The Department of Global & International Studies invites you to attend the following Research Talk:

Dr. Nathan Andrews, Candidate

Title: Responsibilizing Private Authority: Ambiguities of Social Responsibility, Human Rights, and Development

Dr. Nathan Andrews is 1 of 3 candidates for Assistant Professor in the Department of Global & International Studies.

The candidate will give a 20-30 minute presentation followed by a 10-15 minute question and answer period.

The following is an abstract of the candidate’s presentation:

Transnational corporations (TNCs) acting as ‘private authority’ have gained enormous power in global affairs, partly due to the purported decline of the state and its inability (at least in areas of ‘limited statehood’) to provide needed goods and services. This means that in addition to their primary objective of maximizing profits, TNCs are expected to take up responsibilities that sometimes exceed what they can practically accomplish. Through several global governance mechanisms, TNCs are presented to us as responsible entities engaged in activities with win-win outcomes. I argue that this process of ‘responsibilization’ has enacted the corporation in a manner that often leaves it unquestioned even though social responsibility initiatives towards human rights and development, for instance, remain ambiguous. The presentation draws upon primary fieldwork data to examine the localized diffusion and implementation of the UN Global Compact and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Everyone is welcome!