Department of Sociology, Political Science and Community Planning Non-state actors in weak states. An exploration of NGOs and MNCs in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. — Halvor Sanness Lightfoot Master thesis in Political Science – STV3900 - May 2018 ii iii iv Acknowledgements. First of all, I would very much like to thank my advisor Peter Stuart Robinson for helping me with this master thesis. His support and feedback has been very helpful in complete my work. Without his help it is doubtful whether I would have been ever able to complete this thesis. I would also like to thank my parents Bente and Michael for pushing me to finish and being very supportive. Huge thanks also goes to my girlfriend Kjersti for helping me through some of the stressful times. All the members of Lesehuset also deserve a huge thanks for the good card games and not least waffle Fridays. Halvor Sanness Lightfoot May 14, 2018 v vi Abstract. This thesis focuses on the non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations that operate in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The eastern DRC has undergone several bouts of armed conflict these armed conflicts and other factors have left the region lacking in both services and governance. Non-state actors like NGOs and MNCs deliver several services to the region that the state struggles to provide. However, what services do they deliver and do these services make an impact on the region. In looking at the services this thesis uses document analysis to determine the services delivered, their impact and how they are able to deliver services and improve governance. Based on the analysis these non-state actors are involved in delivering much needed services to the region and they do so through various ways. When they deliver these services they also influence the governance in the region and this in turn helps the local population. They are able to deliver the services as there exists a number of outside influence that facilitate the governance provided. Even though the non-state actors provide important services and governance their presence in the region is not unproblematic. vii viii Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction. ............................................................................................................. 1 Multinational/Transnational Corporations. ...................................................................... 1 Non-governmental organizations. ...................................................................................... 4 Research questions. .............................................................................................................. 5 Methodology. .................................................................................................................... 5 Theories. ............................................................................................................................ 6 Chapter 2: Definitions and a brief summary of the eastern DRC. ........................................... 11 Defining MNCs. .............................................................................................................. 11 Governance and services. .................................................................................................. 12 North and South Kivu. ...................................................................................................... 13 Impact of the Rwandan Genocide. ................................................................................... 14 Mineral resource trade in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. ....................... 15 Dodd-Frank Act. ............................................................................................................ 16 Chapter 3: Methodology. ......................................................................................................... 19 Purposive Sampling. .......................................................................................................... 19 Evaluating the documents. ................................................................................................ 21 Analysis techniques. ........................................................................................................... 23 Presenting the documents.................................................................................................. 24 Chapter 4: Theories. ................................................................................................................. 26 English school of international relations. ........................................................................ 27 Shadow of hierarchy theory. ............................................................................................. 30 International Community. ................................................................................................ 33 International legal standards. .......................................................................................... 34 Incentives. ........................................................................................................................ 35 Principal-agent theory and accountability. ..................................................................... 36 Symbolic Legitimacy .......................................................................................................... 39 Chapter 5: Analysis. ................................................................................................................. 44 How do MNCs and NGOs deliver services and governance in the region? ................. 44 Global Witness. .............................................................................................................. 45 Médecins Sans Frontièrs. .............................................................................................. 48 ZOA International. ........................................................................................................ 49 Banro Corporation......................................................................................................... 51 ix MMG. .............................................................................................................................. 53 Principal-Agent theory and accountability in regards to the NGO and MNC documents. .......................................................................................................................... 56 How do the non-state actors interact? Furthermore, how do the non-state actors display their legitimacy throughout their reports?......................................................... 60 The legitimacy of the non-state actors. ........................................................................ 62 Finally, what enables the non-state actors to be able to deliver services and governance to the region? ................................................................................................. 65 International Standards ................................................................................................ 66 International Community ............................................................................................. 68 Incentives. ....................................................................................................................... 69 Chapter 6: Conclusion.............................................................................................................. 72 Civil Society ........................................................................................................................ 78 Bibliography. ........................................................................................................................... 80 x