CSR Revisited: About Possibilities and Limits of Corporate Responsibility

References to the concept of responsibility have been increasing in political, legal and economic debates. Responsibility and politics is however nothing new. Yet, in times of global governance, it deserves a fresh look as the nature of politics has changed. Given more political actors beyond the nation state, we increasingly face situations in which political responsibility cannot be ascribed clearly or actors have the chance to avoid taking on responsibility. How can such problems be tackled? This paper addresses such questions, employing the case of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Based on a typology about the role of corporations in global governance, four cases are discussed as illustrations of conceptual issues that should be reflected upon before CSR is called for.