Can CSR strategy mediate conflict over extraction? Evidence from two mines in Peru

Abstract

We argue that corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies can shape political contexts to mediate or exacerbate the resource curse. Using a relational pragmatic approach—one that recognizes actors are dynamic and focuses on the interactions that shape how they see their interests—we develop expectations about two ideal type CSR strategies: transformational and transactional and their relational implications. We demonstrate the usefulness of this approach through the examination of two mines in Peru. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in 2017 and 2018 and secondary research, we show how one mine’s transformational strategy connected the company to common, or public, concerns in ways that rearticulated politics to dampen curse dynamics. The second mine’s transactional strategy narrowed its local engagement in ways that reduced its influence and played into curse dynamics. This research illustrates both the value of pragmatic approaches for integrating CSR into governance and the way in which CSR strategies can help mitigate the resource curse.