In recent years, binding regulations in the “home states” of corporations have emerged mainly in the Global North with the aim of holding corporations accountable for human rights and environmental impacts throughout their supply chains. However, we still need a better understanding about to what extent such regulations contribute to enhance “foreign corporate accountability (FCA).” This article introduces a special issue that theorizes and empirically investigates foreign accountability dynamics. We do so by advancing an analytical framework that conceptualizes FCA and identify important contextual conditions that help to explain accountability dynamics. Applying this framework, we show that the drafting, implementation, and enforcement of such regulations are highly political processes, wherein competing ideas embedded within unequal actor constellations and institutional environments shape the possibilities to achieve more transformative change. By theorizing and empirically investigating FCA dynamics, we contribute to advance debates about the sustainability governance of global supply chains.

中文翻译：

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供应链监管的政治：外国公司在人权和环境领域的责任？

近年来，企业“母国”的约束性法规主要出现在北半球国家，目的是让企业对其整个供应链的人权和环境影响负责。然而，我们仍然需要更好地了解此类法规在多大程度上有助于加强“外国企业责任（FCA）”。本文介绍了一个对外国问责动态进行理论和实证研究的特殊问题。我们通过推进一个分析框架来实现这一目标，该框架将 FCA 概念化并确定有助于解释问责动态的重要背景条件。应用这个框架，我们表明，此类法规的起草、实施和执行是高度政治化的过程，其中嵌入在不平等的参与者群和制度环境中的竞争思想塑造了实现更具变革性变革的可能性。通过对 FCA 动态进行理论分析和实证研究，我们有助于推进有关全球供应链可持续治理的辩论。