CSR and social conflict in the Brazilian extractive sector

ABSTRACT

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an important means to address conflicts, support local development and build trust between businesses and civil society. Yet CSR often fails to live up to its ambitions and can even exacerbate conflicts between companies and communities. In this article we consider how changing CSR strategies over the past four decades between Brazilian company Vale to Norwegian company Hydro have fomented or mitigated company–community conflicts in Northern Brazil. We find that paternalistic and philanthropic approaches of Vale over time led to deep resentment and mistrust due to underdevelopment and environmental damages. Moreover, while Hydro’s more modern CSR strategies sought to deepen community engagement and build legitimacy, the company has struggled in addressing the legacies inherited from Vale and past and current civil society grievances. The case suggests that even forward-thinking CSR approaches are vulnerable to failure where they prioritise business risk over community engagement, neglect to account for past legacies in areas of operation, and fail to create a shared vision of future development. It suggests that EI companies should both understand and engage with their social and environmental impacts in the past, present, and future and create shared economic benefits in the short and long term in order to address social conflicts.     

Beyond royal politics: state transformation and foreign policy in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Saudi politics is commonly portrayed as reflecting a system of centralised personal rule in which decision-making power trickles down from the tightly knit power circles within the House of Saud. In contrast, this paper draws attention to the empowerment of quasi-autonomous state organisations in Saudi Arabia as a result of state transformation and regional integration. At its most extreme, state transformation in Saudi Arabia has created institutional and regulatory enclaves with vested interests and areas of competence that cross Saudi borders. This paper illustrates the foreign policy ramifications of transformed statehood in Saudi attempts to further Gulf regional integration in the context of the Gulf Monetary Union project.     

论国际投资中的国家责任问题

国际投资中的国家责任问题主要涉及国际投资的法律保护问题 ,如对外国投资和投资者的待遇标准、国有化或征收及其补偿问题。另外 ,还涉及特许权协议、拒绝司法、外交保护等问题。就外资待遇而言 ,发展中国家应根据其经济发展的实际情况在双边投资保护条约中慎重承诺。笔者通过对国有化问题的分析 ,认为国家在这个问题上所承担的国家责任不是传统国际法上的国家责任 ,而是一种“合法行为引起的国家责任”。关于特许协议 ,笔者认为它是国内契约。此外 ,在国际投资中 ,还涉及因污染转嫁而产生的国家责任。     

梁启超：以“政体进化”为特色的中国宪政主义活动家

中国社会由君主专制向建立近代民主国家急速变化的大转折时期,作为近代政治家的梁启超与古代改良派划清了界限,即他将政治变革的希望明确地建立在“国民运动”的身上,这与革命派并无二致。然而与后者不同的是:其思想表现为重“政体理化”而抑“国体革命”,即希望通过“国民运动”,建立起以近代政党制度为主导,和向国会负责的责任内阁;而这种内阁又必须执行“保育政策”,便从经济、政治,乃至文化各领域扶助民力、民智以及参政能力的增长,使整个国家在较为稳定的社会环境中,实现向世界强国的发展。梁启超的思想包含着深刻的革命内容,正因为如此,当袁世凯要实行国体复辟的时候,他便旗帜鲜明地发动了倒袁护国战争。     

加强领导干部任期经济责任审计的思考

领导干部任期经济责任审计对于抑制腐败行为、加强对领导干部的监督管理、正确评价和使用领导干部、保护国家财产的安全完整、促进国有资产的保值增值等具有重要意义     

公务员行政责任追究立法研究

公务员行政责任追究立法是行政法制建设的重要环节。解决当前公务员行政责任追究制度不规范现象,必须加强公务员行政责任追究立法。公务员行政责任追究立法,在立法模式上应采用半统一立法模式,在立法思想上应贯彻宁疏勿密立法思想,在立法原则上应坚持教惩结合立法原则。     

从刑事赔偿与补偿角度论对刑事被害人的权利保护

在刑事诉讼中解决好对被害人的赔偿与补偿问题,可以有效地使被害人获得抚慰,有利于实现诉讼目的,维护社会安定。我国在刑事诉讼中对被害人的赔偿是按照刑事附带民事诉讼程序进行的,但如何通过该程序来保障被害人的赔偿权利,是一个值得进一步探究的问题。     

对刑法中“国家规定”的理解和适用——兼评一宗走私制毒物品案的审理

正确把握“国家规定”的内涵和外延,对于定罪量刑非常重要。当前将国务院各部委制定的规章视为刑法中的“国家规定”没有充足的法律依据。基于国务院的行政管理职责实际是由各部委来具体履行的现实,建议立法机关对“国家规定”作扩张解释,将国务院有关部门依据法律和行政法规制定的规章等纳入“国家规定”的范围,为打击诸如走私盐酸等类的违法行为提供法律依据。     

WHERE IS THE VILLAGE GOING? MAINTAINING AND INCLUDING CULTURAL STRENGTHS TO PROTECT CHILDREN ORPHANED IN KENYA

This article is the result of a master's thesis about children and their universal right to be included in a family environment. This is not only protected under international law, but also intuitive to human beings. HIV‐AIDS continues to threaten lives of children, particularly in sub‐Saharan Africa in the form of orphaning. Looking at a case study from Kenya, it is revealed that, while legal protection is yet to be fully realized in the state, strong cultural norms of value are alive. Currently, the extended family system is the greatest protection to children orphaned or at risk of being orphaned. However, this system was made invisible in the domestic laws of Kenya under the Children Act 2001. This neglect calls for questions not only regarding the protection cultural norms may offer, according to the best interests of children, but also as to the cultural environment being created with the new law.     

工会应当力推企业承担社会责任

企业承担社会责任是时代发展的要求,是社会公众的要求,也是企业发展的内在要求。企业在新时代发展必须融入企业社会责任的世界潮流之中去,以强烈的社会责任感和高瞻远瞩的国际视野,对待和承担社会责任。