Making a Killing: How and Why Corporations Use Armed Force to Do Business [Hardcover]

Madelaine Drohan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2004

A dramatic and compelling journey into the dark heart of globalization.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Former foreign correspondent for Toronto's Globe and Mail, Drohan concentrates on Africa for this indictment of multinational corporations that forge ties with armies, warlords, militias and mercenaries. She traces the roots of corporate armed force to Cecil Rhodes and his British South Africa Company, describing even greater atrocities perpetrated in the Congo and in Sierra Leone during the 1950s. The efforts of Belgian company Union Minière to secure an independent Katanga demonstrates the limits of corporations' ability to employ armed force in competition with effective governments and international organizations. The second half of the book shows what can happen given the absence of those countervailing forces. A single man, Roland Walter Rowland, shaped the history of newly independent Mozambique via politicized investment policies; in the early 1990s, Shell Oil worked hand-in-glove with the Nigerian government and ignored the consequences for human rights. In the Sudan, Talisman Energy, a Canadian oil firm, became embroiled in the north-south conflict that continues to wrack that country when Sudanese troops ostensibly guarding the oil fields practiced a scorched-earth policy in the surrounding communities. Though a comparative dimension incorporating South Asia and Latin America would have been valuable, Drohan's African case studies (and there are more here) are well researched, clearly presented and deeply troubling.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Bloodless accounting crimes look like child's play when compared to the ruthless and deadly corporate practices detailed in MAKING A KILLING . . . from tales of warlords, mercenaries, and sponsored insurrection, to grisly stories of torture and murder, this sobering volume offers grim vindication to anti-globalization activists, and a slap alongside the head for investors and business people with international interests . . . Drohan's grasp of her subject matter is impressive . . . how she managed to get interviews with some f the dubious characters she did is a marvel."--The Globe and Mail

"A compelling look at a very worthy subject."--Toronto Star

"Drohan's African case studies are well researched, clearly presented and deeply troubling."-- Publishers Weekly

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: The Lyons Press (September 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592285775
• ISBN-13: 978-1592285778
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,492,166 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A pantheon of predators, January 20, 2004

By 

Stephen A. Haines (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Making a Killing: How and Why Corporations Use Armed Force to Do Business (Paperback)

Resource control is the core of Madelaine Drohan's book. Where the image of empire was once faceless armies, religious zealots or expanding trade, modern conditions have changed this view. Instead of governments launching empires, suit-clad businessmen now decide where the action lies. Decisions to exploit resource areas are not made in ministry offices, but in corporate boardrooms. Businessmen, "and they are almost always men", choose locations, make investments, recruit workers and begin operations. Until there is unrest. Then they call in governments to support their enterprise. If governments cannot or will not respond, the entrepreneur's answer is the "private army". Mercenary professional military men act as "security" teams, policemen or replacement armies. And they are accountable to no-one but the firm that has hired them.

Drohan's account begins with the rule of Cecil Rhodes "who stands head and shoulders above" the ranks of those applying military solutions to "corporate problems". Rhodes built an immense resource empire in Southern Africa. He also set the standard for controlling workers as firmly as he did markets. By the expedient of raising a battalion of "pioneers" to deal with reluctant African peoples and recalcitrant workers, Rhodes expanded his holdings to an unprecedented degree. Attributing his goals to the furtherance of the British Empire, he also ensured the continuation of profits to his own pocket. Belgium's king Leopold followed Rhodes' example by keeping the Congo as a personal fief. The Belgian government was simply shunted aside on imperial affairs for decades. The rape of the Congo is a glaring example of imperialism run rampant, yet it set the stage for what followed.

Drohan's narrative is dominated by personalities. Like a gaggle of rapacious ravens, men prominent in resource enterprise descended on Africa after Rhodes. Some of these were British, some Canadian, but others arose from among Africa's own peoples. These last were flexing political and economic muscle as former colonies became independent. These new nations, with their artificial boundaries laid down irrespective of tribal or ethnic limits, became caught up in internal regional disputes. Resource firms played off these rivalries to their advantage where possible. If contests for power became too heated, the companies had the option to withdraw or find ways of protecting their investments. Protection was provided by "security forces" available for hire. Among the most notorious of these was the South African firm, Executive Outcomes. Staffed by disaffected South African soldiers, it offered services directly or through hidden subsidiaries. Executive Outcomes emerges frequently, if often vaguely, as Drohan valiantly tries to unravel the machinations the firm and its customers perpetrated as gold, diamonds and other resources were sought and exploited. Legality is an elusive term in these activities.

These are not distant and unrelated events. We tend to cling to the image of investment benefiting all - the theme of "globalisation". Drohan demonstrates how firms, pursuing resource wealth in Africa, have followed the Rhodes formula for success. Whether hiring private armies or simply requesting local government forces to act in their interests, resource firms are steadfastly ignoring the impact on local people and their economy. Of all Drohan's examples, the most glaring is the Talisman Energy story. Her chapter on this operation is at once the worst and the best example in the book. Talisman, a latecomer to Africa, seems to have learned nothing from previous resource history in the region. As Drohan describes it, Jim Buckee, Talisman's head, followed a sinuous path trying to keep his firm active in the resource field. With one eye open to profits and the other closed to government activities done in the name of "security" for his operations, Buckee brought his firm close to disaster. On the other hand, the case demonstrated the power of the public in bringing such firms to judgment. Various large stockholders, chastened at the thought of supporting a firm blind to the impact of its operations, withdrew investment. It's a fine example of what individuals can achieve in acting collectively.

Drohan's book is a much needed exposure of business morals left unscrutinised. In her final chapter, "Perfectly Legal, Perfectly Immoral", she shows the path to justice for people under oppressive regimes shored up by rapacious businesses is long and difficult. Yet, if readers pay attention, she shows how they can be effective in making change. With a federal election looming, it would benefit electors to read this book and reflect on its message. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An intriguing, eye-opening discussion, February 7, 2005

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Making a Killing: How and Why Corporations Use Armed Force to Do Business (Hardcover)

What happens when multinational corporations decide that the use of armed force is really business? When companies line up with warlords and armies to make a profit? When corporate interests dictate war or peace? Madelaine Drohan's meticulously researched and impressively wrfitten expose, Making A Killing, shows just what happens in a world of multinational power, drawing important connections between corporate armed forces and history and providing food for thought for corporations, policy makers and national leaders alike -- the result is an intriguing, eye-opening discussion.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid research and first-hand observations, December 5, 2003

By 

Grant Neufeld (Calgary, AB Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Making a Killing: How and Why Corporations Use Armed Force to Do Business (Paperback)

Drohan cover a number of specifc cases of corporations using violence to further their interests - dedicating a chapter to each case. She makes no effort to be a comprehensive compendium of all the ills perpetrated by corporations, instead choosing to focus on a few prime examples in detail where her experiences as a journalist can bring some perspective to each case.

My own particular interest is around the role of Calgary-based Talisman Energy Inc. in Sudan. The chapter on Talisman was solid and insightful, with Drohan drawing from her own experiences in Sudan and interviews with key players, as well as the volumes of research and reports available.

The book is a telling study of the irresponsible extremes corporations can go to in their simple-minded focus on profit as the only goal.