Bringing Shell and Friends of the Earth on stage: A one-act spectacle of oil spills in the Niger Delta

Sanja Pupovac and Lee Moerman

CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, 2022, vol. 85, issue C

Abstract: This paper explores the spectacle of oil spills in the Niger Delta as a controversial dialogue between Royal Dutch Shell plc and the civil-society organization Friends of the Earth International (FoE). Using the theater metaphor, we create a one-act play as a spectacular production of dialogic engagement between Shell’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports and an FoE shadow account. The paper reveals CSR practices as a contemporary manifestation of a disclosure spectacle, and shadow accounts as resistance in the form of parody. The study contributes to the theorizing of spectacle and adds to the discussion of resistance as a political act.

Keywords: Spectacle; Shadow accounts; Parody; Royal Dutch Shell; Friends of the Earth; Nigeria (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:crpeac:v:85:y:2022:i:c:s104523542030112x

DOI: 10.1016/j.cpa.2020.102264

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