Transnational Governance and
Corporate Social Responsibility
MSc in Political Science (International Relations)
2020-2021
Semester 1 block 2-3
,UNIVERSITY OF AMSTERDAM TRANSNATIONAL GOVERNANCE & CSR
– 2 –
, UNIVERSITY OF AMSTERDAM TRANSNATIONAL GOVERNANCE & CSR
Table of Contents
Session 1: Introduction to Transnational Governance & CSR .................................................. 5
Learning Community 2 Session 1: Mapping the Terrain......................................................... 20
Session 2: History and Theory of Corporate Social Responsibility ........................................ 30
Learning Community 2 Session 2: Friedman vs. Freeman ...................................................... 48
Session 3: The Power and Roles of Multinational Corporations in Global Governance......... 61
Learning Community Presentation: Are Corporations Becoming More Powerful Than States?
.................................................................................................................................................. 75
Learning Community 2 Session 3: The Case of Private Labour Governance ......................... 84
Guest Lecture: Unpacking Sustainability Certification ........................................................... 95
Session 4: The Promise and Perils of Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives ....................................... 99
Session 5: Public-Private Partnerships and the SDGs ........................................................... 113
Learning Community 2 Session 4-5: SWOT Analysis .......................................................... 129
Session 6: Transnational Advocacy Networks for Human Rights......................................... 134
Guest Lecture: Experimentalism in Transnational Governance – The Case of Illegal Logging
................................................................................................................................................ 151
Learning Community 2 Session 6: The Coronavirus Pandemic and Human Rights ............. 152
Session 7: Transnational City Networks for Climate Action................................................. 153
Learning Community 2 Session 7: Peer-Reviewed OP-EDs ................................................. 171
Opinion-Editorial (OP-ED).................................................................................................... 172
Session 8: Transnational Governance: Past, Present, and Future .......................................... 176
Learning Community 2 Session 8: Final Paper Brainstorming ............................................. 185
Paper Clinic............................................................................................................................ 186
End of Term Paper ................................................................................................................. 187
– 3 –
,UNIVERSITY OF AMSTERDAM TRANSNATIONAL GOVERNANCE & CSR
– 4 –
, UNIVERSITY OF AMSTERDAM TRANSNATIONAL GOVERNANCE & CSR
TRANSNATIONAL GOVERNANCE AND CORPORATE SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY
Session 1: Introduction to Transnational Governance & CSR
27/10/2020
Lecturer: Philip Schleifer
Live session
• Welcome & housekeeping
• Introduction to transnational governance and CSR
• Discussion in breakout rooms
Learning communities
• Getting to know each other
• TNG mapping exercise
De Facto actual / in practice
Vis-à-Vis compared with / in relation to
Status quo the current/existing state of affairs
Cul-de-sac dead-end street/action
Per se by itself / intrinsically
formed or created with a specific purpose
Ad hoc
/ for the specific purpose or situation
Inter Alia among other things
leaving the economy to take its own
Laissez-faire
course, without interfering
id est (i.e.) that is / it is
exempli gratia (e.g.) for example
idem (id.) the same
idem quod (i.q.) the same as
in casu (i.c.) in the event of
In com. Ebor. in Yorkshire
In hoc sensu, or, in sensu hoc in the sense
(s.h.)
– 5 –
, UNIVERSITY OF AMSTERDAM TRANSNATIONAL GOVERNANCE & CSR
Beyond Gridlock in World Politics – Thomas Hale and David Held (2017)
Review of ‘Beyond Gridlock’ (Polity Press, 2017)
• Starving polar bears
• In our 2013 book Gridlock, written with Kevin Young, we argued that these instances
of multilateral breakdown were not just a string of bad news, but products of the same
historical process
• The “success” of the post-war order in building a managed form of globalization
allowed interdependence to deepen
• New countries joined the global economy, companies expanded multinationally, and
once distant people and places found themselves increasingly – and, on average,
beneficially – intertwined
• Four gridlock trends
1. Rising multipolarity
2. Harder, more complex problems
3. Institutional inertia
4. Fragmentation
• But this virtuous cycle between deepening interdependence and expanding global
governance could not last because it set in motion trends that ultimately undermined its
effectiveness
• Since we wrote Gridlock, the problem has probably worsened: most dramatically, there
has been a sharp rise in nationalism and populism around the world
• Though this trend has multiple causes and many local variations, we argue these
nationalist leaders are not isolated cases, but in part products of a systemic trend we
call self-reinforcing gridlock
Vicious cycle of gridlock and nationalism (self-reinforcing gridlock)
• Gridlock → Unmanaged globalisation + unment global challenges →
Populist/nationalist anti-global backlash → Reduced scope for international
cooperation → Gridlock (and again)
How to move forward? Exceptions and anomalies
• While gridlock describes much of world politics today, it is also unsatisfying in two
distinct ways
• Intellectually, it does not account for a number of exceptions and anomalies, empirical
facts that any good social scientific theory must engage with
• Normatively, it paints a bleak picture of a world locked by history into a downward
spiral
• Two findings
• Gridlock is indeed pervasive and persistent
• Gridlock, global governance is more resilient, adaptive, and amenable to agency than
the stream of grim headlines suggests
3 pathways through and beyond gridlock
– 6 –
Corporate Social Responsibility
MSc in Political Science (International Relations)
2020-2021
Semester 1 block 2-3
,UNIVERSITY OF AMSTERDAM TRANSNATIONAL GOVERNANCE & CSR
– 2 –
, UNIVERSITY OF AMSTERDAM TRANSNATIONAL GOVERNANCE & CSR
Table of Contents
Session 1: Introduction to Transnational Governance & CSR .................................................. 5
Learning Community 2 Session 1: Mapping the Terrain......................................................... 20
Session 2: History and Theory of Corporate Social Responsibility ........................................ 30
Learning Community 2 Session 2: Friedman vs. Freeman ...................................................... 48
Session 3: The Power and Roles of Multinational Corporations in Global Governance......... 61
Learning Community Presentation: Are Corporations Becoming More Powerful Than States?
.................................................................................................................................................. 75
Learning Community 2 Session 3: The Case of Private Labour Governance ......................... 84
Guest Lecture: Unpacking Sustainability Certification ........................................................... 95
Session 4: The Promise and Perils of Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives ....................................... 99
Session 5: Public-Private Partnerships and the SDGs ........................................................... 113
Learning Community 2 Session 4-5: SWOT Analysis .......................................................... 129
Session 6: Transnational Advocacy Networks for Human Rights......................................... 134
Guest Lecture: Experimentalism in Transnational Governance – The Case of Illegal Logging
................................................................................................................................................ 151
Learning Community 2 Session 6: The Coronavirus Pandemic and Human Rights ............. 152
Session 7: Transnational City Networks for Climate Action................................................. 153
Learning Community 2 Session 7: Peer-Reviewed OP-EDs ................................................. 171
Opinion-Editorial (OP-ED).................................................................................................... 172
Session 8: Transnational Governance: Past, Present, and Future .......................................... 176
Learning Community 2 Session 8: Final Paper Brainstorming ............................................. 185
Paper Clinic............................................................................................................................ 186
End of Term Paper ................................................................................................................. 187
– 3 –
,UNIVERSITY OF AMSTERDAM TRANSNATIONAL GOVERNANCE & CSR
– 4 –
, UNIVERSITY OF AMSTERDAM TRANSNATIONAL GOVERNANCE & CSR
TRANSNATIONAL GOVERNANCE AND CORPORATE SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY
Session 1: Introduction to Transnational Governance & CSR
27/10/2020
Lecturer: Philip Schleifer
Live session
• Welcome & housekeeping
• Introduction to transnational governance and CSR
• Discussion in breakout rooms
Learning communities
• Getting to know each other
• TNG mapping exercise
De Facto actual / in practice
Vis-à-Vis compared with / in relation to
Status quo the current/existing state of affairs
Cul-de-sac dead-end street/action
Per se by itself / intrinsically
formed or created with a specific purpose
Ad hoc
/ for the specific purpose or situation
Inter Alia among other things
leaving the economy to take its own
Laissez-faire
course, without interfering
id est (i.e.) that is / it is
exempli gratia (e.g.) for example
idem (id.) the same
idem quod (i.q.) the same as
in casu (i.c.) in the event of
In com. Ebor. in Yorkshire
In hoc sensu, or, in sensu hoc in the sense
(s.h.)
– 5 –
, UNIVERSITY OF AMSTERDAM TRANSNATIONAL GOVERNANCE & CSR
Beyond Gridlock in World Politics – Thomas Hale and David Held (2017)
Review of ‘Beyond Gridlock’ (Polity Press, 2017)
• Starving polar bears
• In our 2013 book Gridlock, written with Kevin Young, we argued that these instances
of multilateral breakdown were not just a string of bad news, but products of the same
historical process
• The “success” of the post-war order in building a managed form of globalization
allowed interdependence to deepen
• New countries joined the global economy, companies expanded multinationally, and
once distant people and places found themselves increasingly – and, on average,
beneficially – intertwined
• Four gridlock trends
1. Rising multipolarity
2. Harder, more complex problems
3. Institutional inertia
4. Fragmentation
• But this virtuous cycle between deepening interdependence and expanding global
governance could not last because it set in motion trends that ultimately undermined its
effectiveness
• Since we wrote Gridlock, the problem has probably worsened: most dramatically, there
has been a sharp rise in nationalism and populism around the world
• Though this trend has multiple causes and many local variations, we argue these
nationalist leaders are not isolated cases, but in part products of a systemic trend we
call self-reinforcing gridlock
Vicious cycle of gridlock and nationalism (self-reinforcing gridlock)
• Gridlock → Unmanaged globalisation + unment global challenges →
Populist/nationalist anti-global backlash → Reduced scope for international
cooperation → Gridlock (and again)
How to move forward? Exceptions and anomalies
• While gridlock describes much of world politics today, it is also unsatisfying in two
distinct ways
• Intellectually, it does not account for a number of exceptions and anomalies, empirical
facts that any good social scientific theory must engage with
• Normatively, it paints a bleak picture of a world locked by history into a downward
spiral
• Two findings
• Gridlock is indeed pervasive and persistent
• Gridlock, global governance is more resilient, adaptive, and amenable to agency than
the stream of grim headlines suggests
3 pathways through and beyond gridlock
– 6 –
