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Article: RELUCTANT MISSIONARIES.(international corporations)
- Article from:
- Foreign Policy
- Article date:
- July 1, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Can't shut down Big Oil? Then browbeat companies like Shell and ExxonMobil into preaching the gospel of human rights and democracy to their developing-world hosts. As appealing as this strategy seems to global do-gooders, it won't work. Not only are oil companies unsuited for the job of turning the world's most difficult neighborhoods into thriving market democracies, they're increasingly adept at passing the buck of reform to others.
Beginning in the late 16th century, European countries found a way to extend their global commercial and political power on the cheap: They granted charter companies monopolies over trade in designated areas and in return required ...