Situating Human Rights Approaches to Corporate Accountability in the Political Economy of Supply Chain Capitalism

Abstract

In this chapter I engage with a number of critical case studies written by scholars and advocates regarding efforts to improve human rights outcomes in global supply chains through private regulatory initiatives (PRIs). More particularly, I suggest that situating these PRIs in the political economy of corporate power that I and others term “supply chain capitalism” helps to explain many of the difficulties PRIs have had in achieving their justice objectives. My argument proceeds in three parts. First, I give more context to the political economy of supply chain capitalism and suggest why it is significant for development policy, inequality, and human rights outcomes in global supply structures. Next, I argue that the power imbalances and competitive conditions that predominate in supply chain capitalism are a significant factor contributing to the limited justice impact of the PRIs. I conclude with some suggestions for ways in which PRIs might increase their impact by using their unique knowledge, organizational capacity, and relationships in particular supply chains to challenge the concentrations of corporate power that are shaping the unjust distributional and human rights outcomes of supply chain capitalism.