On 11 November at 13:00, Verena Girschik (CBS) will give a seminar entitled 

Corporate accountability for human rights abuses by emerging market MNEs: The case of the Letpadaung copper mine in Myanmar

Abstract
IB and human rights scholars increasingly recognize the difficulties of holding MNEs from emerging markets (EMNEs) accountable for human rights infringements. One reason is that home-country based accountability mechanisms themselves depend on well-functioning home country institutions and a vibrant civil society; conditions that are often absent in EMNEs’ home countries. In this study, we therefore ask: How can MNEs from societies where recognized home country accountability mechanisms are ineffective be held accountable for alleged human rights infringements? We address this question through an in-depth case study of the contestation processes around the Letpadaung copper mine, a mega project in Myanmar. Our findings illustrate the complex co-evolutionary dynamics between the voice exercised by the emergent civil society in Myanmar and how the Chinese MNE and host country government framed, and re-framed, the project to negotiate its continuation over time. Surprisingly, we find that whereas the state-owned nature and strategic interests of the EMNE initially led the company to downplay human rights concerns, these same features eventually allowed the project to continue “socially responsibly”. The findings contribute to IB scholarship by pointing to new pathways for accountability on human rights in ‘least likely’ cases, such as state-owned EMNEs in highly sensitive strategic sectors.