Non-state actors in weak states.

96 Pages·2017·2.4 MB·English

Department of Sociology, Political Science and Community Planning

Non-state actors in weak states.
An exploration of NGOs and MNCs in the eastern Democratic Republic
of Congo.
—
Halvor Sanness Lightfoot
Master thesis in Political Science – STV3900 - May 2018
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Acknowledgements.
First of all, I would very much like to thank my advisor Peter Stuart Robinson for
helping me with this master thesis. His support and feedback has been very helpful in
complete my work. Without his help it is doubtful whether I would have been ever able to
complete this thesis.
I would also like to thank my parents Bente and Michael for pushing me to finish and
being very supportive. Huge thanks also goes to my girlfriend Kjersti for helping me through
some of the stressful times.
All the members of Lesehuset also deserve a huge thanks for the good card games and
not least waffle Fridays.

Halvor Sanness Lightfoot
May 14, 2018

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Abstract.
This thesis focuses on the non-governmental organizations and multinational
corporations that operate in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The eastern
DRC has undergone several bouts of armed conflict these armed conflicts and other factors
have left the region lacking in both services and governance. Non-state actors like NGOs and
MNCs deliver several services to the region that the state struggles to provide. However,
what services do they deliver and do these services make an impact on the region. In looking
at the services this thesis uses document analysis to determine the services delivered, their
impact and how they are able to deliver services and improve governance. Based on the
analysis these non-state actors are involved in delivering much needed services to the region
and they do so through various ways. When they deliver these services they also influence the
governance in the region and this in turn helps the local population. They are able to deliver
the services as there exists a number of outside influence that facilitate the governance
provided. Even though the non-state actors provide important services and governance their
presence in the region is not unproblematic.
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction. ............................................................................................................. 1
Multinational/Transnational Corporations. ...................................................................... 1
Non-governmental organizations. ...................................................................................... 4
Research questions. .............................................................................................................. 5
Methodology. .................................................................................................................... 5
Theories. ............................................................................................................................ 6
Chapter 2: Definitions and a brief summary of the eastern DRC. ........................................... 11
Defining MNCs. .............................................................................................................. 11
Governance and services. .................................................................................................. 12
North and South Kivu. ...................................................................................................... 13
Impact of the Rwandan Genocide. ................................................................................... 14
Mineral resource trade in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. ....................... 15
Dodd-Frank Act. ............................................................................................................ 16
Chapter 3: Methodology. ......................................................................................................... 19
Purposive Sampling. .......................................................................................................... 19
Evaluating the documents. ................................................................................................ 21
Analysis techniques. ........................................................................................................... 23
Presenting the documents.................................................................................................. 24
Chapter 4: Theories. ................................................................................................................. 26
English school of international relations. ........................................................................ 27
Shadow of hierarchy theory. ............................................................................................. 30
International Community. ................................................................................................ 33
International legal standards. .......................................................................................... 34
Incentives. ........................................................................................................................ 35
Principal-agent theory and accountability. ..................................................................... 36
Symbolic Legitimacy .......................................................................................................... 39
Chapter 5: Analysis. ................................................................................................................. 44
How do MNCs and NGOs deliver services and governance in the region? ................. 44
Global Witness. .............................................................................................................. 45
Médecins Sans Frontièrs. .............................................................................................. 48
ZOA International. ........................................................................................................ 49
Banro Corporation......................................................................................................... 51
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MMG. .............................................................................................................................. 53
Principal-Agent theory and accountability in regards to the NGO and MNC
documents. .......................................................................................................................... 56
How do the non-state actors interact? Furthermore, how do the non-state actors
display their legitimacy throughout their reports?......................................................... 60
The legitimacy of the non-state actors. ........................................................................ 62
Finally, what enables the non-state actors to be able to deliver services and
governance to the region? ................................................................................................. 65
International Standards ................................................................................................ 66
International Community ............................................................................................. 68
Incentives. ....................................................................................................................... 69
Chapter 6: Conclusion.............................................................................................................. 72
Civil Society ........................................................................................................................ 78
Bibliography. ........................................................................................................................... 80

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