"Change doesn't come easy" - A comparative study of Corporate Social Responsibility in large-scale dam projects
Civil SocietyCorporate Social ResponsibilityThree Gorges Dam ProjectNarmada Valley Development Project Multinational CorporationsHuman rightsEnvironmentFinanceGlobalizationPolitical and administrative sciencesStatsvetenskapFörvaltningskunskapLaw and Political Science
The process of economic globalization has in recent decades increased the power of multinational corporations. In recognition of their powerful position, corporations have begun to adopt Corporate Social Responsibility as a way of managing their social impact. Their interaction with the surrounding society reaches a peak when involved in large-scale projects, such as the Three Gorges Dam in China and the Narmada Valley Development Project in India. This essay analyses the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility in a comparative study between the two cases. By using current research, it focuses on the role of civil society for making Corporate Social Responsibility effective in developing countries. The role of international institutions, state and corporate transparency is analysed in relation to civil society as means of influencing corporate action. After having examined the two dam projects from this theoretical perspective, the analysis comes to the conclusion that civil society plays a crucial role for affecting corporate action. While other factors also have importance, their success is in many ways dependent on the participation of civil society.