Drawing on the literature on power, political activity and extended corporate citizenship, a conceptual model of the relationship between CSR and CPP was developed. The model was underpinned by insights from the Institutional Theory, the Resource Dependence Theory, and the Resource-Based View of the firm. Using a hybrid constructivist-realism epistemology and a processbased analysis, three exploratory case studies were carried out in construction companies operating in the UK. Data were collected through archival research and semi-structured interviews, and analysed by means of within and cross-case analyses. The results revealed that the political environment of the firm was analogous to a marketplace where companies traded political goods with policy-makers. CSR activities produced four political goods, namely public image, technical expertise, social capital and indebtedness, which were identified as the mechanisms by which CSR contributed to CPP. The impacts of CSR activities on CPP were three-fold: CSR strengthened the privileged structural position of companies; helped them gain easier access to policy-makers; and this privileged access gave companies more opportunities to influence regulatory outcomes. The key theoretical contribution of the thesis is a processual model that illustrates how CSR contributes to CPP. There are also implications for practice. CSR activities are velvet curtains that hide the operationalisation of political power. The social and political implications call for the attention of government officials who favour a neoliberal doctrine for the promotion of CSR to business.

<p>How do we work in projects that are expected to bridge cultural, social and historical boundaries? Is it possible to apply stated instructions across these boundaries so that, for example, the task of producing a requirement specification is interpreted in the same way by all the parties involved?</p><p>In this thesis, the author takes a stand against his personal experience from such a trans-cultural project – a project in which he failed. A factor that made a strong contribution to this failure was the inability of the companies involved to manage the underlying complex of problems, problems associated with the philosophy of language. They possessed neither the knowledge nor the instruments to bridge the chasms of language. Essential reflection and analysis was replaced by the power language of the enterprise; individuals were singled out and held responsible, and the failure was relegated by definition to the level of personal issues.</p><p><i>Experience does not automatically become knowledge; this is a process that requires reflection.</i></p><p>The author suggests a number of ways of tackling communications problems among people who not only do not understand one another, but do not understand that they do not understand. The latter may mean that two people think that something is unambiguous, yet their interpretations diverge. This is when problems occur. Nobody has made a mistake – both parties have acted properly, they have even (perhaps) talked the matter through and reached agreement, yet the result still does not coincide with what they anticipated.</p><p>A central concept is dialogue. Through its organised form, dialogue can make openings in problems that cut through cultural, social and historical boundaries. It is an approach that may be illustrated through authors and philosophers such as Witold Gombrowicz, Ludwik Fleck, Oscar Wilde, Joseph Conrad and Galileo Galilei.</p><p>This study has its basis and its origins in the research area of Skills and Technology at the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm (KTH).</p>

Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, Division of Society, Culture, Media and Philosophy, Dept. of Sociology 2009. / "October 2008" Bibliography: leaves 273-293.

Climate capitalism has emerged over the last two decades as the response of a section of the global elite to the crisis of global warming. Greater consciousness of threats to the stability of the global carbon cycle, and thus to the general conditions for capital accumulation, has led certain members of the global elite to design a project of climate capitalism, that holds the promise of a smooth transition out of the crisis and into a new era of accumulation on renewed, ecologically modernized foundations. However, climate capitalism has been contested from the start. For one, many still do not accept that there exists any problem that needs addressing in the first place. At the other end of the spectrum, climate capitalism is challenged on the grounds of its incapacity to reduce GHG emissions and its complicity with neoliberalism in entrenching existing inequality. Debates abound around the latter critique. Should climate capitalism be opposed by all means, or should it be cautiously supported, for want of an alternative that can be realized rapidly enough? The response to this question crucially depends on whether support exists among the corporate and other global elites for a climate capitalism that stands a chance of actually reducing climate impacts in a timely manner. This dissertation directly addresses the issue of the existence and extent of corporate elite support for climate capitalism. It asks specifically, what forces support climate capitalism, how and to what degree they are organized, and how powerful they are relative to the forces of the status quo. This study answers the question of the potential of the climate capitalist project to become entrenched at the core of the neoliberal hegemonic bloc with a qualified yes: although broad support has not yet emerged, it seems poised to develop in the future as the global ecological crisis deepens – perhaps as an outcome of the 2015 Paris Climate Conference. As to the question of the content of climate capitalism, and thereupon the issue of whether climate capitalism can actually provide a reduction in GHG emissions, the study finds that the dominant view of climate capitalism is that of a weak ecological modernization, taking place over the long term. In view of the scientific consensus on the urgency of massive GHG emissions reductions in the near term, this confirms the argument put forth by critics that a realistic response to climate change cannot be founded on climate capitalist principles. / Graduate / 0626 / 0700 / 0616

Mexico is in the midst of a public health crisis. A country formerly plagued by malnutrition and malaria is now host to obesity, diabetes, and other nutrition-related issues. Despite public policy efforts by the Mexican government, rates of obesity and non-communicable diseases steadily rise. The persistence of the crisis is the result of legislation that does not properly address the crisis. The efforts made by the Mexican government only address the education of consumers and consumer protection. Policies are limited by corporate power and corporate influence throughout Mexico. The public health crisis is a result of underlying political economy issues. These issues include poverty, unemployment, migration, and in particular, the loss of farmers’ jobs in Mexico. Public policy functions to treat the symptoms of the public health crisis not fully acknowledging the root causes of the crisis. This thesis will attempt to assess the effectiveness of public policy as it exists in Mexico and address the ways in which the policies fail to challenge the foundational issues that are a result of neoliberal trade policy and corporate power.

長久以來，政治學慣於將企業畫歸為私領域活動，鮮於對企業組織及權力進行系統性分析。然而，正是這樣的忽視，使我們難以掌握後全球化時代，面對企業權力的崛起，國家政經結構將何去何從。 緣此，本研究回歸歷史，將長期遭政治學忽視的「企業」，重新置放於現代國家形成的歷史過程中，分析企業與政府，如何在競逐有限資金的過程中，建立起合作關係與制度，進而形成現代民族資本主義國家。並藉由先進/後發、東方/西方四個案例）尼德蘭聯省共和國、英國、日本、中國）的交互比較，進一步探問：為何有些國家由企業主導，形成「企業國家」，如尼德蘭、英國？又為何有些國家最終形成由政府主導的「國家企業」，如日本、中國？ 經過四個案例分析後，本研究提出了一個新的國家建構過程：先是財務需求促成強制權力及資本權力的法人化，形成「政府」與「企業」組織；而後，由於政府與企業在融資上的競合，促成了政府與企業透過財務機制）持股、債務、董事連結），進一步連結成為「國家法人」。而這個由政府與企業組成的國家法人，因成立動機起始於財務需求，因此首先被建立起來的是金融制度。接著，受國際政治及市場競爭壓力，軍事外交部門開始組織化。再者，為獨佔境內資金，政府與企業聯手建立國內政治/市場的統一/壟斷制度。而後，為消弭因不公平分配所導致的叛亂）抗稅、罷工），出現了公共/公司福利制度。現代國家的政經制度：財政金融、軍事外交、社會福利，於焉建立。且正由於國家法人組建的基礎在於財務，因此導致國家走向「企業國家」或「國家企業」的分殊關鍵，即在於政府與企業兩大法人的相對融資能力（financing capacity）。

"October 2008" / Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, Division of Society, Culture, Media and Philosophy, Dept. of Sociology 2009. / Bibliography: leaves 273-293. / Introduction -- Patterns of corporate activity as patterns of corporate dominance: legal, organisational, and economic features of corporations -- Representations of corporate dominance in insidious injuries -- The legal basis of corporate dominance: History of the corporation -- Legal individualism and corporate personhood -- Theories of the corporation -- The legal regulation of corporations - corporate liability laws -- Conclusion. / Corporations are no longer simply a type of business structure; they are dominant social institutions. As institutions, corporations are archetypes of contemporary complex social organisation and should, therefore, be a central concern for sociology. Yet with few notable exceptions, sociologists have failed to address their increasingly dominant position in contemporary societies. In this thesis I argue the importance of a renewed sociological interest in corporations. This must acknowledge, but go beyond, the political-economic outcomes of corporations to address the profound consequences of the legal foundations of the corporate form. Corporations are created and regulated by legal doctrine; it is only with a legal mandate that corporations are able to act as employers, suppliers and investors. On this basis, I claim that any understanding of corporate dominance and its effects must commence with an appreciation of the laws that enable the corporation to exist and operate. -- While contributing significantly to wealth creation, corporate dominance also increases the potential for harm to occur to individuals and communities who fall within a corporation's scope. The contemporary proliferation of industrial illnesses is a prime example of this and is examined through a case study of the operations of an Australian asbestos corporation, James Hardie. This case study is timely and unique in its specification of the link between corporate activity and law in contemporary society. -- I argue that corporate activity such as that in the case study is enhanced and legitimated by the legal description of the corporation that assigns to it the capacities of a human individual through corporate legal personhood. Corporate personhood is examined as an example of the legal individualism endorsed in liberal common law countries. By exploring accounts of corporate structure, decision-making and work processes, I explain how the individualised description of the corporation is at odds with its collective realities; the largest and most successful corporations are collectives of human and monetary resources. -- In light of this, I question the extent to which the effective regulation of corporations can be achieved within existing legal frameworks. Building upon research into workplace health and safety in the United Kingdom, the regulation of workplace deaths in Australia is examined to demonstrate the various approaches to regulating corporations and to identify their shortcomings. This is a striking example of the problems law faces in regulating corporations by virtue of its individualistic design. -- The thesis concludes with an affirmation that sociology needs to grapple with issues of corporate activity and that an understanding of the legal basis of the corporation is the foundation of such studies. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / 295 leaves