Transnational governance regimes in the global South: multinationals, states and NGOs as political actors

Abstract

Introduction Brazil recently experienced one of the world's worst environmental disasters when the Samarco mining company's Fundão tailings dam burst. This tragic disaster, which occurred on 5 November, 2015, killed 17 people, swept away a district of the town of Mariana, polluted the Rio Doce river valley and degraded the water supply of 35 towns, negatively affecting the lives of millions of Brazilians (Aragão & Paes, 2016), and even impacting the waters of the South Atlantic. This was the world's worst environmental disaster involving a tailings dam to date (Bowker, 2015). As of June 2016, polluted sediment was still washing through the river and Samarco had still not paid the fines imposed on it. The mining company, jointly controlled by Australian-based multinational BHP Billiton and Brazil's Vale, was previously recognized as a leader in environmental standards, receiving numerous international awards and certifications (as did its joint owners). Although it is still too early to confirm with any certainty, since the investigations are still underway, there is evidence that this disaster was the result of a lack of adequate regulation, both by the market and by the state (Phillips, 2015). [...]