Opening civic spaces
In many ways, the Green New Deal, climate strikes, the anti-corruption reckonings in Brazil and South Africa, the Indian farmers’ protests, and more all came about during times of authoritarian repression.
Following the inaugurations of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as president of Turkey in 2014, Donald Trump as president of the United States in 2017, Jair Bolsonoro as president of Brazil in 2019, and others, a shockwave reverberated throughout civil society as one authoritarian government after another came into power around the world. In fast succession, these authoritarian governments sought to limit the civic space for speech, debate, mobilization, and protest. While a challenging time to be sure, during this period CSOs and funders learned to creatively take advantage of holes in the authoritarian armor, both to open new civic spaces while also protecting the lives and livelihoods of those involved. In this sense, as a corporate accountability movement, we became attuned to situational opportunities where we could make hay with what was available.
Thefollowing are situational opportunitiesthat advocates can harness to address and stop the corporate capture of the State:
- Political moments:Moments of political transition — prior to or following an election, during a change in ruling political party, following the inauguration of a leader to political office, during parliamentary elections, surrounding the membership conditionality of a country to join a political bloc, and so on — are unique opportunities to communicate publicly and utilize public attention to push back against corporate capture. In other words,these are particularly ripe moments when we can make corporate capture a political issue, perhaps even compelling politicians to address the issue in their campaign platforms or policies.The Gupta-Zuma scandal in South Africa, for example, in many ways hastened the end of the Zuma Administration and led to greater scrutiny of Ramaphosa’s election as president, thus heightening the visibility of the Zondo Commission and the civil society advocacy that surrounded it.
- Mass events:Big events, such asmega-sporting events(MSEs), provide key opportunities to shine a spotlight on human rights protections and address structural issues in host countries, such as the corporate capture of the State. One such example was theFIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar,where several organizations took advantage of the moment to increase worker rights protections. According to Ulula, “The FIFPRO World Players’ Union, Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI), International Domestic Workers Federation (IDWF) and Ulula are breaking ground at the FIFA World Cup with a digital platform designed to advance migrant worker’s rights. This platform will facilitate access to information, training, and legal advice and support. The goal is to leave a legacy of improved worker’s rights that outlasts the spectacle of the World Cup. (…) By acting as a buffer between the worker and the authorities, the platform will facilitate access to justice for migrant workers. The platform will help to identify patterns and collect data, formalise evidence, and promote awareness among the working population.”
Innovations such as Ulula’s platform and others, including the Business and Human Rights Resource Center’s Qatar World Cup Parallel Portal, are examples of how mass events provide opportunities for public communication and attention. Another opportunity is the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. According to a report by Empower, “Regarding structural issues, the 2026 FWC could be used to bring about lasting changes in the affected communities, specifically in terms of human rights protections, job creation, and improved infrastructure. The event could also be leveraged to improve transparency in public and private procurement as well as to build human rights and sustainability into procurement processes. CSOs could use the event to put pressure on local and national governments to make improvements to the law enforcement system, which in Mexico is often repressive. Finally, civil society could push for greater oversight of private security companies in line with the highest international standards.”