Managing sustainability: the role of multinational corporations in the global south

Multinational corporations and international business practices as well as international investment are considered important elements for the diffusion of new modes of production, namely through a flow of cleaner production and new management practices such as corporate social responsibility (CSR). This view is lacking consistency and is not buttressed on strong empirical evidence. The positive driver of environmental sustainability is probably not international business and trade but strong and good institutions. The focus here is on four limitations: the context of the private firms and corporations, the workings of complex organizations, the technology and the right institutions that buttress the global, national and local contexts, taking as concrete examples some specific cases from the Global South, as Mozambique. The article concludes that these aspects have to be considered and contrasted to the technological and management solutions for sustainability.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A new war in Mozambique?

The political situation in Mozambique is agitated. At sunrise on April 4, a group of about 200 members of Renamo (National Resistance of Moçambique, the main opposition party) organized a meeting in Muxunguè (Chibabava, Province of Sofala). The FIR (Police of Rapid Intervention) then entered the meeting room in order to disperse the people. It seems that a woman died. As a reaction, in the night of the same day, a Renamo group attacked the Police Headquarters. Five people died and 11 were injured

Gestão e comunicação do risco ambiental num contexto africano: o caso do bypass da Mozal em Moçambique

This article aims to analyze the way in which Environmental Risk is managed and communicated to local people in an African context. In particular, the article considers the experience of one of the largest multinationals that operates in Mozambique: Mozal (Mozambique Aluminum). In 2010, it decided to make a “bypass” at its two Fume Treatment Centres. For six months, Mozal had been authorized to discharge emissions into the air without any filters, possibly damaging human health. The article seeks to understand how the various parties involved, institutional or otherwise, acted in order to prevent, manage and communicate this risk. The study is developed at two levels: firstly, the debate on risk communication in the Mozambican context; secondly, the same debate but at international level. As a conclusion, it is possible to argue that the weak and formal model of democracy present in Mozambique did not make it possible to obtain guarantees that have been considered serious and significant at international level.Este artigo pretende analisar o modo em que o Risco Ambiental é gerido e comunicado às populações locais num contexto africano. De forma mais específica, o artigo considera a experiência de uma das maiores multinacionais que operam em Moçambique: a Mozal (Mozambique Aluminum). Em 2010, a Mozal decidiu levar a cabo um “bypass” aos seus dois Centros de Tratamento de Fumos. A Mozal tinha conseguido uma autorização para lançar as suas emissões no ar sem filtros durante seis meses, com a séria possibilidade de prejudicar a saúde humana. O artigo procura perceber como os vários intervenientes envolvidos, quer institucionais, quer não, atuaram para prevenir, gerir e comunicar este risco. A pesquisa desenvolve-se de acordo com dois níveis de análise: primeiro, o debate sobre a comunicação do risco no contexto moçambicano; segundo, o mesmo debate mas ao nível internacional. Como conclusão, é possível deduzir que o modelo fraco e formal de democracia presente em Moçambique tem tornado impossível obter garantias que, pelo contrário, têm sido consideradas sérias e significativas no cenário internacional

Media Freedom and the “Transition” Era in Mozambique: 1990-2000

In this article the author aims at analysing the evolution of Mozambican journalism, since 1990 (when the new Constitution was approved) until today. The key hypothesis is that Mozambican journalism has been strictly related to Mozambican democracy, and that in 1999-2000 there has been important facts which have determined the option for different avenues from the side of private and public press. After giving a short framework on the political situation in Mozambique, the article focuses its attention on the legal basis of Mozambican media freedom, stressing the limitations that, till today, it continues to register

Analysis Of The Press Coverage Environmental Risk Of Mozambique: The Mozal Bypass case and newspaper “Notícias” and “O País”

This article aims at verifying the way in which the Mozambican press covered the environmental risk caused by the activity of the multinational Mozal (Mozambique Aluminium). This company worked without filters, for 137 days, between 2010 and 2011, emitting polluting gases directly into the air (“Bypass”). The investigation intends to understand how the two main Mozambican daily newspapers, “Notícias” and “O País”, approached this issue. The methodology used has been quantitative (i.e. the number of articles edited and the sources used) as well as qualitative (i.e. content analysis, with the help of conceptual semantic maps) in nature. The theoretical basis of the research was the Social Amplification of Risk Framework (SARF). The investigation showed that the coverage, instead of clarifying the real environmental risks arising from the Bypass, was used for political leverage either in favour of or against the decisions of the Government.O artigo pretende verificar o tipo de cobertura feito pela imprensa moçambicana relativamente ao risco ambiental derivante da actividade da multinacional Mozal (Mozambique Alluminium). Esta empresa trabalhou sem filtros, durante 137 dias, entre 2010 e 2011, emitindo para o ar de forma directa os seus gases poluentes (“Bypass). A pesquisa visa perceber como os dois diários moçambicanos de maior difusão, “Notícias” e “O País”, abordaram tal questão. As técnicas usadas foram quantitativas (números de artigos publicados e das fontes usadas) e qualitativas (análise do conteúdo, com o auxílio de mapas semântico-conceituais), usando a teoria da Amplificação Social do Risco (SARF) A investigação mostrou que a cobertura foi orientada não tanto para esclarecer o efectivo risco ambiental derivante do Bypass junto às populações locais, quanto como alavanca polémica de tipo político, em favor ou contra as decisões tomadas pelo Governo

Short reflections on the history of African communication

Este artículo tiene como objetivo proponer una subdivisión cronológica en la historia de la comunicación africana. Hoy en día la comunicación africana es uno de los ejes más importantes para la implementación de estrategias de desarrollo, para sostener la educación, la salud y los programas de escolarización y así sucesivamente. Sin embargo, muchos de estos programas fracasan debido a la falta o a la ineficaz comunicación entre las organizaciones internacionales, la élite local y los laicos. Las razones de esta situación se deben encontrar en la historia de la comunicación africana, que ha sufrido transformaciones radicales en sus diferentes fases. Utilizando el análisis funcionalista elaborado por Jakobson, en este artículo se propone una nueva subdivisión cronológica de la historia de la comunicación africana, reflexionando sobre las contradicciones actuales en la comunicación contemporánea en África.This article aims to propose a chronological subdivision in the history of African communication. African communication today is one of the most important axes for implementing development strategies, sustaining education, health, and schooling programmes, and so on. However, many of these programmes fail due to a lack of or ineffective communication between international organisations, local elite and lay people. The reasons for this situation must be found in Africa’s history of communication, which has undergone radical transformations in its different phases. Using the functionalist analysis drawn up by Jakobson, this article proposes a new chronological subdivision of Africa’s history of communication, reflecting on the current contradictions in contemporary communication in Africa

A new paradigm for development?: the issue of human rights and democratic institutions

After the post-development literature that led away from growth and accumulation of capital, the last decades have not just shown the limits or frustrations of these views but also opened the door for new criticisms and new proposals for changing societies, and not just their economic structures. This debate has much in common with the one on economic and sustainability indicators. In the present paper we try to relate the concept of development with human rights development and democratic institutions. A final consideration is made about the methodological implications of that transformation. The issue of development must be broadened in historical, disciplinary, and geographical terms. The new paradigm can be extended on several avenues. First, the problem of growth, economic indicators (GDP, among others), and capital accumulation (investment) are still central to the economic management of any country; but this is not enough, if we consider climate change, environmental pollution, and social ailments. A broader conception of societies, human being must be adopted, namely integrating a theory of needs, a new extension of human rights and a deepening of democratic and participative institutions. Second, the concept of development must adopt a historical view of the problems thar are analyzed and subject to policy definitions. This means looking at the process of development and historical legacy and not just at outcomes in the short run. Third, the notion of sustainability must gain broader currency, beyond the sustainable development goals. This implies a more integrated approach within countries in the Global South to define, implement and control policies. And this is also only possible with better democratic institutions and human rights compliance. All these connect to the extension of a new generation of human rights and democratic institutions. Some human rights are locally developed such as those of the Banjul Charter or African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and there is space for more. Democratic institutions and participation mean more ingrained and locally embedded approaches that last longer and correspond to local necessities. The present contribution combines human rights and the functioning of democracy and participation in an institutional perspective. It relates to the notion of sustainability that itself is a combination of the natural and the human worlds. Finally, it is important to adopt new methodologies that involve the beneficiaries of the policies, defining with them at least one part of the indicators, thence avoiding top-down approaches, in favor of more bottom-up ones.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Historical Details on Freud and the Moral Order Foundations of Societies

Freud considered that, in the beginning, the idea of society resulted from the moral order imposed by a totemic ideal generated by feelings of guilt and remorse motivated by the parricide of the founder of the community. Since the substance of the process has persisted in reinventions of social identities throughout history, from this assumption the article interprets the foundations of the moral order in postcolonial African societies, whose origins date back to pre-colonial African heritage, European colonial legacies and reactive historical phenomena of independence. While Freud’s ideal type focuses on the sense of collective guilt, the authors’ empirical approach highlights the historical relevance of the ideal of victimization in the twentieth century.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Italy and Mozambique: Science, Economy & Society within a History of an Anomalous Cooperation

In this article the authors aim at showing how an “anomalous” international and very intense cooperation between Italy and Mozambique was born. In fact, Italy has not a strong colonial tradition, especially in Mozambique, so it seems interesting to try to understand the reason why this former Portuguese colony has become the Italian most important partner in its cooperation activity. This analysis is based on the main hypothesis related to the birth of international bilateral cooperation: they have been seriously considered in order to explain the origin of this strange relationship, but they cannot completely clarify this particular case. According to the Italian social and political recent history, the privileged relationship with Mozambique is due more to a “bottom up” process than to geo-strategic or economic reasons. The fact that Mozambique had belonged to a weak Western power such as Portugal certainly gave Italy the opportunity to penetrate more easily in this country than in the ones which had been under the strong dominion of France or England. One of the most important results of this “anomalous” cooperation has to be found in the scientific fields (such as geology, architecture, biotechnologies) and in its impact on the development of Mozambique