Multinationals claim no political influence while profiting from partner brutality

Evidence

Shell is by far the largest foreign stakeholder in the Nigerian economy, owning 47 percent of the oil industry. Its joint venture partner in the petroleum business during Nigeria’s most draconian years was the Abacha regime. Yet Shell representatives have repeatedly declared that they exercise no influence over Nigeria’s rulers; Europe’s largest oil corporation has thereby ducked behind the brutalities of its militaristic financial partners. Such an arrangement means that Shell and other foreign oil corporations can maintain their desired technological presence while, under cover of deference for national sovereignty, they continue to act as ethical absentees. — Rob Nixon, Slow Violence and the Environmentalism…, 300

Categorization

• XREF: Supports ‘ch8 corporations distance harm to dodge accountability’ via the sovereignty rhetoric mechanism.