The UN Global Compact and the global governance of corporate social responsibility: Complex multilateralism for a more human globalisation?

Global Society

Volumn 22, Issue 1, 2008, Pages 1-26

  Fritsch, Stefan ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

CIVIL SOCIETY; DEVELOPING WORLD; ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT; ECONOMIC GROWTH; ECONOMIC POLICY; GLOBAL ECONOMY; GLOBALIZATION; GOVERNANCE APPROACH; PARADIGM SHIFT; POLITICAL ECONOMY; UNITED NATIONS;

EID: 37849002033     PISSN: 13600826     EISSN: 1469798X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/13600820701740704     Document Type: Article

References (131)

1. UNCTAD, World Investment Report 1992: Transnational Corporations as Engines of Growth (New York: UNCTAD, 1992), p. 99.
2. In the period 1991-2001, according to UNCTAD, 94% of all modified national regulations concerning FDI aimed at further facilitation of FDI. See UNCTAD, World Investment Report 2002: Transnational Corporations and Export Competitiveness(New York: UNCTAD, 2002), p. 7.
3. A. Clair Cutler, Virginia Haufler and Tony Porter (eds.), Private Authority in International Affairs (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1999).
4. David C. Korten, When Corporations Rule the World (San Francisco: Kumarian Press, 2001).
5. Kevin Danaher, "Introduction: Corporate Power & the Quality of Life", in Kevin Danaher (ed.), Corporations are Gonna Get Your Mama: Globalization and the Downsizing of the American Dream (Monroe: Common Courage Press, 1996), p. 15.
6. Besides the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, human rights after the Second World War were implemented mainly through the two Human Rights Covenants of 1966, which only came into force 10 years later. The first Covenant dealt with the first generation of human rights (civil and political rights), while the second focused on the second generation of economic, social and cultural rights. Civil and political rights were defined in order to protect the individual against the state, while social and economic rights were defined as long-term goals to be achieved by each state, according to its capabilities. Thus, states cannot easily be sued for not realising these rights, domestically as well as internationally. Moreover, their implementation is difficult to control and evaluate. Peter J. Opitz, "Die Entwicklung des internationalen Menschenrechtsschutzes", in Peter J. Potz (ed.), Die Vereinten Nationen (Opladen: UTB, 2002), p. 103f.
7. So far, the protection of human rights has been supported primarily through monitoring committees of the six main instruments of human rights implementation and protection: (1) the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), (2) the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), (3) the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICPPR), (4) the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), (5) the Convention against Torture (CAT) and (6) the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Peter Fischer and Franz Heribert Köck, Völkerrecht: Das Recht der universellen Staatengemeinschaft (Vienna: Linde, 2004), p. 247ff.
8. For an overview with regard to economic and social rights see Philip Alston, "Economic and Social Rights", in Louis Henkin and John Lawrence Hardgrove (eds.), Human Rights: An Agenda for the Next Century (Washington, DC: American Society for International Law, 1994), p. 137ff.
9. James N. Rosenau, Distant Proximities: Dynamics beyond Globalization (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2003), p. 396f.
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11. Limited space prevents the author from delving into a broader discussion of earlier theoretical discussions concerned with questions of interdependence-induced governance problems emerging during the late 1960s and early 1970s. See Michael Zürn, "From Interdependence to Globalization", in Walter Carlsnaes, Thomas Risse and Beth A. Simmons (eds.), Handbook of International Relations (London: Sage, 2002), pp. 235-254.
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15. Darel E. Paul, "Sovereignty, Survival and the Westphalian Blind Alley in International Relations", Review of International Studies, Vol. 25, No. 2 (1999), pp. 217-231.
16. Of the vast literature dealing with these questions see Paul Hirst and Grahame Thompson, Globalization in Question: The International Economy and Possibilities of Governance (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1996)
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19. idem, The Retreat of the State: The Diffusion of Power in the World Economy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996)
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21. Robert O'Brien and Marc Williams, Global Political Economy: Evolution and Dynamics (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004), p. 320.
22. Bob Jessop, "The Future of the State in an Era of Globalization", International Politics and Society, Vol. 9, No. 3 (2003), p. 40.
23. David Held, Anthony McGrew, David Goldblatt and Anthony Perraton, Global Transformations: Politics, Economics and Culture (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1999), p. 50.
24. James N. Rosenau, Turbulence in World Politics: A Theory of Change and Continuity (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1990), p. 6.
25. Robert O. Keohane, After Hegemony: Cooperation and Discord in the World Political Economy (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1984); Volker Rittberger (ed.), Regime Theory and International Relations (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993).
26. For similar arguments with regard to the European Union see Andrew Moravcsik, The Choice for Europe: Social Purpose and State Power from Messina to Maastricht (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1998).
27. Thomas Risse, "Transnational Actors and World Politics", in Walter Carlsnaes, Thomas Risse and Beth A. Simmons (eds.), Handbook of International Relations (London: Sage, 2002), pp. 255-274
28. Manuel Castells, The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture Vol. II: The Power of Identity (New York: Blackwell, 1997).
29. James N. Rosenau, Along the Domestic-Foreign Frontier. Exploring Governance in a Turbulent World (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), p. 4.
30. Yale Ferguson and Richard Mansbach reach similar conclusions, but use the more familiar term "polities". See Yale H. Ferguson and Richard D. Mansbach, "History's Revenge and Future Shock: The Remapping of Global Politics", in Martin Hewson and Timothy J. Sinclair (eds.), Approaches to Global Governance Theory (Albany: SUNY Press, 1999), pp. 197-238.
31. James N. Rosenau and Ernst-Otto Czempiel (eds.), Governance without Government: Order and Change in World Politics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992).
32. Andrew F. Cooper, John English and Ramesh Thakur (eds.), Enhancing Global Governance: Towards a New Diplomacy? (Tokyo: United Nations University Press, 2002).
33. Stephen J. Kobrin, "Sovereignty Bay: Globalisation, Multinational Enterprise, and the International Political System", in Alan M. Rugman and Thomas L. Brewer (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of International Business (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), p. 193.
34. Raymond Vernon, In the Hurricane's Eye: The Troubled Prospect of Multinational Enterprises (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1998).
35. Keith Davis and Robert L. Blomstrom, Business and Society: Environment and Responsibility (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1975), p. 9.
36. Archie B. Caroll and Ann K. Buchholz, Business and Society: Ethics in Stakeholder Management (Mason: South-Western Publishing, 2005), p. 35ff.
37. Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations (New York: Bantam Dell, 2003 [1776]), p. 23f.
38. Milton Friedman, "The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits", in Tom L. Beauchamp and Norman E. Bowie (eds.), Ethical Theory and Business (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2001), p. 55.
39. The Economist, "Profit and the Public Good: A Survey of Corporate Social Responsibility" (22 January 2005), p. 9.
40. Joel Bakan, The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power (New York: Free Press, 2004).
41. See also Brian Roach, "A Primer on Multinationals", in Alfred D. Chandler and Bruce Mazlish (eds.), Leviathans. Multinational Corporations and the New Global History (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), p. 36f.
42. Thomas Donaldson, "Moral Minimums for Multinationals", inW. Michael Hoffman and Robert E. Frederick (eds.), Business Ethics: Readings and Cases in Corporate Morality (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1995), p. 496.
43. The other four norms are: (1) MNCs should do no intentional harm, (2) they should produce more good than bad for the host country, (3) with their activities they should contribute to the overall development of the host country and (4) they should accept local cultures to the extent that those do not violate moral norms. See Richard T. De George, "Ethical Dilemmas for Multinational Enterprise: A Philosophical Overview", in Hoffman and Frederick, op. cit., p. 488f.
44. Caroll and Buchholz, op. cit., p. 39. This also goes along with norms 1 and 3 of De George (see fn. 31).
45. UNCTAD, World Investment Report 1999: Foreign Direct Investment and the Challenge of Development (New York: UNCTAD, 1999), p. 345.
46. See also Thomas Donaldson, "The Social Contract: Norms for a Corporation Conscience", in W. Michael Hoffman and Jennifer Mills Moore (eds.), Business Ethics: Readings and Cases in Corporate Morality (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1984), pp. 137-141
47. Thomas Donaldson and ThomasW. Dunfee, "Toward a Unified Conception of Business Ethics: Integrative Social Contracts Theory", Academy of Management Review, Vol. 19, No. 2 (1994), pp. 252-284.
48. Carli Fiorina, Technology, Business and Our Way of Life: What's Next? Minneapolis (26 September 2001), available: http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/execteam/speeches/fiorina/minnesota01.htm. (accessed 20 May 2005).
49. Clive Crook, "The Good Company", The Economist (22 January 2005), p. 1.
50. Although the number of strategic investors that do pay attention to CSR principles such as human rights or sustainability is clearly growing, their numbers still represent a minor share of overall investment. Examples for responsible investors would be the Calvert Group, the Interfaith Centre for Corporate Responsibility or the California Public Employees' Retirement System. James A. Paul and Jason Garred, Making Corporations Accountable: A Background Paper for the United Nations Financing for Development Process, available:, http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/ffd/2000 papr.htm. (accessed 20 May 2005).
51. Ibid.
52. Caroll and Buchholz, op. cit., p. 43f.
53. John Elkington, Cannibals with Forks: The Triple Bottom Line of 21st Century Business (Capstone: Oxford, 1997).
54. Paul and Garred, op. cit.
55. Alfred D. Chandler, The Visible Hand: The Managerial Revolution in American Business (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press, 1977).
56. Caroll and Buchholz, op. cit., p. 31f.
57. For a short overview of so-called intergovernmental conferences related to various issues ranging from standardisation and interconnection to sanitation, slavery and labour conditions, starting in the second half of the 19th century, see Paul and Garred, op. cit.
58. Caroll and Buchholz, op. cit., p. 317.
59. For various perspectives, see Robert Gilpin, Power and the Multinational Corporation: The Political Economy of Foreign Direct Investment (New York: Basic Books, 1975)
60. Stephen H. Hymer, The International Operations of National Firms: A Study of Direct Foreign Investment (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1976)
61. Robert O. Keohane and Joseph S. Nye, Transnational Relations and World Politics (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1971)
62. Raymond Vernon, The Economic and Political Consequences of Multinational Enterprise: An Anthology (Boston: Harvard University Press, 1972)
63. idem, Sovereignty at Bay: The Multinational Spread of US Enterprises (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1971).
64. A prominent example was the suspected involvement of the US corporations ITTand Kennecott Copper in an attempt to overthrow Chile's newly elected President Salvador Allende with the help of the US government. Allende's death in a CIA-supported military coup just a year later contributed significantly to codes coming on to the international policy agenda.
65. Judith Richter, Holding Corporations Accountable: Corporate Conduct, International Codes, and Citizen Action (London: Zed Books, 2001), p. 8f.
66. In 1977 the Revd Leon Sullivan, pastor of the Zion Baptist Church in Philadelphia, proposed a set of rules relating to foreign corporate investments in apartheid South Africa. Details of the Sullivan Principles are available at:, http://www.thesullivanfoundation.org/gsp/ principles/gsp/default.asp.
67. Dieter Nohlen, "Nord-Süd-Konflikt", in Wichard Woyke (ed.), Handwörterbuch Internationale Politik (Opladen: Leske und Budrich, 2000), p. 340f.
68. Richter, op. cit., p. 10f.
69. UNCTAD, World Investment Report 1999, op. cit., p. 351.
70. Jean-Philippe Thérien and Vincent Pouliot, "The Global Compact: Shifting the Politics of International Development?", Global Governance, Vol. 12, No. 1 (2006), p. 57.
71. Ibid., p. 58.
72. O'Brien and Williams, op. cit., p. 326.
73. Limited space prevents a description of the historically conflict-ridden UN-business relationship in detail. For an overview see Sydney Samuel Dell, The United Nations and International Business (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1990).
74. John G. Ruggie, "Taking Embedded Liberalism Global: The Corporate Connection", in David Held and Mathias Koenig-Archibugi (eds.), Taming Globalisation: Frontiers of Global Governance (Cambridge: Polity Press, 2003), pp. 93-129.
75. Georg Kell and John Gerard Ruggie, "Global Markets and Social Legitimacy: The Case of the 'Global Compact'", Transnational Corporation, Vol. 8, No. 3 (1999), p. 103.
76. United Nations, "Secretary General Proposes Global Compact on Human Rights, Labour, Environment in Address toWorld Economic Forum in Davos", Press Release SG/SM/6881 (1 February 1999) (accessed 21 September 2005).
77. UNCTAD, World Investment Report 2005: Transnational Corporations and the Internationalization of R&D (New York: UNCTAD, 2005), p. 265.
78. Peter A. Hall and David Soskice (eds.), Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001).
79. See also Vernon, In the Hurricane's Eye, op. cit., ch. 4.
80. Richard Welford, Corporate Social Responsibility in Europe, North America and Asia: 2004 Survey Results", Journal of Corporate Citizenship, Vol. 17, No. 1 (2005), pp. 33-52.
81. UNCTAD, World Investment Report 2005, op. cit., p. 264f.
82. Jens Martens, Precarious Partnerships: Six Problems of the Global Compact between Business and the UN, 2004, available:, http://www.globalpolicy.org/business/2004/0623partnerships.htm. (accessed 10 July 2005).
83. Irene Schneider, "GlobaleWerte für dieWirtschaft", ai-Journal No. 3 (2002), available:, http://www2.amnesty.de/ internet/deall.nsf/536dbe8e082517d3c1256aa10037cc52/ 422b1c60cb930e22c1256b6c004fd313?OpenDocument. (accessed 25 May 2005).
84. United Nations Information Service, vSecretary-General to Convene First Meeting of Global Compact Advisory Council at Headquarters 8 January", Note No. 5705 (8 January 2002), available:, http://www.unis.unvienna.org/unis/pressrels/2002/note5705.html. (accessed 25 May 2005).
85. Ibid.
86. UN Global Compact, Guide to the Global Compact: A Practical Understanding of the Vision and the Nine Principles (New York: Global Compact, 2002).
87. UN Global Compact, Enabling Economies of Peace: Public Policy for Conflict-sensitive Business (New York: Global Compact, 2005).
88. UNDP, Business for Development: Business Solutions in Support of the Millennium Development Goals (New York: United Nations, 2006)
89. idem, UNDP and the Private Sector (New York, United Nations, 2004).
90. UN Global Compact, HIV/AIDS: Everybody's Business (New York: Global Compact, 2003).
91. UN Global Compact, UNHCR, Embedding Human Rights into Business Practice (New York: Global Compact, 2004).
92. UN Global Compact, Guide to the Global Compact, op. cit., p. 8.
93. UN Global Compact, Networks around the World, available:, http://www.unglobalcompact.org/NetworksAroundTheWorld/index.html. (accessed 10 January 2007). Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden have formed one network, the Global Compact Nordic Network (GCNN).
94. UN Global Compact, A Network of Networks (New York: Global Compact, 2004), p. 2f.
95. Kell and Ruggie, op. cit., p. 104; emphasis added.
96. UN Global Compact, Guide to the Global Compact, op. cit., p. 10.
97. Ruggie, op. cit., p. 113.
98. UN General Assembly, Report of the Secretary-General: Enhanced Cooperation between the United Nations and all Relevant Partners, in Particular the Private Sector, A/58/227 (18 August 2003).
99. Thomas Dunfee, "Strategic Philanthropy: Leveraging the Core Competencies to Achieve Social Goals", Compact Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 3 (2005), available:, http://www.enewsbuilder.net/globalcompact/ e_article000425508.cfm?x=b11,0,w. (accessed 25 May 2005).
100. The overall amount outstanding for the UN budget for 2005 (peacekeeping operations, regular budget, war crimes tribunals, etc.) was about US$3.7 billion. See UN News Service, "UN Cash Position Stronger Than Last Year But Still Fragile, Controller Reports" (13 October 2005), available:, http://www.un.org/apps/news/ printnewsAr.asp?nid=16215. (accessed 10 November 2005).
101. Jan Martin Witte and Wolfgang H. Reinike, "Partnerships: Opportunities and Challenges of Partnering with the UN", Compact Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 3 (2005), available:, http://www.enewsbuilder.net/globalcompact/ e_article000425507.cfm?x=b11,0,w. (accessed 15 December 2005).
102. Jan Martin Witte and Wolfgang H. Reinike, Business UNusual: Facilitating United Nations Reform through Partnerships (New York: United Nations Global Compact Office, 2005), p. 3.
103. McKinsey & Company, Assessing the Global Compact's Impact (New York: McKinsey & Company, 2004), p. 2.
104. Ibid.
105. Ibid., p. 17.
106. From the various learning and training packages see UN Global Compact Office, Implementing the Global Compact: A Booklet for Inspiration (New York: UN Global Compact Office, 2005)
107. UNEP, The Global Compact Environmental Principles Training Package available:, http://www.unep.fr/outreach/compact/trainpack.htm. (accessed 10 January 2007)
108. UN Global Compact Office, Making the Connection: Using the GRI's G3 Reporting for the UN Global Compact's Communication on Progress (New York: UN Global Compact, 2006).
109. Hizvi Haider, UN Pact with Business Lacks Accountability, Inter Press Service (24 June 2004), available:, http://www.globalpolicy.org/ reform/business/2004/0624lack.htm. (accessed 23 September 2005).
110. Annan, op. cit.
111. NGO representative Felicity Hill quoted in Global Compact with Corporations: "Civil Society" Responds.NGOPanel on Corporate Accountability (15 February 2001), available:, http://www.globalpolicy.org/reform/2001/0308fel.htm. (accessed 23 September 2005).
112. Transnational Action and Resource Centre (TRAC), Tangled up in Blue (San Francisco: TRAC, 20H0), p. 7, available:, http://www.corpwatch.org/downloads/tangled.pdf. Reacting to this criticism, the Global Compact Office has developed detailed guidelines for the usage of its logos and that of the United Nations.
113. See UN Global Compact, Policy on the Use of the Global Compact Name and Logos, available:, http://www.unglobalcompact.org/Portal/ Default.asp?UNGC_CookieTest=true. (accessed 22 September 2005).
114. Human Rights First, Letter to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on the Global Compact (4 June 2004), available:, http://www.globalpolicy.org/reform/business/2004/0604hrfirst.htm. (accessed 23 September 2005).
115. UN Global Compact Office, "335 Companies Delisted as Part of Quality Drive", available:, http://www.unglobalcompact.org/NewsAndEvents/ news_archives/2006_10_02.html. (accessed 10 January 2007).
116. UN Global Compact Office, "Global Compact to Delist Additional 203 'Inactive' Companies", available:, http://www.unglobalcompact.org/ NewsAndEvents/news_archives/2006_12_28.html. (accessed 10 January 2007).
117. Kofi Annan, World Economic Forum Message (4 February 2004), available:, http://www.revistainterforum.com/english/articles/ 021102artprin_en2.html. (accessed 20 September 2005).
118. Martens, op. cit.
119. Ellen Paine, "The Road to the Global Compact: Corporate Power and the Battle over Global Public Policy at the United Nations", available:, http://www.globalpolicy.org/reform/papers/2000/road.htm. (accessed 23 September 2005).
120. Ann Zammit, Development at Risk: Rethinking UN-Business Partnerships (Geneva: South Centre, 2003), p. 224.
121. Ibid., p. 222.
122. Thérien and Pouliot, op. cit., p. 69.
123. Peter Utting, UN-Business Partnerships: Who's Agenda Counts? (Geneva: UNRISD, 2000), p. 9.
124. Kell and Ruggie, op. cit., p. 116f.
125. Georg Kell, Remarks on the Global Compact, Speech at Chatham House, London, 24 October 2000, available:, http://www.unglobalcompact.org/ content/NewsEvents/SpeechesStatements/chatham. house.htm. (accessed 25 August 2005).
126. Raymond Vernon, Storm over the Multinationals: The Real Issues (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1977), p. 216.
127. Vernon, In the Hurricane's Eye, op. cit., p. 186.
128. Ruggie, op. cit., p. 113.
129. Martens, op. cit.
130. Modesto Seara-Vazquez, A New Charter for the United Nations (Huajuapan de León: Universidad Tecnológica de la Mixteca, 2003), p. 10f.
131. James N. Rosenau, "Democracy and Globalization", in James N. Rosenau, The Study of World Politics, Vol. II: Globalization and Governance (London: Routledge, 2006), p. 100.