An oil company as a force for good? how statoil put norway’s identity as a “champion of ideals” to the test

Abstract

This article explores how Norway’s quest for moral authority to be recognized as a “champion of ideals” came under strain in the 1990s when the Norwegian state’s oil company Statoil expanded its operations both in Norway and abroad. While we know much about Scandinavia’s international activism after the end of the Cold War, we know less about how Scandinavian businesses responded to or potentially impacted this activism. The aim of this article is therefore to begin addressing this issue by examining Statoil’s response to some of Norway’s moral and ethical aspirations in the post-Cold War global arena. Particular attention is paid to the tension between Norway’s ambition to be an early mover for sustainable development and a human rights advocate, and Statoil’s approach to environmental problems and human rights violations. As such, the article explores the role of state-owned enterprises in profit-making and global expansion during a formative decade when economy became an increasingly important determinant of Norwegian foreign relations, and ethical and moral objectives with roots in earlier decades were revitalized through an unprecedented number of international initiatives