Corporate symbolic reparations in transitional justice contexts. Case studies from Colombia, Germany and South Africa.
Type
fundamental research project
Start Date
January 1, 2020
End Date
December 31, 2020
Status
ongoing
Keywords
Corporations and Transitional Justice
Symbolic Remedies
Symbolic Remedies
Description
Transitional justice (TJ) processes seek to address systemic human rights (HR) violations by amending past wrongs through, for example, symbolic reparations (SR) such as apologies, acknowledgment, memorialization or commemoration. Corporations are increasingly important as participants in and supporters of TJ processes. They are also more and more frequently sought to be held accountable as perpetrators or accomplices. The scholarly and practice field of TJ has critically examined SR measures in recent years and TJ mechanisms have been given expanded mandates to address corporate responsibility. However, the field has not fully theorized the multiplicity of roles that corporations can play in post-conflict contexts.
In responding to this gap in the literature and the empirical puzzle of why, under similar circumstances, some corporations engage in SRs and others do not we focus on Colombia, Germany and South Africa, all of which have considerably shaped the theory and practice of TJ. We ask why, when and how both corporations and victims engage in SR processes. We focus on one “best practice” and one “negative” case in each country and draw on management and business and human rights (BHR) scholarship to address gaps in the TJ literature. In doing so we produce a unique mapping of corporate SR initiatives and offer a theorization of corporate engagement in TJ thus making a significant theoretical and empirical contribution to both TJ and BHR scholarship. The findings will benefit state and non-state actors as well as international organizations as they provide a scientific basis and actionable knowledge to strengthen the role of corporations in TJ processes.
In responding to this gap in the literature and the empirical puzzle of why, under similar circumstances, some corporations engage in SRs and others do not we focus on Colombia, Germany and South Africa, all of which have considerably shaped the theory and practice of TJ. We ask why, when and how both corporations and victims engage in SR processes. We focus on one “best practice” and one “negative” case in each country and draw on management and business and human rights (BHR) scholarship to address gaps in the TJ literature. In doing so we produce a unique mapping of corporate SR initiatives and offer a theorization of corporate engagement in TJ thus making a significant theoretical and empirical contribution to both TJ and BHR scholarship. The findings will benefit state and non-state actors as well as international organizations as they provide a scientific basis and actionable knowledge to strengthen the role of corporations in TJ processes.
Leader contributor(s)
Partner(s)
Swisspeace - University of Basel
CREER Centro de Emprendimientos y Empresas Responsables (Colombia)
CSVR - Center for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (South Africa)
Funder
Method(s)
This project aims at producing theoretical and normative scholarly knowledge based on empirical qualitative field research.
Eprints ID
247833