CSR officers as heterodox brokers in Kanaky New Caledonia: Travelling models and spatialising effects

Abstract

Nickel extraction and processing have profoundly shaped Kanaky New Caledonia's social, political and colonial/decolonial trajectory over the past 150 years. This activity has transformed material and mental landscapes while generating intermediary officers whose roles evolved over time. Since the 2000s, the arrival of transnational corporations introduced ‘travelling models’, such as impact and benefit agreements (IBA), corporate social responsibility (CSR) and social licence to operate (SLO), which mediate global discourses and reshape local arenas. This paper focuses on CSR officers as development brokers, a relatively unexplored theme in CSR and mining anthropology. It advances two hypotheses: first, CSR officers differ from traditional brokers by structurally working toward corporate local anchoring (or ‘social acceptability’) and brokering not only development but also compensation, social peace and institutional design, thus also endorsing a diplomatic role; second, they contribute to defining mining impact and influence perimeters and arenas at both local and New Caledonian levels. Drawing on research conducted between 2008 and 2022, particularly the social biographies of CSR officers across firms and sectors, the analysis highlights the spatialising effects of brokerage and strategic role in transforming minescapes.