Based on organisational and relational data comprising 260 organisations active in the field of corporate accountability, this chapter examines the diversity of actors that seek to redress business complicity in gross human rights violations at a global level. It maps the organisational field and disentangles the relationship between the structure of different organisations, their discursive underpinnings and network positions, and the way they attempt to hold corporations accountable. The chapter identifies divisions within the field leading to fragmentation in terms of ideology and repertoires of action and pinpoints existing and prospective points of convergence. It identifies a range of leftist anti-corporate rhetorical framing but also finds that the variance in frames is eclipsed by a variety of strategies. The leftist, and sometimes radical, discourse is often inconsistent with the corresponding action strategies. Overall, organisations active in the field make far less often use of movement-related repertoires, such as protest or blockades, than of classic, liberal advocacy repertoires, such as lobbying, other conventional forms of political participation, or strategic litigations. Finally, funding dependency and organisational embeddedness seem to moderate both the repertoires and claims of organisations. The findings of the chapter are relevant to the study of corporate accountability initiatives as they contribute to identifying the limits of pressure and relief civil society can bring about in this field.

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Transnational Advocacy Networks and Corporate Accountability: Visions, Divisions, and Convergences of a Global Cause

  • Henry P. Rammelt

摘要

Based on organisational and relational data comprising 260 organisations active in the field of corporate accountability, this chapter examines the diversity of actors that seek to redress business complicity in gross human rights violations at a global level. It maps the organisational field and disentangles the relationship between the structure of different organisations, their discursive underpinnings and network positions, and the way they attempt to hold corporations accountable. The chapter identifies divisions within the field leading to fragmentation in terms of ideology and repertoires of action and pinpoints existing and prospective points of convergence. It identifies a range of leftist anti-corporate rhetorical framing but also finds that the variance in frames is eclipsed by a variety of strategies. The leftist, and sometimes radical, discourse is often inconsistent with the corresponding action strategies. Overall, organisations active in the field make far less often use of movement-related repertoires, such as protest or blockades, than of classic, liberal advocacy repertoires, such as lobbying, other conventional forms of political participation, or strategic litigations. Finally, funding dependency and organisational embeddedness seem to moderate both the repertoires and claims of organisations. The findings of the chapter are relevant to the study of corporate accountability initiatives as they contribute to identifying the limits of pressure and relief civil society can bring about in this field.