Paper details

Paper authors	Sofie Henriksen
In panel on	Taking ideology out of humanitarianism? The everyday, corporate interests and the politics of global solidarity
Paper presenter(s) will be presenting	In-Person / Online

Abstract

This paper examines the practices of finding alignment between the values and objectives of non-profit NGOs and for-profit companies in cross-sector partnerships for refugees. Cross-sector partnerships are increasingly implemented in response to humanitarian crises as a way for businesses to enact their social responsibilities. Through these partnerships, corporations have become influential actors in humanitarian governance, exemplified in particular in the global refugee crisis. An aspirational ideal of finding a “sweet spot” where profit and purpose aligns to create shared value underpins these cross-sector partnerships for refugees. However, I argue in this paper that alignment is rather constructed and negotiated in and through changing relations of power. Applying an analytical framework of critical CSR to an ethnographic case study of partnerships between a global humanitarian NGO and five technology companies, the paper shows how the ideal of alignment legitimates the adjustment of NGO needs to meet corporate priorities.

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