The Business of Peace: The Role of Corporations in Peace & Conflict

• In Event: The Economics of Violence

Abstract

With the increasing role of the private sector in global politics come increasing challenges and opportunities. One of those includes conducting business in pre- and post-conflict environments. While there are cases when corporations have succeeded in preventing conflict from erupting (such as Tesco's mechanisms for addressing labor grievances in South Africa) and helped to solidify peace (as in the transformation of the coffee industry in Rwanda), some corporations remain bystanders to atrocities and human rights abuses (as in Talisman Energy's experiences in Sudan). While the business literature discusses the work these actors can do to reduce tensions in conflict zones (Fort 2015; Oetzel and Getz 2012;), the role of these actors is notably absent in studies of conflict resolution. One likely cause of this absence is the lack of data on corporate activities. This paper presents original data on the important corporate activities that have implications for the stability of the societies in which they operate. The data include information on the presence, sector, and activities of corporations and are organized in a way that makes merging with existing datasets on inter and intrastate conflict and conflict management possible. I use the data to offer an overview of the contributions the private sector can and does make towards peace. I conclude by offering a conceptual framework for how these data can be combined with our existing understanding of conflict resolution to generate a more comprehensive understanding of the process.

Author

• Molly M. Melin, Loyola University, Chicago