Global Governance, Legitimacy and Legitimation by Magdalena Bexell

Author:Magdalena Bexell [Bexell, Magdalena]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780367738822
Google: E7z5zQEACAAJ
Goodreads: 55872709
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2014-12-08T00:00:00+00:00

The Rise of Business–Humanitarian Partnerships

BHPs emerged in the specific context of the post-Cold War globalization. The 1990s witnessed a radical shift in the respective influence, role, and responsibilities of the state and the private sector. At the beginning of the decade, official development assistance (ODA) including humanitarian assistance was the largest type of resource transfer from the industrialized countries to the developing world. But by 1997, foreign direct investment became the largest North–South transfer category in 1997.

In this context, heads of UN agencies and of the International Movement of the Red Cross and Red Crescent devised individual strategies to engage the corporate world in a more strategic manner, beyond traditional philanthropy (Andonova, 2010; Murphy & Bendell, 1999; Ruggie 2004). In 1999, the ICRC adopted a private sector strategy based on two pillars: first, engaging corporations on their responsibility in conflict-prone regions under international humanitarian law and, second, promoting principled partnerships with selected firms to exchange skills and expertise and to diversify funding sources. The latter addressed several dimensions of the relationship with business such as fundraising, acquisition of professional skills and know-how as well as advocacy (Carbonnier, 2002, 2006). This gave rise to the establishment of the ‘ICRC Corporate Support Group’ in 2005 and a slight increase in the share of the organization’s budget supported by the private sector (see below).

UNICEF approached partnership engagement with the business sector from a somewhat different position compared to ICRC. Historically, it has institutionalized a tradition of private sector fundraising including through local offices, card sales, and other initiatives. According to UNICEF data, even in the first half of the 1990s before the visible surge of corporate partnerships, funds generated through the private sectors or charitable activities accounted for 25–35% of the budget of the organization (UNICEF, 2011). UNICEF strategic engagement in more integrative collaboration with private sector and other non-state actors via partnerships is a more recent phenomenon. Prior to the 1990s, the organization has been a partner to several unique multi-stakeholder initiatives such as Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research or the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases. Since the 1990s, it has adopted a deliberate strategy of direct and substantive collaboration with the private sector and other non-state actors to advance children’s causes. This is reflected in UNICEF’s involvement in 77 PPPs by 2009, including partnerships that are directly related to humanitarian issues such as emergency capacity building, education in emergencies, accountability and performance in humanitarian action, or coordinated action to stop the use of child soldiers (UNICEF, 2009b).

For humanitarian organizations, the most obvious driver for partnership engagement may appear to be getting financial support and technical expertise from companies. However, other important motivations include the interest of humanitarian organizations to expand their political outreach by being able to mobilize business leaders and influence for their causes (A-M. Grey, International and Corporate Alliances, interview, UNICEF, New York, June 2007; N. Brown, Corporate & Foundation Fundraising, UNICEF, interview, November 2009). More broadly, the underlying assumption has been that businesses

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