Genocide Studies and Corporate Social Responsibility: The Contemporary Case of the French National Railways (SNCF)

Authors

Sarah Federman, University of BaltimoreFollow

Abstract

Genocide studies considers the accountability various of perpetrators, as well as the needs mass atrocity creates. The inclusion of market actors, however, remains marginalized. This article considers factors perpetuating this marginalization and its costs, arguing for greater inclusion of market actors in genocide-related discussions. Relegating the importance of these actors makes the field, not their role, tangential. To examine this intersection of business and genocide, this article introduces a contemporary conflict involving the United States and France over the French National Railways (SNCF) and its role in the transport of deportees towards death camps during World War II. The lengthy, vitriolic conflict suggests the need for better discursive spaces to explore the complex role of market actors. Developing the intersection of genocide studies and corporate social responsibility in scholarship and increasing the participation of businesses in post-conflict work can help do this work.

Acknowledgements

Thank you to George Mason University and the Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah for their financial support.

DOI

http://doi.org/10.5038/1911-9933.11.2.1390

Recommended Citation

Federman, Sarah (2017) "Genocide Studies and Corporate Social Responsibility: The Contemporary Case of the French National Railways (SNCF)," Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal: Vol. 11: Iss. 2: 13-35.
DOI:

http://doi.org/10.5038/1911-9933.11.2.1390

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License