THE IMPACTS OF AMERICAN TRANSNATIONAL COMPANIES ON U.S FOREIGN POLICY (original) (raw)
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Responsibility of Transnational Corporations at the Example of Shell's Engagement in the Niger Delta
In my thesis I will analyze the responsibility of transnational corporations (TNCs). I chose this topic because many events of human rights violations occurred, committed by TNCs operating in emerging and developing countries who were not held accountable for it. Host states are obliged to protect their citizens but they seem to make preference when dealing with TNCs. Also, in the rich home countries, TNCs can and should be held lieble. However, there are no clear regulations how this can be made possible. I will look into the question if the current state of international law is sufficient to protect the rights of those affected by operations of TNCs and, if not, how this may be changed.
This paper examines the relationship between multinational corporations (MNCs) and development, an already widely researched stream, from an institutional perspective based on an up-to-date empirical study on the crisis of development in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria. Extant works have pitched their tents with the Neo Marxist School by holding that the oil multinationals in Nigeria more particularly Shell are largely the bane of development in the Niger Delta. This investigation uses as a guide the institutional/ cultural theory of the development behaviors of multinational corporations (MNCs), and carries out a survey on the militants and members of the oil communities in the Niger Delta. It finds that the development crisis in the Niger Delta cannot be largely attributed to the oil multinationals, but that the crisis is largely a product and symptom of deep-seated institutional factors in Nigeria namely endemic corruption, societal greed and irresponsible institutional governance and political leadership, which fail to impel the oil MNCs to contribute sufficiently and therefore maximize the benefit of foreign investment to the region's development in specific and the nation's development in general. This investigation therefore confirms that though MNCs are crucial to development, institutional/cultural factors matter seriously in the evaluation of the development contributions of MNCs in developing countries.
OGIRISI: a New Journal of African Studies, 2016
This work is an attempt to show how the U.S covertly meddled into the Nigeria-Biafra War despite her much taunted 'neutrality' in the conflict. No doubt, the U.S did not grant any official arms sales to either Nigeria or the secessionist Biafra, and regarded the war as 'internal conflict' that should be resolved internally. Many a literature on the Nigeria-Biafra conflict had taken this to absolve U.S of any form of active political involvement in the thirty months war. However, a critical survey of policy actions and activities of the U.S State Department via its Embassy in Lagos and U.S multinational private companies in Nigeria during the war respectively, casts serious doubts on the propriety and correctness of the U.S neutrality in the conflict. Using the 'linkage politics' understanding of foreign policy as the most relevant conceptual framework of analysis, and hugely relying on secondary sources of information with available declassified document, the paper argues that the U.S was partisan, and indirectly supported Nigeria as against Biafra. Therefore, it belies, and refuses the contention that 'U.S did not get politically involved and maintained neutrality throughout the conflict'.
Multinational Corporations and the Nigerian Economy
The paper seeks to examine the activities of Multinational corporations (MNCs) in Nigeria and how it has influenced the Nigerian economy. Specifically, it analyses how MNCs has served as agents of imperialism in any economy where they operate. Most economists believe that the MNCs are exploitative as natural resources found in developing countries such as in Nigeria meant for its development are not productively utilized due to de-capitalization of the economy in form of profit repatriation. It argues however that in spite of the negative activities of MNCs however, they contribute positively in the areas of technological development and creation of employment opportunities. The paper sorts out to examine the nature, objective and operations of MNCs in the Nigerian economy. 360 corporations has been around for centuries but in the second half of the twentieth century multinational corporations have become very important enterprises. Tatum (2010) proposes that multinationals operate in different structural models. The first and common model is for the multinational corporation positioning its executive headquarters in one nation, while production facilities are located in one or more other countries. This model often allows the company to take advantage of benefits of incorporating in a given locality, while also being able to produce goods and services in areas where the cost of production is lower . The second structural model is for a MNC to base the parent company in one nation and operate subsidiaries in other countries around the world. With this model, just about all the functions of the parent are based in the country of origin. The subsidiaries more or less function independently, outside of a few basic ties to the parent. A third approach to the setup of an MNC involves the establishment of a headquarters in one country that oversees a diverse conglomeration that stretches to many different countries and industries . With this model, the MNC includes affiliates, subsidiaries and possibly even some facilities that report directly to the headquarters. Such direct investment means the extension of the managerial control across national boundaries (Gilpin, 1987). Rugman et al (1985), who prefer to use the name multinational enterprises, say that the concept of the MNE is that "the difference between Domestic Corporation and the MNE is that the latter operates across national boundaries". While institutions are important for economic development, particularly in resource rich countries, the interaction between multinational corporations and host country institutions is not well understood (Wiig and Kolstad, 2010). There is a risk that multinational corporations facilitate patronage problems in resource rich countries, exacerbating the resource curse. Multinational corporations (MNCs) in service industries have given this sector's large and growing impact on the global economy . The Marxists view the emergence of the multinational corporations as a historically progressive aspect of capitalism in the process of developing, at international level (Gilpin 1987; Stopford 1988). In all these views both Marxist and non-Marxist, the common basis is productive activity in more than one social formation. Another point to be noted right away is that in a social formation there may be many multinationals with different nationalities and also many corporations of the same nationality. In a social formation where there are many MNCs from different nations, there are higher possibilities of conflicts than where they are mainly from the same country.
Impact of Multinational Oil Companies in Oil Producing Communities in Niger Delta, Nigeria
International Journal of Innovative Research and Development, 2021
The paper analyzes the impact of Multinational Oil Companies in oil producing communities in Niger Delta, Nigeria. It is very important to note that the activities of the multinational oil companies in the oil rich Niger Delta have both positive and negative impacts. The negative impact is responsible for the state of insecurity in the region and Nigeria in general. When the oil exploration threatens inhabitants of oil communities, the people react through attacks of oil facilities which are likely to crash the oil sector which is the mainstay of the Nigerian economy. The results are job loss, kidnapping, crime and other nefarious activities which are capable of strengthening insecurity. The structural functionalism theory was used to analyze the impact of multinational companies in oil producing communities in Niger Delta This paper proffers solution that can address the negative impact and security implications of the multinationals.