Corporate power over human rights: an analytical framework
This paper presents an original framework designed to systemize understandings of corporate power over human rights. The framework disaggregates four sites of this power: corporations have direct power over individuals’ human rights, power over the materialities of human rights, power over instituti...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2020
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/65094/ |
| _version_ | 1848800186101399552 |
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| author | Birchall, David |
| author_facet | Birchall, David |
| author_sort | Birchall, David |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | This paper presents an original framework designed to systemize understandings of corporate power over human rights. The framework disaggregates four sites of this power: corporations have direct power over individuals’ human rights, power over the materialities of human rights, power over institutions governing human rights, and power over knowledge around human rights. This disaggregation is derived primarily from the work of Barnett and Duvall, and focuses on effects of corporate activity, rather than the Weberian understanding of power as the ability to achieve desired outcomes. The framework captures a broad set of corporate acts based on their (potential) harm to human rights. It is argued that understanding business and human rights through the lens of power can help to advance a more comprehensive account of business impacts on human rights. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:47:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-65094 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:47:33Z |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-650942021-04-12T07:22:33Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/65094/ Corporate power over human rights: an analytical framework Birchall, David This paper presents an original framework designed to systemize understandings of corporate power over human rights. The framework disaggregates four sites of this power: corporations have direct power over individuals’ human rights, power over the materialities of human rights, power over institutions governing human rights, and power over knowledge around human rights. This disaggregation is derived primarily from the work of Barnett and Duvall, and focuses on effects of corporate activity, rather than the Weberian understanding of power as the ability to achieve desired outcomes. The framework captures a broad set of corporate acts based on their (potential) harm to human rights. It is argued that understanding business and human rights through the lens of power can help to advance a more comprehensive account of business impacts on human rights. Cambridge University Press 2020-11-23 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en cc_by https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/65094/1/Corporate%20Power%20over%20Human%20Rights%20An%20Analytical%20Framework.pdf Birchall, David (2020) Corporate power over human rights: an analytical framework. Business and Human Rights Journal, 6 (1). pp. 42-66. ISSN 2057-0198 Corporate power; Global justice; International human rights law; Neoliberalism; Political economy http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/bhj.2020.23 doi:10.1017/bhj.2020.23 doi:10.1017/bhj.2020.23 |
| spellingShingle | Corporate power; Global justice; International human rights law; Neoliberalism; Political economy Birchall, David Corporate power over human rights: an analytical framework |
| title | Corporate power over human rights: an analytical framework |
| title_full | Corporate power over human rights: an analytical framework |
| title_fullStr | Corporate power over human rights: an analytical framework |
| title_full_unstemmed | Corporate power over human rights: an analytical framework |
| title_short | Corporate power over human rights: an analytical framework |
| title_sort | corporate power over human rights: an analytical framework |
| topic | Corporate power; Global justice; International human rights law; Neoliberalism; Political economy |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/65094/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/65094/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/65094/ |