Technical Communication Quarterly Apr 2025

Communicating Global Governmentality: The United Nations Global Compact, BP, and the Implicit Violence of Human Rights Discourse

Michael T. MacDonald University of Michigan–Dearborn

Abstract

The reports the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) requires of its members provide an opportunity to study the shifting role of the private sector within the regime of human rights discourse. Using British Petroleum as a case study, I combine technical communication theories of power with Foucault's concept of governmentality to examine the rhetorical strategies in UNGC-BP communications, finding a disconnect between human rights principles and company reporting that validates rather than rejects corporate violence.

Journal
Technical Communication Quarterly
Published
2025-04-03
DOI
10.1080/10572252.2024.2394999
Open Access
Closed

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

Cites in this index (9)

  1. Agbozo (2023)
    Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis for Technical Communication Research
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Walwema (2021)
    The WHO Health Alert: Communicating a Global Pandemic with WhatsApp
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Jones et al. (2016)
    Disrupting the Past to Disrupt the Future: An Antenarrative of Technical Commun…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Frost (2013)
    Transcultural Risk Communication on Dauphin Island: An Analysis of Ironically L…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Starke-Meyerring (2005)
    Meeting the Challenges of Globalization
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Show all 9 →
  1. Rude (2004)
    Toward an Expanded Concept of Rhetorical Delivery: The Uses of Reports in Publi…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Longo (1998)
    An approach for applying cultural study theory to technical writing research
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Waddell (1995)
    Defining sustainable development: A case study in environmental communication
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Katz (1992)
    The Ethic of Expediency: Classical Rhetoric, Technology, and the Holocaust
    College English
Also cites 18 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.2307/j.ctt17kk9p8
     ↗
  2. 10.1145/3453460.3453461
     ↗
  3. 10.1057/9780230245075
     ↗
  4. 10.1215/9780822386544
     ↗
  5. 10.1093/oso/9780199264315.001.0001
     ↗
  6. 10.26818/9780814214688
     ↗
  7. 10.1109/ProComm57838.2023.00046
     ↗
  8. Human Rights Watch. (2015). World report 2015: Iraq. Human rights watch. https://www.hrw.org/world-report/201…
     ↗
  9. 10.1007/s10551-013-1747-6
     ↗
  10. 10.4324/9780203865736
     ↗
  11. 10.4324/9780429266669
     ↗
  12. 10.1215/9780822391845
     ↗
  13. 10.1215/9780822387879
     ↗
  14. 10.1007/s10551-014-2216-6
     ↗
  15. 10.4324/9781315442044-8
     ↗
  16. 10.1017/CBO9780511488856
     ↗
  17. 10.1007/s10551-014-2214-8
     ↗
  18. 10.4324/9780429198748
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 0 View in citation network →