Historically, the relationship between the private sector and international development has been deeply ambivalent. For many, a vibrant private sector and competitive markets are the essential prerequisites of development. For many others, development is principally concerned with ameliorating the dislocation associated with capitalist profit seeking. In the last generation, this ambivalence has given way to an emphasis on the complementarities between the private sector and development. Yet skeptics have continued to criticize the form of development this trend has promoted. We review the historical conditions behind this trend; the controversies concerning transnational corporations and foreign direct investment; the rise of corporate social responsibility; the parallel rise of philanthrocapitalism; and the growth of micro-credit as a marketoriented vehicle for poverty alleviation and empowerment. When taken together, it is clear that private sector actors have become increasingly influential in the new landscape of development, yet their effects remain ambiguous.

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This paper investigates the topic of sustainable natural resource governance, and policy and politics thereof, in the context of Botswana. The authors endeavour to provide a preliminary justification for why Botswana, as a country of investigation, is a potential role model and a site of deep study for researchers of contemporary sustainable resource governance. This paper argues that the rest of Africa can learn from the Government of Botswana’s policies regarding multinational corporations operating in the mining sector, particularly in terms of attracting investment, but, too, Botswana could learn much from others in terms of economic diversification and linkage promotion.

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