Robert Hanlon

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Robert J. Hanlon

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Biography

Thompson Rivers University - Philosophy

Associate Professor at Thompson Rivers University
Higher Education
Robert
Hanlon
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
My research explores non-tradition security threats namely the nexus between bribe paying and human rights violations through comparative analysis of foreign business actors in China and Southeast Asia (especially Cambodia and Thailand). I have carried out extensive research on corporate social responsibility in Asia, which has translated to frequent consultations with the corporate sector on community engagement.

Specialties: Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate Governance in Asia
Anti-corruption Compliance
Business and Human Rights
Non-traditional risk management

Experience

  • City University of Hong Kong

    PhD Candidate

    Research on business and human rights

  • Thompson Rivers University

    Assistant Professor

    Teaching and research on International Relations and Asian Politics. Specialization in corporate social responsibility, human rights and corruption

  • Thompson Rivers University

    Associate Professor

    Robert worked at Thompson Rivers University as a Associate Professor

  • The University of British Columbia

    Post Doctoral Research Fellow

    Research and consulting on business and human rights

  • Royal Roads University

    Associate Faculty

    Associate Faculty in Human Security and Peacebuilding

  • Simon Fraser University

    Lecturer

    Lecturer of International Relations and Comparative Politics

Education

  • The University of Queensland

    MA

    International Studies, Political Economy, East and Southeast Asia (especially China)

  • University of Victoria

    BA

    Political Science and Philosophy

  • City University of Hong Kong

    PhD

    Political Economy, International Relations, East and Southeast Asia (especially China)

  • City University of Hong Kong

    PhD Candidate


    Research on business and human rights

Publications

  • Sustaining Human Rights and Responsibility: The United Nations Global Compact and Myanmar’

    Addressing Integration and Exclusion: Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Intervention

    Human Rights and Corporate Social Responsibility are not two concepts/perspectives that come to mind when dealing with Myanmar. Beginning in 2012 however, the country has made some determined efforts to promote liberal economic and political reforms in an effort to modernise and open itself to the world. In May 2012, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon successfully launched the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) in Myanmar. The initiative was endorsed by fifteen prominent Burmese business leaders who voiced their commitment to uphold the core principles of the Compact. This paper argues that despite its weakness, the UNGC has the potential to be an effective initiative for promoting ethical business in Myanmar. Drawing on constructivist theory, this paper frames the Compact as a transformative mechanism that incorporates the language of human rights and ethics into corporate and local business practices. Preliminary findings suggest that the UNGC’s launch in Burma is opening new space for ethical investors and the promotion of human rights standards in corporate and political governance.

  • Sustaining Human Rights and Responsibility: The United Nations Global Compact and Myanmar’

    Addressing Integration and Exclusion: Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Intervention

    Human Rights and Corporate Social Responsibility are not two concepts/perspectives that come to mind when dealing with Myanmar. Beginning in 2012 however, the country has made some determined efforts to promote liberal economic and political reforms in an effort to modernise and open itself to the world. In May 2012, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon successfully launched the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) in Myanmar. The initiative was endorsed by fifteen prominent Burmese business leaders who voiced their commitment to uphold the core principles of the Compact. This paper argues that despite its weakness, the UNGC has the potential to be an effective initiative for promoting ethical business in Myanmar. Drawing on constructivist theory, this paper frames the Compact as a transformative mechanism that incorporates the language of human rights and ethics into corporate and local business practices. Preliminary findings suggest that the UNGC’s launch in Burma is opening new space for ethical investors and the promotion of human rights standards in corporate and political governance.

  • Leveraging talent: Exporting ideas in the Asian century

    Canadian Foreign Policy Journal

    This paper aims to build the case for a new Canadian Asia strategy. It begins with a historical review of the Canadian government's diplomatic relations with the region while revisiting the role of Canada in the global order as a middle-power state. It then introduces a framework that links Joseph Nye's concept of soft power with the pragmatic features of foreign public diplomacy (PD). It shows that a strategic, coordinated and informal approach to PD can bring important soft-power gains for Canada in the world's most dynamic region. Finally, it calls for a distinct Asia-focused diplomacy built on sustainable development, governance and education. It concludes by recommending that the government spearhead an annual regional forum on sustainability, strengthen relationships with Canada's Asia-based diaspora, as well as develop an incentive program to entice young Canadians to study and work throughout the region.

  • Sustaining Human Rights and Responsibility: The United Nations Global Compact and Myanmar’

    Addressing Integration and Exclusion: Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Intervention

    Human Rights and Corporate Social Responsibility are not two concepts/perspectives that come to mind when dealing with Myanmar. Beginning in 2012 however, the country has made some determined efforts to promote liberal economic and political reforms in an effort to modernise and open itself to the world. In May 2012, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon successfully launched the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) in Myanmar. The initiative was endorsed by fifteen prominent Burmese business leaders who voiced their commitment to uphold the core principles of the Compact. This paper argues that despite its weakness, the UNGC has the potential to be an effective initiative for promoting ethical business in Myanmar. Drawing on constructivist theory, this paper frames the Compact as a transformative mechanism that incorporates the language of human rights and ethics into corporate and local business practices. Preliminary findings suggest that the UNGC’s launch in Burma is opening new space for ethical investors and the promotion of human rights standards in corporate and political governance.

  • Leveraging talent: Exporting ideas in the Asian century

    Canadian Foreign Policy Journal

    This paper aims to build the case for a new Canadian Asia strategy. It begins with a historical review of the Canadian government's diplomatic relations with the region while revisiting the role of Canada in the global order as a middle-power state. It then introduces a framework that links Joseph Nye's concept of soft power with the pragmatic features of foreign public diplomacy (PD). It shows that a strategic, coordinated and informal approach to PD can bring important soft-power gains for Canada in the world's most dynamic region. Finally, it calls for a distinct Asia-focused diplomacy built on sustainable development, governance and education. It concludes by recommending that the government spearhead an annual regional forum on sustainability, strengthen relationships with Canada's Asia-based diaspora, as well as develop an incentive program to entice young Canadians to study and work throughout the region.

  • Corporate Social Responsibility in China’s New Economic Diplomacy

    China’s Challenges to Human Security: Foreign Relations and Global Implications

    China’s state-owned enterprises (SOE) are often accused of irresponsible business practices when operating abroad especially in regards to human rights (Brautigam 2009; Taylor 2009; Dobler 2008). Yet the language of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been gaining significant ground throughout Mainland policy circles as a mechanism to improve corporate behaviour. In 2005, President Hu Jintao’s ‘Harmonious Society Policy’ went as far as directing the country’s business leaders to incorporate CSR strategies into their business models. While such developments are promising, this chapter argues that China’s embracement of CSR should be considered a strategic and sophisticated mechanism to promote trade. Regardless, the government’s attempt to force SOEs to adopt CSR policies has important implications for China’s foreign relations by encouraging corporate elites to consider human rights abroad. In this sense, China’s CSR commitment can be seen as a soft power strategy that brings a new framework for diplomatic engagement. This chapter is divided into five sections. First, it defines and introduces a framework known as CSR engineering to understand how the social responsibility concept has emerged in China. Second, it reviews China’s linkages within the global trading system and implications for economic growth. Third, this chapter explores the nexus between SOEs and human rights violations. Fourth, it offers evidence to highlight China’s applied use of CSR language within global institutions and policy forums. Finally, it offers insight into why China has chosen to engage the CSR paradigm as a soft power mechanism to multilateral economic diplomacy.

  • Sustaining Human Rights and Responsibility: The United Nations Global Compact and Myanmar’

    Addressing Integration and Exclusion: Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Intervention

    Human Rights and Corporate Social Responsibility are not two concepts/perspectives that come to mind when dealing with Myanmar. Beginning in 2012 however, the country has made some determined efforts to promote liberal economic and political reforms in an effort to modernise and open itself to the world. In May 2012, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon successfully launched the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) in Myanmar. The initiative was endorsed by fifteen prominent Burmese business leaders who voiced their commitment to uphold the core principles of the Compact. This paper argues that despite its weakness, the UNGC has the potential to be an effective initiative for promoting ethical business in Myanmar. Drawing on constructivist theory, this paper frames the Compact as a transformative mechanism that incorporates the language of human rights and ethics into corporate and local business practices. Preliminary findings suggest that the UNGC’s launch in Burma is opening new space for ethical investors and the promotion of human rights standards in corporate and political governance.

  • Leveraging talent: Exporting ideas in the Asian century

    Canadian Foreign Policy Journal

    This paper aims to build the case for a new Canadian Asia strategy. It begins with a historical review of the Canadian government's diplomatic relations with the region while revisiting the role of Canada in the global order as a middle-power state. It then introduces a framework that links Joseph Nye's concept of soft power with the pragmatic features of foreign public diplomacy (PD). It shows that a strategic, coordinated and informal approach to PD can bring important soft-power gains for Canada in the world's most dynamic region. Finally, it calls for a distinct Asia-focused diplomacy built on sustainable development, governance and education. It concludes by recommending that the government spearhead an annual regional forum on sustainability, strengthen relationships with Canada's Asia-based diaspora, as well as develop an incentive program to entice young Canadians to study and work throughout the region.

  • Corporate Social Responsibility in China’s New Economic Diplomacy

    China’s Challenges to Human Security: Foreign Relations and Global Implications

    China’s state-owned enterprises (SOE) are often accused of irresponsible business practices when operating abroad especially in regards to human rights (Brautigam 2009; Taylor 2009; Dobler 2008). Yet the language of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been gaining significant ground throughout Mainland policy circles as a mechanism to improve corporate behaviour. In 2005, President Hu Jintao’s ‘Harmonious Society Policy’ went as far as directing the country’s business leaders to incorporate CSR strategies into their business models. While such developments are promising, this chapter argues that China’s embracement of CSR should be considered a strategic and sophisticated mechanism to promote trade. Regardless, the government’s attempt to force SOEs to adopt CSR policies has important implications for China’s foreign relations by encouraging corporate elites to consider human rights abroad. In this sense, China’s CSR commitment can be seen as a soft power strategy that brings a new framework for diplomatic engagement. This chapter is divided into five sections. First, it defines and introduces a framework known as CSR engineering to understand how the social responsibility concept has emerged in China. Second, it reviews China’s linkages within the global trading system and implications for economic growth. Third, this chapter explores the nexus between SOEs and human rights violations. Fourth, it offers evidence to highlight China’s applied use of CSR language within global institutions and policy forums. Finally, it offers insight into why China has chosen to engage the CSR paradigm as a soft power mechanism to multilateral economic diplomacy.

  • A comparative review for understanding elite interest and climate change policy in China

    Environment, Development and Sustainability

    China’s climate change policy has rapidly evolved from one of neglect to necessity with sinologists drawing on a wide range of theories in trying to explain this shift. The rising influence of citizens' movements coupled with international pressure are often cited as significant drivers behind the government’s evolving climate change strategy. But can the influence of public pressure and international lobbying offer a complete explanation for the government’s dramatic policy changes? In this article, we advance theoretical pluralism where three contending schools of thought are made complementary to offer distinct explanations for understanding the mechanisms and rationale for Beijing’s elite-driven climate change policy. In brief, by bridging three separate theoretical streams including rational choice theory, authoritarian environmentalism and advocacy coalition framework, we show that the interests of elites in China’s upper political echelon are the driving force behind the country’s climate change policy.

  • Sustaining Human Rights and Responsibility: The United Nations Global Compact and Myanmar’

    Addressing Integration and Exclusion: Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Intervention

    Human Rights and Corporate Social Responsibility are not two concepts/perspectives that come to mind when dealing with Myanmar. Beginning in 2012 however, the country has made some determined efforts to promote liberal economic and political reforms in an effort to modernise and open itself to the world. In May 2012, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon successfully launched the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) in Myanmar. The initiative was endorsed by fifteen prominent Burmese business leaders who voiced their commitment to uphold the core principles of the Compact. This paper argues that despite its weakness, the UNGC has the potential to be an effective initiative for promoting ethical business in Myanmar. Drawing on constructivist theory, this paper frames the Compact as a transformative mechanism that incorporates the language of human rights and ethics into corporate and local business practices. Preliminary findings suggest that the UNGC’s launch in Burma is opening new space for ethical investors and the promotion of human rights standards in corporate and political governance.

  • Leveraging talent: Exporting ideas in the Asian century

    Canadian Foreign Policy Journal

    This paper aims to build the case for a new Canadian Asia strategy. It begins with a historical review of the Canadian government's diplomatic relations with the region while revisiting the role of Canada in the global order as a middle-power state. It then introduces a framework that links Joseph Nye's concept of soft power with the pragmatic features of foreign public diplomacy (PD). It shows that a strategic, coordinated and informal approach to PD can bring important soft-power gains for Canada in the world's most dynamic region. Finally, it calls for a distinct Asia-focused diplomacy built on sustainable development, governance and education. It concludes by recommending that the government spearhead an annual regional forum on sustainability, strengthen relationships with Canada's Asia-based diaspora, as well as develop an incentive program to entice young Canadians to study and work throughout the region.

  • Corporate Social Responsibility in China’s New Economic Diplomacy

    China’s Challenges to Human Security: Foreign Relations and Global Implications

    China’s state-owned enterprises (SOE) are often accused of irresponsible business practices when operating abroad especially in regards to human rights (Brautigam 2009; Taylor 2009; Dobler 2008). Yet the language of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been gaining significant ground throughout Mainland policy circles as a mechanism to improve corporate behaviour. In 2005, President Hu Jintao’s ‘Harmonious Society Policy’ went as far as directing the country’s business leaders to incorporate CSR strategies into their business models. While such developments are promising, this chapter argues that China’s embracement of CSR should be considered a strategic and sophisticated mechanism to promote trade. Regardless, the government’s attempt to force SOEs to adopt CSR policies has important implications for China’s foreign relations by encouraging corporate elites to consider human rights abroad. In this sense, China’s CSR commitment can be seen as a soft power strategy that brings a new framework for diplomatic engagement. This chapter is divided into five sections. First, it defines and introduces a framework known as CSR engineering to understand how the social responsibility concept has emerged in China. Second, it reviews China’s linkages within the global trading system and implications for economic growth. Third, this chapter explores the nexus between SOEs and human rights violations. Fourth, it offers evidence to highlight China’s applied use of CSR language within global institutions and policy forums. Finally, it offers insight into why China has chosen to engage the CSR paradigm as a soft power mechanism to multilateral economic diplomacy.

  • A comparative review for understanding elite interest and climate change policy in China

    Environment, Development and Sustainability

    China’s climate change policy has rapidly evolved from one of neglect to necessity with sinologists drawing on a wide range of theories in trying to explain this shift. The rising influence of citizens' movements coupled with international pressure are often cited as significant drivers behind the government’s evolving climate change strategy. But can the influence of public pressure and international lobbying offer a complete explanation for the government’s dramatic policy changes? In this article, we advance theoretical pluralism where three contending schools of thought are made complementary to offer distinct explanations for understanding the mechanisms and rationale for Beijing’s elite-driven climate change policy. In brief, by bridging three separate theoretical streams including rational choice theory, authoritarian environmentalism and advocacy coalition framework, we show that the interests of elites in China’s upper political echelon are the driving force behind the country’s climate change policy.

  • Book Review - Capitalism from Below: Markets and Institutional Change in China. By Victor Nee, Sonja Opper.

    Pacific Affairs

    BOOK REVIEW: In the book Capitalism from Below, Victor Nee and Sonja Opper ask what drove China’s post-Maoist economic transformation from a command economy to an emerging capitalist society. This ambitious study questions how the private sector was able to flourish throughout the transformative years when the government failed to provide entrepreneurs with economic resources or protection of property rights.In the book Capitalism from Below, Victor Nee and Sonja Opper ask what drove China’s post-Maoist economic transformation from a command economy to an emerging capitalist society.

  • Sustaining Human Rights and Responsibility: The United Nations Global Compact and Myanmar’

    Addressing Integration and Exclusion: Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Intervention

    Human Rights and Corporate Social Responsibility are not two concepts/perspectives that come to mind when dealing with Myanmar. Beginning in 2012 however, the country has made some determined efforts to promote liberal economic and political reforms in an effort to modernise and open itself to the world. In May 2012, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon successfully launched the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) in Myanmar. The initiative was endorsed by fifteen prominent Burmese business leaders who voiced their commitment to uphold the core principles of the Compact. This paper argues that despite its weakness, the UNGC has the potential to be an effective initiative for promoting ethical business in Myanmar. Drawing on constructivist theory, this paper frames the Compact as a transformative mechanism that incorporates the language of human rights and ethics into corporate and local business practices. Preliminary findings suggest that the UNGC’s launch in Burma is opening new space for ethical investors and the promotion of human rights standards in corporate and political governance.

  • Leveraging talent: Exporting ideas in the Asian century

    Canadian Foreign Policy Journal

    This paper aims to build the case for a new Canadian Asia strategy. It begins with a historical review of the Canadian government's diplomatic relations with the region while revisiting the role of Canada in the global order as a middle-power state. It then introduces a framework that links Joseph Nye's concept of soft power with the pragmatic features of foreign public diplomacy (PD). It shows that a strategic, coordinated and informal approach to PD can bring important soft-power gains for Canada in the world's most dynamic region. Finally, it calls for a distinct Asia-focused diplomacy built on sustainable development, governance and education. It concludes by recommending that the government spearhead an annual regional forum on sustainability, strengthen relationships with Canada's Asia-based diaspora, as well as develop an incentive program to entice young Canadians to study and work throughout the region.

  • Corporate Social Responsibility in China’s New Economic Diplomacy

    China’s Challenges to Human Security: Foreign Relations and Global Implications

    China’s state-owned enterprises (SOE) are often accused of irresponsible business practices when operating abroad especially in regards to human rights (Brautigam 2009; Taylor 2009; Dobler 2008). Yet the language of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been gaining significant ground throughout Mainland policy circles as a mechanism to improve corporate behaviour. In 2005, President Hu Jintao’s ‘Harmonious Society Policy’ went as far as directing the country’s business leaders to incorporate CSR strategies into their business models. While such developments are promising, this chapter argues that China’s embracement of CSR should be considered a strategic and sophisticated mechanism to promote trade. Regardless, the government’s attempt to force SOEs to adopt CSR policies has important implications for China’s foreign relations by encouraging corporate elites to consider human rights abroad. In this sense, China’s CSR commitment can be seen as a soft power strategy that brings a new framework for diplomatic engagement. This chapter is divided into five sections. First, it defines and introduces a framework known as CSR engineering to understand how the social responsibility concept has emerged in China. Second, it reviews China’s linkages within the global trading system and implications for economic growth. Third, this chapter explores the nexus between SOEs and human rights violations. Fourth, it offers evidence to highlight China’s applied use of CSR language within global institutions and policy forums. Finally, it offers insight into why China has chosen to engage the CSR paradigm as a soft power mechanism to multilateral economic diplomacy.

  • A comparative review for understanding elite interest and climate change policy in China

    Environment, Development and Sustainability

    China’s climate change policy has rapidly evolved from one of neglect to necessity with sinologists drawing on a wide range of theories in trying to explain this shift. The rising influence of citizens' movements coupled with international pressure are often cited as significant drivers behind the government’s evolving climate change strategy. But can the influence of public pressure and international lobbying offer a complete explanation for the government’s dramatic policy changes? In this article, we advance theoretical pluralism where three contending schools of thought are made complementary to offer distinct explanations for understanding the mechanisms and rationale for Beijing’s elite-driven climate change policy. In brief, by bridging three separate theoretical streams including rational choice theory, authoritarian environmentalism and advocacy coalition framework, we show that the interests of elites in China’s upper political echelon are the driving force behind the country’s climate change policy.

  • Book Review - Capitalism from Below: Markets and Institutional Change in China. By Victor Nee, Sonja Opper.

    Pacific Affairs

    BOOK REVIEW: In the book Capitalism from Below, Victor Nee and Sonja Opper ask what drove China’s post-Maoist economic transformation from a command economy to an emerging capitalist society. This ambitious study questions how the private sector was able to flourish throughout the transformative years when the government failed to provide entrepreneurs with economic resources or protection of property rights.In the book Capitalism from Below, Victor Nee and Sonja Opper ask what drove China’s post-Maoist economic transformation from a command economy to an emerging capitalist society.

  • Teaching Corporate Social Responsibility, Human Rights and Corruption: A Survey of 343 Faculty at the Top 20 Business Schools in the Financial Times Global MBA Rankings’

    Journal of Business Ethics Education

    This paper aims to test whether business schools are teaching business students about corporate social responsibility, human rights and corruption. The purpose is to understand if a business school environment facilitates or impedes the learning experience of business ethics. Grounded in constructivist learning theory, we hypothesize that business schools are ineffective learning environments for teaching human rights. A questionnaire was then disseminated to 2,852 business teachers at the top 20 Financial Times Global MBA ranked business schools concerning human rights and corruption. Findings suggest that the majority of the 343 respondents hold a narrow understanding of human rights and corruption. In fact, educators are contributing to a learning environment that struggles to incorporate any meaningful or explicit study of human rights and corruption. We conclude that without a greater commitment to teaching the ethics behind human rights and corruption in business school, graduates will continuously fail to understand how their business decisions could negatively impact the communities in which they work.

  • Sustaining Human Rights and Responsibility: The United Nations Global Compact and Myanmar’

    Addressing Integration and Exclusion: Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Intervention

    Human Rights and Corporate Social Responsibility are not two concepts/perspectives that come to mind when dealing with Myanmar. Beginning in 2012 however, the country has made some determined efforts to promote liberal economic and political reforms in an effort to modernise and open itself to the world. In May 2012, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon successfully launched the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) in Myanmar. The initiative was endorsed by fifteen prominent Burmese business leaders who voiced their commitment to uphold the core principles of the Compact. This paper argues that despite its weakness, the UNGC has the potential to be an effective initiative for promoting ethical business in Myanmar. Drawing on constructivist theory, this paper frames the Compact as a transformative mechanism that incorporates the language of human rights and ethics into corporate and local business practices. Preliminary findings suggest that the UNGC’s launch in Burma is opening new space for ethical investors and the promotion of human rights standards in corporate and political governance.

  • Leveraging talent: Exporting ideas in the Asian century

    Canadian Foreign Policy Journal

    This paper aims to build the case for a new Canadian Asia strategy. It begins with a historical review of the Canadian government's diplomatic relations with the region while revisiting the role of Canada in the global order as a middle-power state. It then introduces a framework that links Joseph Nye's concept of soft power with the pragmatic features of foreign public diplomacy (PD). It shows that a strategic, coordinated and informal approach to PD can bring important soft-power gains for Canada in the world's most dynamic region. Finally, it calls for a distinct Asia-focused diplomacy built on sustainable development, governance and education. It concludes by recommending that the government spearhead an annual regional forum on sustainability, strengthen relationships with Canada's Asia-based diaspora, as well as develop an incentive program to entice young Canadians to study and work throughout the region.

  • Corporate Social Responsibility in China’s New Economic Diplomacy

    China’s Challenges to Human Security: Foreign Relations and Global Implications

    China’s state-owned enterprises (SOE) are often accused of irresponsible business practices when operating abroad especially in regards to human rights (Brautigam 2009; Taylor 2009; Dobler 2008). Yet the language of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been gaining significant ground throughout Mainland policy circles as a mechanism to improve corporate behaviour. In 2005, President Hu Jintao’s ‘Harmonious Society Policy’ went as far as directing the country’s business leaders to incorporate CSR strategies into their business models. While such developments are promising, this chapter argues that China’s embracement of CSR should be considered a strategic and sophisticated mechanism to promote trade. Regardless, the government’s attempt to force SOEs to adopt CSR policies has important implications for China’s foreign relations by encouraging corporate elites to consider human rights abroad. In this sense, China’s CSR commitment can be seen as a soft power strategy that brings a new framework for diplomatic engagement. This chapter is divided into five sections. First, it defines and introduces a framework known as CSR engineering to understand how the social responsibility concept has emerged in China. Second, it reviews China’s linkages within the global trading system and implications for economic growth. Third, this chapter explores the nexus between SOEs and human rights violations. Fourth, it offers evidence to highlight China’s applied use of CSR language within global institutions and policy forums. Finally, it offers insight into why China has chosen to engage the CSR paradigm as a soft power mechanism to multilateral economic diplomacy.

  • A comparative review for understanding elite interest and climate change policy in China

    Environment, Development and Sustainability

    China’s climate change policy has rapidly evolved from one of neglect to necessity with sinologists drawing on a wide range of theories in trying to explain this shift. The rising influence of citizens' movements coupled with international pressure are often cited as significant drivers behind the government’s evolving climate change strategy. But can the influence of public pressure and international lobbying offer a complete explanation for the government’s dramatic policy changes? In this article, we advance theoretical pluralism where three contending schools of thought are made complementary to offer distinct explanations for understanding the mechanisms and rationale for Beijing’s elite-driven climate change policy. In brief, by bridging three separate theoretical streams including rational choice theory, authoritarian environmentalism and advocacy coalition framework, we show that the interests of elites in China’s upper political echelon are the driving force behind the country’s climate change policy.

  • Book Review - Capitalism from Below: Markets and Institutional Change in China. By Victor Nee, Sonja Opper.

    Pacific Affairs

    BOOK REVIEW: In the book Capitalism from Below, Victor Nee and Sonja Opper ask what drove China’s post-Maoist economic transformation from a command economy to an emerging capitalist society. This ambitious study questions how the private sector was able to flourish throughout the transformative years when the government failed to provide entrepreneurs with economic resources or protection of property rights.In the book Capitalism from Below, Victor Nee and Sonja Opper ask what drove China’s post-Maoist economic transformation from a command economy to an emerging capitalist society.

  • Teaching Corporate Social Responsibility, Human Rights and Corruption: A Survey of 343 Faculty at the Top 20 Business Schools in the Financial Times Global MBA Rankings’

    Journal of Business Ethics Education

    This paper aims to test whether business schools are teaching business students about corporate social responsibility, human rights and corruption. The purpose is to understand if a business school environment facilitates or impedes the learning experience of business ethics. Grounded in constructivist learning theory, we hypothesize that business schools are ineffective learning environments for teaching human rights. A questionnaire was then disseminated to 2,852 business teachers at the top 20 Financial Times Global MBA ranked business schools concerning human rights and corruption. Findings suggest that the majority of the 343 respondents hold a narrow understanding of human rights and corruption. In fact, educators are contributing to a learning environment that struggles to incorporate any meaningful or explicit study of human rights and corruption. We conclude that without a greater commitment to teaching the ethics behind human rights and corruption in business school, graduates will continuously fail to understand how their business decisions could negatively impact the communities in which they work.

  • Freedom from Fear, Freedom from Want: An Introduction to Human Security

    University of Toronto Press

    Adopting an interdisciplinary perspective, Freedom from Fear, Freedom from Want is a brief introduction to human security, conflict, and development. The book analyzes such key human security issues as climate change, crimes against humanity, humanitarian intervention, international law, poverty, terrorism, and transnational crime, among others. The authors encourage readers to critically assess emerging threats while evaluating potential mechanisms of deterrence such as conflict resolution, economic development, diplomacy, peacekeeping, international law, and restorative justice. Concise yet comprehensive, Freedom from Fear, Freedom from Want provides useful background on some of the biggest issues facing humanity in the twenty-first century.

  • Sustaining Human Rights and Responsibility: The United Nations Global Compact and Myanmar’

    Addressing Integration and Exclusion: Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Intervention

    Human Rights and Corporate Social Responsibility are not two concepts/perspectives that come to mind when dealing with Myanmar. Beginning in 2012 however, the country has made some determined efforts to promote liberal economic and political reforms in an effort to modernise and open itself to the world. In May 2012, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon successfully launched the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) in Myanmar. The initiative was endorsed by fifteen prominent Burmese business leaders who voiced their commitment to uphold the core principles of the Compact. This paper argues that despite its weakness, the UNGC has the potential to be an effective initiative for promoting ethical business in Myanmar. Drawing on constructivist theory, this paper frames the Compact as a transformative mechanism that incorporates the language of human rights and ethics into corporate and local business practices. Preliminary findings suggest that the UNGC’s launch in Burma is opening new space for ethical investors and the promotion of human rights standards in corporate and political governance.

  • Leveraging talent: Exporting ideas in the Asian century

    Canadian Foreign Policy Journal

    This paper aims to build the case for a new Canadian Asia strategy. It begins with a historical review of the Canadian government's diplomatic relations with the region while revisiting the role of Canada in the global order as a middle-power state. It then introduces a framework that links Joseph Nye's concept of soft power with the pragmatic features of foreign public diplomacy (PD). It shows that a strategic, coordinated and informal approach to PD can bring important soft-power gains for Canada in the world's most dynamic region. Finally, it calls for a distinct Asia-focused diplomacy built on sustainable development, governance and education. It concludes by recommending that the government spearhead an annual regional forum on sustainability, strengthen relationships with Canada's Asia-based diaspora, as well as develop an incentive program to entice young Canadians to study and work throughout the region.

  • Corporate Social Responsibility in China’s New Economic Diplomacy

    China’s Challenges to Human Security: Foreign Relations and Global Implications

    China’s state-owned enterprises (SOE) are often accused of irresponsible business practices when operating abroad especially in regards to human rights (Brautigam 2009; Taylor 2009; Dobler 2008). Yet the language of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been gaining significant ground throughout Mainland policy circles as a mechanism to improve corporate behaviour. In 2005, President Hu Jintao’s ‘Harmonious Society Policy’ went as far as directing the country’s business leaders to incorporate CSR strategies into their business models. While such developments are promising, this chapter argues that China’s embracement of CSR should be considered a strategic and sophisticated mechanism to promote trade. Regardless, the government’s attempt to force SOEs to adopt CSR policies has important implications for China’s foreign relations by encouraging corporate elites to consider human rights abroad. In this sense, China’s CSR commitment can be seen as a soft power strategy that brings a new framework for diplomatic engagement. This chapter is divided into five sections. First, it defines and introduces a framework known as CSR engineering to understand how the social responsibility concept has emerged in China. Second, it reviews China’s linkages within the global trading system and implications for economic growth. Third, this chapter explores the nexus between SOEs and human rights violations. Fourth, it offers evidence to highlight China’s applied use of CSR language within global institutions and policy forums. Finally, it offers insight into why China has chosen to engage the CSR paradigm as a soft power mechanism to multilateral economic diplomacy.

  • A comparative review for understanding elite interest and climate change policy in China

    Environment, Development and Sustainability

    China’s climate change policy has rapidly evolved from one of neglect to necessity with sinologists drawing on a wide range of theories in trying to explain this shift. The rising influence of citizens' movements coupled with international pressure are often cited as significant drivers behind the government’s evolving climate change strategy. But can the influence of public pressure and international lobbying offer a complete explanation for the government’s dramatic policy changes? In this article, we advance theoretical pluralism where three contending schools of thought are made complementary to offer distinct explanations for understanding the mechanisms and rationale for Beijing’s elite-driven climate change policy. In brief, by bridging three separate theoretical streams including rational choice theory, authoritarian environmentalism and advocacy coalition framework, we show that the interests of elites in China’s upper political echelon are the driving force behind the country’s climate change policy.

  • Book Review - Capitalism from Below: Markets and Institutional Change in China. By Victor Nee, Sonja Opper.

    Pacific Affairs

    BOOK REVIEW: In the book Capitalism from Below, Victor Nee and Sonja Opper ask what drove China’s post-Maoist economic transformation from a command economy to an emerging capitalist society. This ambitious study questions how the private sector was able to flourish throughout the transformative years when the government failed to provide entrepreneurs with economic resources or protection of property rights.In the book Capitalism from Below, Victor Nee and Sonja Opper ask what drove China’s post-Maoist economic transformation from a command economy to an emerging capitalist society.

  • Teaching Corporate Social Responsibility, Human Rights and Corruption: A Survey of 343 Faculty at the Top 20 Business Schools in the Financial Times Global MBA Rankings’

    Journal of Business Ethics Education

    This paper aims to test whether business schools are teaching business students about corporate social responsibility, human rights and corruption. The purpose is to understand if a business school environment facilitates or impedes the learning experience of business ethics. Grounded in constructivist learning theory, we hypothesize that business schools are ineffective learning environments for teaching human rights. A questionnaire was then disseminated to 2,852 business teachers at the top 20 Financial Times Global MBA ranked business schools concerning human rights and corruption. Findings suggest that the majority of the 343 respondents hold a narrow understanding of human rights and corruption. In fact, educators are contributing to a learning environment that struggles to incorporate any meaningful or explicit study of human rights and corruption. We conclude that without a greater commitment to teaching the ethics behind human rights and corruption in business school, graduates will continuously fail to understand how their business decisions could negatively impact the communities in which they work.

  • Freedom from Fear, Freedom from Want: An Introduction to Human Security

    University of Toronto Press

    Adopting an interdisciplinary perspective, Freedom from Fear, Freedom from Want is a brief introduction to human security, conflict, and development. The book analyzes such key human security issues as climate change, crimes against humanity, humanitarian intervention, international law, poverty, terrorism, and transnational crime, among others. The authors encourage readers to critically assess emerging threats while evaluating potential mechanisms of deterrence such as conflict resolution, economic development, diplomacy, peacekeeping, international law, and restorative justice. Concise yet comprehensive, Freedom from Fear, Freedom from Want provides useful background on some of the biggest issues facing humanity in the twenty-first century.

  • Engineering Corporate Social Responsibility: Elite Stakeholders, States and the Resilience of Neoliberalism

    Contemporary Politics

    This article aims to introduce corporate social responsibility (CSR) as an ideational concept that is being globally and regionally engineered by an epistemic community of elite stakeholders that include business, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations and government. The concept of CSR engineering seeks to address gaps in the literature that neglect the emergence of a highly integrated network of elite brokers committed to neoliberal ideology and the manufacturing of ethical corporate governance. Conclusions are drawn from 60 semi-structured interviews with key CSR stakeholders and well over 250 ‘off-the-record’ conversations held at six industry-led conferences. The findings suggest that when powerbases within the elite networks are exposed, the Western nation-state is revealed as the most dominant stakeholder.