About the Topic

Since the World War II there has been a great interest in a universal code of conduct for transnational corporations (TNCs). This is particular from the developing countries which seek equilibrium between the promise and realities of foreign investment, on the one hand, and a just and non-exploitive economic order on the other hand. The United Nations (UN) initiated a process for such a code in the late 1970’s and this process was able to propose a draft Code of Conduct on Transnational Corporations (the Code). However, controversy over the form and provisions of the Code inhibited the consensus over it, despite over two decades of time and energy expended by the Working Group and other bodies within the UN system. The prolonged process of formulation of the Code testified that the interests of the groups of states parties are not only divergent, but also often opposing, and there is a ‘protection versus interest’ chase between the developed and developing states parties when the aim of an international instrument is to raise social responsibility performance and accountability of TNCs.

The recent resolution of the UN for such an instrument therefore is noteworthy. Following this resolution, the UN framework is going to prepare an agenda for a fruitful discussion on the issues around the conflicting interests amongst the countries and TNCs. This will eventually flesh-out the doom days of the Code. Also this will generate debates amongst the stakeholders on the rules that should govern the behaviour of TNCs and their social responsibilities in developing countries. Hence, the editor of this special issue believe that research on the topics mentioned below has the potential to make an important contribution to the literature both in appraising the current state of research on an international instrument for raising social responsibility performance of TNCs and in providing a platform for the future development of the field.

Paper Submission

Topics of interest in this Special Issue include but are not limited to:

• Frameworks/instruments for regulating social responsibilities of TNCs
• Doom days of the UN with the proposed Code of Conduct on TNCs
• International civil society groups’ movements for a code on TNCs’ social responsibility and accountability
• Theoretical issues in regulating transnational actors
• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as an alternative to an international instrument for raising social responsibility performance of TNCs
• TNCs’ role in developing ‘private regulations’ and standardization of CSR principles
• Sovereign power to regulate TNCs social responsibility in the era of ‘globalization’
• Transnational ‘soft-regulations’ to ensure TNCs accountability in social issues
• Feasibility and normative efficacy of an international code of conduct for TNCs
• Concepts of enforcing international principles related to TNCs

Important Dates and Deadlines

• Abstract/proposal (not more than one A4 page) by May 15, 2016
• Decision on the abstract/proposal by May 28, 2016
• Complete paper by December 10, 2016

All submissions will need to conform to the usual requirements of Transnational Corporations Review (TNCR) and will be peer reviewed as normal. For details of manuscript preparation, please consult the ‘instruction for authors’ section of the TNCR website at www.tnc-online.net/page/guidelines/index.php. Abstract/proposal and the paper should be submitted by email to Dr. Mia M. Rahim at mia.rahim@unisa.edu.au and tncr.special@gmail.com  

About TNCR

The Transnational Corporations Review (TNCR) is an academic journal dedicated to publishing peer-reviewed, high-quality research on issues related to transnational corporations. Established in 2009, TNCR’s target audience is academics, policymakers and industry practitioners who want to keep abreast of the latest in-depth knowledge on globalization, internationalization of firms, transnational corporations’ management, foreign direct investments, institutional innovations, policies and governance, and international trade and development. The journal puts particular emphases on emerging countries and their growing presence in the global economy and, interactions between emerging and developed country firms. For more information, please visit www.tandfonline.com/toc/rncr20/current and/or www.tnc-online.net.