When? – December 8th/9th, 2016
Where? – Hochschule für Politik München / Bavarian School of Public Policy, Munich

In political theory, questions about corporate governance have made a comeback in debates about the nature of corporations, the conceptualization of economic power, human rights responsibilities of corporations, and questions about workplace democracy. As recent scandals such as the Global Financial Crisis or VW’s diesel emissions scandal show, wrongdoing by or within business corporations can have wide-ranging consequences for the societies within which they operate. Such events cause not only massive economic harm, but also moral harm, for example by illegitimately infringing on the rights of third parties or by polluting the environment. This interdisciplinary workshop brings together experts from the fields of philosophy, political theory, business ethics and law in order to discuss these themes. The aim is to discuss cutting-edge research (work in progress) from these fields and to explore further possibilities of interdisciplinary inquiry.

Papers for most presentations will be pre-circulated and we will go directly into the discussion. Participation is free, but registration is required (first come, first serve). Abstracts available upon request. Please email lisa.herzog@hfp.tum.de to register.

Program

Thursday, December 8th
2.00pm              Welcome and introduction
2.30pm              Maha Atal, University of Cambridge
“Corporations of Our Making: Nicholas Onuf and the Politics of CSR”
3.30pm              Lisa Herzog, Bavarian School of Public Policy, Munich
“Cultural power and corporate governance”
4.30pm              Coffee break
5.00pm              Christian Neuhäuser, University of Dortmund
“Workplace democracy, market competition and self-realization”
6.00pm              Drinks
7.30pm              Dinner for speakers

Friday, December 9th
9.00pm              Rutger Claassen, University of Utrecht
“The Corporation in Liberal-Democratic Thought”
10.00pm            Coffee break
10.30pm            David Ciepley, University of Denver / Notre Dame University
“Corporations as Franchise Governments”
11.30pm            Abraham Singer, University of Rochester
“On the Relative Insignificance of the Corporation’s Governmental Provenance”
12.30pm            Lunch
1.30pm              Gregory Jackson, FU Berlin
“The German experience: co-determination between ideal and reality” (exact title t.b.c.)
2.30                                                  Pierre-Yves Néron, Lille Catholic University:
“What is so special about workers? Justice, corporate governance and the democratization of the firm”
3.30pm              Final discussion: Corporate governance from a perspective of political theory
– where to go next?
4pm                                                 End of program