Engaging Marginalized Stakeholders: Towards a Dialogical Theorization of Effective Corporate-Rightsholder Remedy

Abstract

In the remediation of business-related human rights abuses, meaningful stakeholder engagement which culminates in effective access to remedy begins with forms of communication that enable the voice and agency of marginalized stakeholders, and value their lived experiences. Here, we consider how the development of a dialogical theorization of stakeholder engagement is aligned with the practical and ethical goals of an effective access to human rights remedy. Drawing on dialogical theory, we discern four ethical criteria —power cognizance, polyphonic pluralism, generative agonism and discursive unfinalizability— that reveal three general approaches to stakeholder engagement —essentially monologic, seemingly dialogic and authentically dialogic— based on the extent to which they exhibit the criteria above. We propose and discuss an 'authentically dialogic' approach for organizations adopting morally expansive, victim-centric approaches to engagement in the design and implementation of company-led remedial mechanisms.