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831.More information
Summary“Social responsibility” now seems to have become the panacea for the ills of globalization. Still marginal only a few decades ago, it now promises to fill the regulatory void created by the dismantling of Fordism and the formation of global economic and financial markets. In this article, we explore the anticipated regulatory impact of social responsibility in order to determine whether it could play a regulatory role for globalized business.One of the most recent definitions of social responsibility actually cites the voluntary initiatives now being taken by corporations, above and beyond their legal obligations. Since many stakeholders from the business world argue that regulatory measures are excessive, unwieldy and costly, voluntary initiatives are being viewed as alternatives to regulation or as regulatory alternatives inasmuch as they are founded on self-regulation. In contrast, this paper presents voluntary measures and regulations as two sides of the same coin : voluntary measures only emerge in anticipation of regulatory measures. This interweaving of voluntary measures with regulation is diametrically opposed to the discourse on social responsibility, which tends to reinforce the image of voluntary measures as an alternative to traditional regulation. Accordingly, the current discourse on social responsibility would have us believe that somewhere between the invisible hand of the market and the all-too-visible hand of the State, corporate management can lend a helping hand in the regulation of corporate activities. Thus, the discourse on social responsibility appears to have placed the greater good of society at the heart of corporate missions, without reforming corporate structures—structures still devoted to the private interests of their shareholders. So, what is this discourse on social responsibility really targeting ? It is hypothesized here that the social responsibility discourse is a corollary of the new role that business is playing in the society in an era of a globalized economy.By entering into discussions and partnering with states in their strategic manoeuvres to profit from globalization, global corporations have freed themselves of the now obsolete Fordist regulatory framework. However, they have also distanced themselves from the social role defined by Fordism and the social relevance of their production in a global era. In such a context, the call for social responsibility could redefine the social role of business in way that is consistent with the new conceptualization of development, contributing to its legitimacy in a post-industrial society.Discussion on social responsibility unfailingly brings us back to social transformations. It is not only a question of knowing how to make business socially responsible, but also of examining its role in the context of a new model of development, one that is different from the Fordist model. By approaching the discussion on social responsibility from these two vantage points, a variety of modes of regulation can be foreseen in the context of globalization. Given the dynamic created between adopting voluntary measures and establishing the regulatory possibilities mentioned earlier, we argue that international initiatives on corporate social responsibility are the harbingers of a worldwide normative regulatory framework that will be characterized by an unprecedented repositioning of the regulatory axes traditionally defined by the State, the market and civil society. Socio-economic movements are bringing pressure to bear on globalized corporations. In the absence of any world governing body, these initiatives are unlikely to be institutionalized, but such pressures could lead to an international regulatory framework supported by new regulatory agencies. Supposing that business anticipates the emergence of such a framework, we can view social responsibility initiatives as proactive and strategic behaviour on the part of leading edge businesses and conclude that official codes reflect an emerging compromise between international social movements and global corporations. We believe that codes of conduct that include substantive obligations are evidence of a compromise regarding the content of corporate social responsibility. They should be viewed as premises within this new international regulatory framework, rather than as regulatory instruments.Although still in its infancy, analysis in Europe has been instructive in predicting the configuration of this emerging regulatory framework. The European Commission clearly recognizes the existence of a new axis of regulation brought forth by civil society. However, it does not want to interfere with the definition of any substantive criteria, emphasizing instead the recognition of emerging social compromises. Ostensibly prudent, this analysis is nonetheless courageous since the Commission has explicitly cited reference norms, unlike some conceptualizations of social responsibility which tend to reject or invalidate the idea of a shared, worldwide commitment to universal values or norms. The stakeholders approach to corporate social responsibility excludes any debate on the substantive content of social responsibility by concentrating on the definition of a procedural framework. This perspective on social responsibility, which widens the gap between procedural and substantive norms, is already changing the international regulatory landscape. In years to come, it is entirely possible that two regulatory systems, with quite different regulatory impact, will be at loggerheads : one will be weak on substance and mainly oriented towards procedural imperatives, the other will be based in international law.Often presented as a univocal response to the regulation of globalized business, corporate social responsibility has generated a new arsenal of tools, signalling the arrival of an emerging international regulatory system. The emerging system is infinitely complex, relying on a variety of actors, mechanisms and normative foundations. It has been the basis of fundamental debates fired by antagonistic conceptions of society and the greater good. Combined with an analysis of other international initiatives now being taken, the tone and orientation of discussions across Europe give us a glimpse of how the emergent regulatory system will be configured : private and public, national and international, mandatory and voluntary, and brought forth by institutions whose legitimacy will be crucial.
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833.More information
Employing the figure of the silenus as an allegory for his compositional approach, Bouliane deepens its meaning through contact with the works of Rabelais and Eco, while projecting it upon several of his own works, the Douze tiroirs de demi-vérités pour alléger votre descente, and Comme un silène entr'ouvert, wherein he analyzes a number of the writing techniques.
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837.More information
SummaryPeace is one of the central themes of most of the great religions. In Christianity, including Catholicism, peace, in its various dimensions, has been an important object of meditation and preaching. From the primitive Church to Saint Augustine, from Saint Thomas Aquinas to the popes of the twentieth century, reflection on peace, as well as on legitimate defence and on war, developed, taking into account faithfulness to the texts of revelation and tradition, and adapting itself to the context of current historical and sociopolitical events. This paper studies one aspect of the teaching of the Catholic Church on the questions of peace, war and disarmament, that relating to the speeches and writings of popes Benedict XV (1914-1922), Pius XII (1939-1958), John XXIII (1958-1963), Paul VI ( 1963-1978) and John-Paul II ( 1978- ), as well as those of the Vatican II Council (Gaudium et Spes), that dealt with these issues. It throws light on the relatively progressive character of the official teaching of the Vatican on this subject; whereas in other areas, the papacy may seem to take rather conservative positions.
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838.More information
SummaryLike most western societies, Canada is facing fundamental societal questions at the present time which have led the state to examinewhat it seems to perceive as a problem of cohesion, as well as the current parameters of citizenship. This paper attempts tothrow light on certain responses which the Canadian state has brought to these questions. By analysing its recent practices anddiscourse in relation to the management of national and cultural diversity, it appears that, far from relaxing criteria and norms forcitizenship as often seen in certain identity claims, the Canadian state has chosen to return to and strengthen the notions and idealsthat have traditionally served as foundations to the image they convey of the Canadian political community.
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839.More information
The raid perpetrated by a party of Iroquois on the new settlement of Ile aux Oies could have been perceived simply as another sad event among so many others during that painful period of war between the French and the Iroquois. However, in addition to the massacre of seigneur Moyen and his wife, there was kidnapping of their three children and two others from a family of settlers, followed by their eventual liberation through the efforts of people in Ville-Marie (Montreal). This chain of events was noticed at the time by several authors who recounted the story. Later, the incident was forgotten and it was only in the XIXth and XXth centuries that some historians began to mention it in their writings. The construction of this story and its inscription in the collective memory at different times are examined in this article.