A POLDER MODEL FOR ECONOMIC JUSTICE?

This research aims to explore the nuances in Private Sector governance, and how despite neoliberal globalization’s structural limitations, civil society actors are not powerless and their assertion of agency has and does impact the greater structure. This paper will aim to give a theoretical and historical backdrop for 21st century private governance; beginning with a discussion of the structural ramifications of neoliberal globalization, it shows the emergence of a ‘new social contract’ where civil society is increasingly responsible for development outcomes. This is then followed by a specific discussion of ‘private governance’ and the learning curve civil society has followed over the past two decades. Lastly, the case study of Oxfam Novib’s CSR interventions in the Côte D’Ivoire cocoa value chain shows a practical example of a civil society organization which has chosen to engage with ‘private governance’ mechanisms. Private governance lies between the edges of statutory and self regulation and the parameters of how this can be shaped for the future must be set by the development community if we hope to include marginalized groups as part of the norm, as Gramsci aims us. Whether or not CSR is the best tool for this is debated but by combining it with more binding ‘corporate accountability’ obligations we can hope for a more just and inclusive converging private normative sphere.