The Role of Governments in CSR

Abstract

The term ‘government’ encompasses the state governance apparatus of a country: its political system, bureaucracies and institutions, as well as its sublevels. ‘Home government’ is the government of the country where a transnational company is registered and ‘host government’ is that of any other country where it is conducting operations. Citizens expect their government to promote peace, order, and good governance, thereby creating conditions for prosperity. They have a duty to protect their citizens against human rights abuses by third parties, including business (Ruggie, 2008). The nature of the relation between the state and its communities and corporations, the state’s vulnerability to international pressures, transparency and the availability of information, and the enforcement and accessibility of a legal framework are key factors affecting governments’ abilities to live up to these expectations and influence Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) development initiatives undertaken by the extractive industry. This chapter provides a categorization of possible government roles in CSR and illustrates the issues, using examples from a series of interviews with key stakeholders in Canada and Peru (Boon, 2009).