Business Of Peace Research Articles

Bridging business and human rights and business for peace: A case study of Microsoft’s multitrack diplomacy

Through the practice of corporate diplomacy—a subset of track-two diplomacy—multinational enterprises (MNEs) can help address issues of polycentric governance, including those in the realms of business and human rights (BHR) and business for peace (B4P). Despite growing interest in both fields of academia and practice, there remains scope for further empirical work at their intersection. This article, therefore, contributes to the extant literature on BHR and B4P by empirically exploring the case of Microsoft, an American MNE, and its corporate diplomacy activities on digital peace in cyberspace. Specifically, the case focuses on three purposefully selected initiatives: (1) the company’s corporate diplomacy efforts on the Digital Geneva Convention, (2) the Digital Peace Now campaign, and (3) its proactive engagement in response to the war in Ukraine. These initiatives highlight how responsibility, leadership, employee empowerment, and partnerships have contributed to Microsoft’s corporate culture and decision-making processes to create an environment that prioritizes digital peace and integrates both BHR and B4P perspectives. In doing so, this article argues for the importance of addressing B4P activities in tandem with BHR in a complementary manner within practitioner initiatives.

Environmental violence and enterprise: The outsized role of business for environmental peacebuilding

Environmental violence (EV) is the complex of direct and indirect impacts of human-produced pollution on human health and wellbeing. Today, EV is the single largest cause of human mortality and morbidity, resulting in around 8 to 9 million deaths annually and about 275 million years of poor health every year. By comparison, about 89,000 people die from warfare and terrorism each year combined—more than 100 times fewer. EV also drives mass human migration, which displaces about 24 million people annually and is cited as a growing contributory—or even causal—factor for violent conflict. To realize the promise of business for peace, the implications of EV and the systemic suffering it produces must be addressed. This article examines the role of business in producing and mitigating EV and the possibility of reversing it via regenerative practices. It then maps and measures the primary links between business and EV and outlines paths to environmental peacebuilding. Although business is shown to be a chief contributor to EV, this article ultimately argues that it is also one of the most potent tools for countering it and equitably restoring affected communities and ecosystems.

Let Slip the Dogs of Commerce: The Ethics of Voluntary Corporate Withdrawal in Response to War

AbstractOver 1000 companies have either curtailed or else completely ceased operations in Russia as a response to its invasion of Ukraine, a mass corporate exodus of a speed and scale which we’ve never seen. While corporate withdrawal appears to have considerable public support, it’s not obvious that it has done anything to hamper the Russian war effort, nor is it clear what the long-run effects of corporate withdrawal as a regularised response to war might be. Given this, it’s important the evaluate the ethical merits of such a response. In this paper I critique what I take to be the two most common arguments given in favour of voluntary corporate withdrawal, which I label ‘the instrumental argument’ and ‘the clean hands argument’ respectively. After illustrating their shortcomings, I reframe corporations’ predicament as a ‘spattered hands’ case—one where they may do good by remaining in a war-waging state, but where they contribute indirectly to grave wrongdoing by doing so. Drawing on ideas from the ‘Business for Peace’ and ‘Business and Human Rights’ literature, I highlight the potentially positive role of corporate presence within war-waging countries, before highlighting four considerations which corporations ought to bear in mind when determining whether to withdraw, or whether it is the lesser evil to stay and to let their hands be spattered.

Japanese Business Leadership: Business for Peace in Practice

ABSTRACT This empirical study draws from the extensive academic literature on leadership as a phenomenon and a topic of study, the leadership and peace nexus, and business leadership theories such as resistance leadership, system leadership, and wise and ethical leadership. It examines actual leadership through in-depth interviews of three Japanese business leaders under three themes: how they understand the existing system, connect or envision connecting people, and care for human dignity. The study finds that the leaders appraise the existing system from a broad perspective, attempt to use business to change it, and connect people transnationally. In this process, they illustrate care for the dignity of the people involved. Their vision of transforming their businesses into transnational communities across stakeholders and to change the world for the better can be a model for peacebuilding through business. We also posit that the flexibility and speediness of business leaders’ decision-making and actions are advantageous for peace leadership and that businesses have the potential to engage in peacebuilding sustainably.

Gender, Business, and Social Capital in the Abyei Area between the Two Sudans

ABSTRACT This article statistically examines how competitive communities perceive conflict, cooperation, and social cohesion drivers across the borders of two Sudans. We found that perceptions differ by gender, relationship types, and the assets competing groups depend on for their livelihoods. Social cohesion in Abyei appears gendered and asset-based, with Ngok women reporting greater mistrust of their Missiriya neighbors. These women also see business opportunities to rebuild the trust across ethnic groups in the agro-pastoral economy. Supporting narratives and programs that support business for peace in Abyei may serve social construction for peace and open more holistic dimensions of social contract making.

Business against violence: assessing how business impacts peace

PurposeThis study aims to advance theory on business in conflict zones (often termed “business for peace”) so as to enable the categorization of empirical work testing the field’s assertions.Design/methodology/approachIn this conceptual paper, the authors present an assessment framework for categorizing research on the peace impacts of business entities, as suggested by Oetzel et al. (2009). This framework allows researchers to make comparisons across methodologies and fields on whether particular business actions contribute to peace.FindingsDrawing on peace and conflict research, this study proposes a three-stage process in response to the presence of violence and its level of intensity, identify applicable research methods to assess the impact of business actions on peace at each of the three stages and offer suggestions for future research.Social implicationsCategorizing research impacts in the business for peace field will allow societal actors to evaluate the efficacy of claimed business for peace efforts. This is particularly true for those in within international organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who work with the private sector and for those in the private sector whose work attempts to enhance peace.Originality/valueAs a societal actor, business has a key role to play in peacemaking. The past decade has seen a proliferation of qualitative research work surrounding this theme. In a seminal work, Oetzel et al. (2009) suggested a research framework building on the theories of Fort and Schipani (2004) and suggested five actions that businesses could take to promote peace. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first one to respond to that suggestion by proposing a means of categorizing the impacts of business actions.

Business, Human Rights and Peace: Linking the Academic Conversation

AbstractThe fields of business and human rights (BHR) and business for peace (B4P) have overlaps in how they view business in society and in their multidisciplinary nature. This paper seeks to build on the work of BHR scholars in connecting with the B4P scholarly community, to bridge the divide by explaining the elements of the B4P literature that might be of interest for BHR scholars, and to describe a joint research agenda for scholars in both fields. The paper begins with a literature review of the major assertions and findings of B4P on the role that business can and should play in enhancing peace. Similarities and differences in approach and theories between BHR and B4P are then noted. A common research agenda is proposed that BHR and B4P scholars may use as a starting point for broader collaboration.

The business of peace: understanding corporate contributions to conflict management

ABSTRACT Do private firms act beyond “business as usual” and proactively build peace? Firms are largely absent from the conflict management literature, despite studies suggesting their importance. What conditions encourage firms to actively prevent or resolve violent conflict? Are such actions interdependent with ongoing international conflict prevention and management efforts? I argue international efforts encourage corporate conflict management-related activities since conflict management interdependencies can decrease the costs of conflict management, while increasing the benefits and success of their efforts. In addition, firms respond to gaps in governance and instability, especially when they are norm entrepreneurs or their reputation is threatened. I test these arguments on original cross-national data of conflict management-related efforts by large, domestic firms in Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa from 1999–2013. The findings bring large-N empirical analysis to a topic dominated by case studies and emphasize the need for conflict management scholars to account for the role of the private sector in our studies.

“Business for Peace” (B4P): can this new global governance paradigm of the United Nations Global Compact bring some peace and stability to the Korean peninsula?

North Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or DPRK) is under strict UN economic sanctions because it violated UN policy in its development of nuclear weapons and long range missiles as well as for its militant rhetoric. South Korea (Republic of Korea or ROK) and Japan, as close allies of the USA, are unsure of the future. Is there a way to bring some peace and stability to the Korean peninsula? Some argue that this is a hopeless task as long as the current leadership of North Korea is in power. This article takes a more positive stance and outlines a possible way forward. The study, following the position of the Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research (HIIK), assumes that the conflict is at root one over ideology and power. The leadership of North Korea understands itself as “a revolutionary and socialist state” and is determined to continue to control the country through a rigorous and sometimes brutal government oversight of the culture. Although poverty and hunger are widespread, the people have little opportunity to be heard. What if the leaders of North Korea were persuaded that they could gain legitimacy through developing a dynamic economy that brought flourishing to their people and respect by fellow-nations in the global village? The article proposes to start this new adventure by developing enterprise zones in the North (the Kaesong Industrial Complex) that would bring jobs and food to hundreds of thousands of North Koreans. To begin this project, there would need to be dramatic steps toward denuclearization on the part of the North in order to relax the UN economic sanctions. Is it possible? The article outlines a way forward.

Electrifying the green peace? Electrification, conservation and conflict in Eastern Congo

ABSTRACTLarge-scale infrastructure in conflict-affected states is often seen as a crucial means to pursue economic growth, poverty reduction, and increasingly, peace-building. Legitimated by an emergent ‘Business for Peace’ agenda, a variety of private actors now also engages in such infrastructure projects. The Virunga Alliance is such an initiative which aims to tackle the interlinked problems of poverty, conservation and conflict in the east of DR Congo through commercialised hydro-power. To take stock of the politics unfolding around such infrastructure efforts, this article analyses the Virunga Alliance as a form of ‘technopolitics’. This entails tracing how current is generated, distributed and consumed, and how these processes generate new sites of power and control. In describing how Virunga offers a centralised, more concentrated supply of electricity as an alternative to the decentralised charcoal circuit, we show how electrification contributes to the expansion of a form of capitalism that prioritises big businessmen over small farmers, facilitates rent-seeking by political elites and amplifies social inequalities in Congo.

The business–peace nexus: ‘business for peace’ and the reconfiguration of the public/private divide in global governance

This article explores the implications of ‘business for peace’ (B4P), a new global governance paradigm that aims to put international businesses at the frontline of peace, stability and development efforts in fragile and conflict-affected states. This article argues that B4P entails a shift in the balance between public and private authority across what we coin the ‘business–peace nexus’ and which comprises corporate peacebuilding activities across different spatial scales and institutional settings. We explore B4P’s agency across two distinct nodes in this nexus—in global peacebuilding and development architectures, and in local peacebuilding settings in the Democratic Republic of Congo—to articulate the B4P paradigm’s multiple and contradictory effects on the balance between public and private authority in contemporary peacebuilding. On the one hand, B4P tips institutional scales towards the public by embedding corporations within public accountability structures. On the other hand, by legitimising businesses as peace actors, the B4P framework risks institutionalising asymmetrical encounters between firms and people affected by their operations. We deploy the term ‘asymmetrical governance’ to explain how the amalgamation of global and national, public and private into the operational presence of corporations skews the balance of power in their encounters with local populations.

A “patchwork” for peace: institutions and activities in Kenya’s northern drylands

ABSTRACTDespite the plethora of peacebuilding and conflict management institutions operating in Kenya, peace is often elusive in the northern drylands. With a lack of strong conflict management and peacebuilding processes in place from government, despite an active framework for such processes, non-state actors have filled this conflict management space. In this article, we draw on the institutional bricolage and sustainable peace literatures to understand peacebuilding through the frame of legitimacy. Using Laikipia County, Kenya as a case study, we draw on empirical findings which show that different institutions are attributed legitimacy differently. We find that while the Laikipia Professional Peace Caravan was seen as legitimate to pastoralists in conflict areas, its legitimacy was challenged by other practitioners. Similarly, while pastoralists viewed homeguards as legitimate, practitioners did not. The analysis links to discussions of the “business of peace” within the literature to consider why long-term peace has been elusive in Kenya’s northern drylands.

Business in War Zones: How Companies Promote Peace in Iraq

The private sector is vital to building and sustaining peace. These efforts are often recognized as “Business for Peace” or “Peace through Commerce.” Academic research on Business for Peace is almost twenty years old and tends to be theoretical. This paper is the first to present qualitative findings on businesses operating in an active violent conflict such as the case of Iraq. Companies in Iraq operate under the constant threat of violence and yet many still try to enhance peace through operations. We interviewed more than 40 participants who were business owners, managers, government officials, and international policymakers who were active in the Iraqi theater. We discuss our findings that relate to the perception of company activities as peace enhancing into four categories: capacity building, rule of law, social cohesion, and local engagement. Our findings support the existing business and peace categories of rule of law and social cohesion. Our findings also suggest that current theory may be missing capacity building and local engagement as important business activities to promote peace. We conclude by noting the limitations of the paper and the need for more qualitative research.

Peace Dialogue: Business for Peace and the Sustainable Development Goals

Peace Dialogue: Business for Peace and the Sustainable Development Goals

Regulating Business for Peace: The United Nations, the Private Sector, and Post-Conflict Recovery. By Jolyon Ford. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015.

Regulating Business for Peace: The United Nations, the Private Sector, and Post-Conflict Recovery. By Jolyon Ford. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015.

Leadership in the promotion of peace: Interviews with the 2015 Business for Peace honorees

Ethical leadership can lead to many positive organizational outcomes. Previous studies have shown a correlation between ethical conduct and profitability; in addition, firms that have high ethical standards have fewer legal issues. The existing ethical leadership literature assumes a stable external environment. The business and peace literature, on the other hand, assumes instability but has thus far largely ignored the role of leadership within companies as a possible driver of peacebuilding activities. The practitioner community has already begun to recognize that leaders of organizations are the key drivers of change in the peacebuilding context. The Business for Peace Foundation, the foremost organization in the practitioner community, gives its annual award to business leaders who promote peace within their organizations and communities. These Business for Peace honorees represent the ‘ethical leadership’ qualities of peace promotion, without reference to academic theories in either area. We conducted semi-structured interviews with the 2015 Business for Peace honorees and combined those with their public speeches at the Business for Peace events to examine what role these business and peace leaders saw between ethical leadership and peace promotion. Unlike the academic research that suggests only a theoretical and sometimes a direct but tangential connection to peacebuilding, the honorees highlight the direct and visible connection of ethical leadership to peace in unstable environments. We begin by describing the relevant business for peace and ethical leadership literatures. Then we highlight the significant aspects of the interviews and speeches and relate these to the prevailing theories of both business and peace and ethical leadership. Our findings suggest that ethical leadership may be an important missing link within the business and peace literature as an avenue for peace promotion, and that the leadership literature may be ignoring an important positive impact of ethical leadership.

Hybrid business models for peace and reconciliation

Despite growing interest in business for peace, there is little insight into how the organizations involved combine societal aims with economic ones in their business models. Literature has exemplified ‘hybrid organizations’ that seek to pursue both for-profit and non-profit activities and are specifically set up with this mission, usually in stable Western countries. However, already existing, traditional organizations that aim for mixed forms of economic and social value creation have been underexposed, and that applies even more for organizational forms that address peace in difficult settings. To help fill these gaps, this article sheds light on different degrees of hybridity of a range of organizations operating in a (post-)conflict region. It shows how 53 organizations in between the non-profit/for-profit extremes pursue different combinations of social and economic goals, maintain and develop relationships with stakeholders, and interact progressively with markets and institutions. We also present a hybridization continuum and classification scheme that is applicable beyond our specific context. While different degrees of hybridity in objectives, perspectives, and relationships exist, key dimensions are frequent interactions with stakeholders, awareness of development and reconciliation issues, and personal commitment. We identify hybridity aspects relevant to management and discuss implications for business scholars and practitioners.

The business of peace: Coca-Cola's contribution to stability, growth, and optimism

This article reviews the role of a global commercial organization, The Coca-Cola Company, in contributing to national stability in developing markets through a strategic approach to social and economic contribution. The company's initiatives complement the role of policymakers, who are primarily responsible for the safety and prosperity of citizens, often using the Golden Triangle model that aligns government, civil society, and the private sector. Examples are drawn from the empowerment of women and youth; leverage of specialist expertise in water replenishment and in distribution and logistics; the impact of global standards of compliance; and the creation of high-value jobs throughout the expansive value chain. The Coca-Cola system is global in scale but multi-local in its operations, leveraging universal human traits with high relevance in individual markets.

Business for Peace: The New Paradigm of International Peacebuilding and Development

The new 'Business For Peace' (B4P) paradigm urges multinational corporations (MNCs) to enter conflict zones and fragile post-conflict environments as an alternative to traditional development aid. While B4P's positive impact through economic opening and Corporate Social Responsibility is assumed, corporate presence can instead exacerbate conflict dynamics in certain settings. As B4P is becoming a standardized component throughout all multilateral development aid activities per the United Nations Global Compact B4P platform and the UN's 'Delivering As One' mandate, we argue that bringing B4P into the forefront of research on business, development, and conflict is essential. In this article, we unpack the relationships between business, conflict and liberal peace politics that led to the B4P framework. We then show how five major debates influence B4P today: if MNCs should be peacebuilders; if so, what should they do; how do we define and model 'peace' activities; how businesses navigate conflict economies; and how businesses engage with informal economies. We then show how these discussions guide the international community's multi-billion dollar development agenda and influence how businesses see their new role as peacebuilders and peacemakers. We conclude with suggestions for forward research on this rapidly emerging topic.

Reflections on the Importance of Business for Peace in 21st-Century Peacebuilding

Reflections on the Importance of Business for Peace in 21st-Century Peacebuilding