Companies in peace processes : a Guatemalan case study / Ulrike Joras.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Joras, Ulrike.

Contributor:

Class of 1932 Fund.

Series:

Kultur und soziale Praxis

Culture and social practice

Language:

German

Subjects (All):

Corporations--Guatemala.

Corporations.

History.

Peace.

Guatemala--History--Civil War, 1960-1996--Peace.

Guatemala.

Physical Description:

307 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Bielefeld : Transcript, 2007.

Summary:

The role of private companies in violent conflicts has gained increasingly more attention in recent years. Although the private sector is often associated with sustaining conflicts, companies are also assumed to be self-interested as well as able to support the prevention, settlement and transformation of violent conflicts.

This book explores the role of the private business sector during the civil war and the peace process in Guatemala. It examines and analyses the corporate positions during this period, aiming to add to a better understanding on the potentials and limits of integrating private business actors in conflict transformation.

Contents:

I Conceptual Framework

2 The Business Sector in Conflict Prevention, Conflict Settlement and Peacebuilding: Potentials and Limits of a New Type of Partnership 23

2.1 Corporate engagement in conflict management: Background of a new concept 23

2.2 Businessmen, business associations and economic elite: A closer look 28

2.3 Potential roles for business in conflict management: From conflict prevention to post-conflict peacebuilding 33

2.4 Who, how, where and why: A brief analysis of the demand for corporate engagement in conflict management 45

3 Corporate Costs of War and Peace 51

3.1 Costs of war 52

3.2 Costs of peace 68

3.3 Is there a role for business participation in conflict management? Some conclusions 79

4 The Economic and Social Structure of Guatemala 85

4.1 The Guatemalan economy and the dominance of coffee 85

4.2 Economic impacts of the war 96

4.3 Excursion: The indigenous population in Guatemala 103

5 Structure and Role of the Private Business Sector in Guatemala 107

5.1 The private sector in Guatemala - its characteristics and historic political role 108

5.2 Business organizations in Guatemala 113

6 The Private Business Sector during the Civil War 125

6.1 The war begins: The period between 1960 and 1970 126

6.2 A violent interlude: Low-intensity warfare as a business climate 131

6.3 The second war peak: The business sector between fleeing the country and developing new conflict management strategies 137

7 The Costs of Peace: Entering the Peace Process 151

7.1 Negotiating interests: The business sector during the commencement of the peace process 152

7.2 Progress and setback during the government of Serrano 164

7.3 The business sector gets more involved: The peace process during the De Leon- administration 177

7.4 The private sectors concurrence: The peace process comes to an end 201

8 Complying with the Peace Accords: The Private Business Sector's Role during Peace Building 213

8.1 No war but no success: A brief overview of the implementation of the peace accords 214

8.2 Is there a role for the business sector in the post-settlement phase? Some general thoughts 217

8.3 Difficult dialogues: Still no climate for peaceful conflict settlement? 219

8.4 The constitutional referendum of May 1999 222

8.5 Economic dimensions of peace 226

9 Conclusion and Policy Implications on Business Engagement in Conflict Management 247

9.1 The business sector in the Guatemalan peace processes: Findings from the case study 247

9.2 Comparison of the Guatemalan case with other peace process 260

9.3 Policy implications 269

Appendix 2 Destruction and damage of fincas (1978-1994) 274

Appendix 3 Destroyed infrastructure (1981-1995) 276

Box 1 Violent conflict and peace: Some definitions 24

Box 2 Definition of conflict management and related expressions 34

Box 3 Policy Implications 269

Graph 1 Area planted with coffee and production between 1961 and 2002 88

Graph 2 Area planted with sugar cane and production between 1961 and 2002 89

Graph 3 Area planted in with bananas and production between 1961 and 2002 90

Graph 4 GDP growth rates in Guatemala between 1971 and 2003 93

Graph 5 Gross Domestic Product to constant market prices from 1995 in million USD between 1950 and 2001 93

Graph 6 Percent of killings and disappearances occurring in rural areas by year, 1960-1995 99

Graph 7 Number of visitors for the years 1973-2000 101

Graph 8 Foreign exchange from tourism in million USD from 1973-2000 101

Graph 9 Export value of main traditional product between 1995 and 2002 102.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [279]-307).

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Class of 1932 Fund.

ISBN:

9783899426908

3899426908

OCLC:

164113147