Keeping Corporations in Check: An Analysis of International Organizations' Efforts to Regulate Multinational Corporations, 1970-1990s

Abstract

This thesis is a comparative and historical study that analyzes the efforts to regulate multinational corporations (MNC) by three major intergovernmental organizations: United Nations, International Labour Organization, and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Starting in the 1970s, these three organizations attempted to create universal codes of conduct to minimize the negative consequences of MNCs. Although these attempted codes had the same overarching goals and were developed at the same time, the outcomes widely varied between the three attempts. This paper argues that the universal codes of conduct created in the 1970s were primarily tools to build legitimacy, trust and reputation for the developed country governments and intergovernmental organizations, rather than an actual attempt at regulating, controlling, or reducing the negative consequences of MNCs. Although the organizations stated that their intention is to regulate MNCs, they are driven by the desire and need to stay legitimate in international governance and build reputation. The nuances within each code showcase this underlying motivation. As the codes were being adopted (or abandoned), the organizations spent a significant amount of time on the promotion and follow up of these codes, so that the codes, and thus the organizations themselves, would keep relevance and continue to build reputation. As the economic and political need to regulate MNCs started declining, the codes lost influence and priority within the IOs. Thus, the results of these codes are very mixed and have had very little success at tangibly regulating MNCs.