The Global Political Economy in Local Violence: Exploring the Role of Corporations, Trade and Loans in the Killings of Social Activists

This report exa­mines the nexus be­tween the global political economy and vio­lence in one of its most drastic forms: the tar­geted killing of social activists. To under­stand the different ways in which the trans­national flow of re­sources and the activities of multi­national corporations as well as states and inter­national orga­nizations contribute to causing the killing of social activists, it reviews existing aca­demic studies and policy reports. It finds that existing quan­titative evidence generally confirms the role of the global political economy in the violence against social activists, highlighting resource- and land-intensive sectors and the dis­proportionate targeting of indigenous peoples as well as activists defending land rights. Further­more, data shows that a sig­nificant share of the killings of human rights de­fenders concern activists challen­ging business practices. Four case studies in Colombia, Honduras, Indonesia and The Phili­ppines give further insight into how exactly external actors con­tribute to anti-activist vio­lence.

Research for this publication was conducted within the framework of the research project “Research Center Transformations of Political Violence”, funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR).