The Art of Passing the Buck
Rebecca Lawrence, in her PhD dissertation in Sociology presented at Stockholm University on Friday September 11, illustrates that both states and corporations attempt to ignore Indigenous peoples' rights (urfolksrättigheter) by claiming that responsibility for protecting those rights lies with the other party.
Using case studies from countries such as Australia, Sweden and Finland, and also drawing on examples from parts of Asia, including Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and Thailand, Lawrence's research demonstrates how companies and states play the game of 'passing the buck' in order to avoid taking responsibility for Indigenous peoples' claims.
“For example, when faced with protest from a Saami community over a windpower project a public authority will often say to the community ' this is not our responsibility – you need to speak to the developer' (verksamhetsutövare). At the same time, private developers will often respond to Saami claims by saying 'responsibility for the protection of Saami rights does not lie with us, this is the government's responsibility'. So it's a catch 22.” Says Lawrence.
“Moreover, where is the line between what we think of as 'the state' and of 'the market' when national governments directly benefit from privately financed recourse extraction activities on Indigenous lands and the state is often a direct investor in resource projects through state owned enterprises?” Continues Lawrence
The Phd is made up of four articles (of which 3 are published in internationally peer reviewed journals). The articles explore conflicts over Indigenous rights in the forestry sector in Finland, the windpower industry in Sweden, the provision of welfare services in Australia and the global investment banking sector.
Title “Shifting Responsibilities and Shifting Terrains: State Responsibility, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Indigenous Claims
Contact: Rebecca Lawrence; +46-70 695 6931; lawerence@sociology.su.se
Pressofficer: Maria Erlandsson; maria.erlandsson@kommunikation.su.se; +46-70 2308891
Press photos: press@su.se
Media Contact
More Information:
http://www.vr.seAll latest news from the category: Social Sciences
This area deals with the latest developments in the field of empirical and theoretical research as it relates to the structure and function of institutes and systems, their social interdependence and how such systems interact with individual behavior processes.
innovations-report offers informative reports and articles related to the social sciences field including demographic developments, family and career issues, geriatric research, conflict research, generational studies and criminology research.
Newest articles
Microscopic basis of a new form of quantum magnetism
Not all magnets are the same. When we think of magnetism, we often think of magnets that stick to a refrigerator’s door. For these types of magnets, the electronic interactions…
An epigenome editing toolkit to dissect the mechanisms of gene regulation
A study from the Hackett group at EMBL Rome led to the development of a powerful epigenetic editing technology, which unlocks the ability to precisely program chromatin modifications. Understanding how…
NASA selects UF mission to better track the Earth’s water and ice
NASA has selected a team of University of Florida aerospace engineers to pursue a groundbreaking $12 million mission aimed at improving the way we track changes in Earth’s structures, such…