State-Corporate Hegemony and Institutional Anomie Revisited: a Case Study of the Nicaragua Canal

State-corporate Hegemony and Institutional Anomie Revisited: A Case Study of the Nicaragua Canal

by Rachel E. Fairchild

B.S. in Criminal Justice, May 2016, Old Dominion University

A Thesis submitted to

The Faculty of The Columbian College of Arts & Sciences of The George Washington University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts

August 31, 2018

Thesis directed by

Kenneth Leon Assistant Professor of Sociology

Abstract

State-corporate Hegemony and Institutional Anomie Revisited: A Case Study of the Nicaragua Canal

The Nicaraguan Canal is a multi-billion dollar project of civil engineering that would commercialize the degradation of Nicaragua’s environment and the breakdown of human rights. Specifically, the project—yet to be undertaken—would have an irrevocable impact on the environment, ecology, and humans by damaging delicate reserves, prompting mass evictions, and destroying the livelihoods of locals and tribal communities as well as those of future generations. Further, the instability created contributes to a state conducive to interpersonal and violent crime, while the project itself has already encouraged instances of state-corporate crime such as (Agnew, 2011). While such a canal would be devastating to local and global communities alike, the modern capitalist values that permeate the global economy ensures the prioritization of the financial institution over all other institutions, such that—were funding secured—the canal would inevitably come to pass.

Through the theoretical framework of Messner and Rosenfeld’s institutional anomie theory (1994), this study conducts a critical discourse analysis on various news and report sources to explore how organizations in power legitimize objectively harmful actions against people and the environment. Applied to the Nicaraguan Canal and utilizing

Messner and Rosenfeld’s institutional anomie theory, it is predicted that the stalled status of the project is attributed not to the plethora of scientific and normative arguments against it, as is the case within and across nonprofit organizations and news reports, but due to a current lapse in the availability of capital. As this thesis argues, in the current neoliberal governance climate that systematically incorporates my theorized iteration of

institutional anomie, the Nicaragua Canal’s success or failure will be predominately determined by the logics of capital.

Keywords: green criminology, Nicaraguan Canal, HKND Group, Panama Canal,

environmental crime, state-corporate crime

iii

Table of Contents

Abstract ...... ii

Table of Contents ...... iv

List of Figures ...... v

List of Tables ...... vi

Chapter 1: Introduction ...... 1

Chapter 2: Literature Review ...... 8

Chapter 3: Methodology ...... 26

Chapter 4: Findings ...... 38

Chapter 5: Discussion ...... 72

Chapter 6: Conclusion ...... 82

References ...... 84

List of Figures

Figure 1 ...... 3

Figure 2 ...... 5

List of Tables

Table 1 ...... 6

Table 2 ...... 24

Table 3 ...... 27

Table 4 ...... 29

Table 5 ...... 39

Table 6 ...... 51

State-corporate Hegemony and Institutional Anomie Revisited: A Case Study of the Nicaragua Canal

Chapter 1: Introduction

In order to uphold its ultimate imperative of profit, the capitalist values that dominate the global economy are faced with the task of constantly finding new ways to push the boundaries of commodification and marketization. Such a process has led to a continuous system whereby the natural world becomes subject to increasing consumerism and monetization (White, 2013). Commodification views the natural caches of life and ecological diversity such as rainforests as economic abstractions, possessing value only insofar as they can be defined economically and in capitalist terms (The Economist

Group Limited, 2018). The Nicaraguan Canal is a manifestation of this process. A multi- billion dollar project, the Nicaraguan Canal proposes to cut across Central America and would require hundreds of square miles of altering the physical landscape in order to allow for the passage of the largest modern commercial trade ships, rivaling if not categorically superseding the operational capacities of the extant Panama Canal (Daley,

2016).1 Within the context of the capitalist market economy, the needs of the natural world and those who live within it fall to the wayside in order to make room for global- level trade, as indicated by the indigenous peoples and other Nicaraguan civilians who stand to lose their way of life and livelihoods to this proposed project (Amnesty

International, 2017).

1 While beyond the scope of this project, it is important to note the presence of geopolitical forces that shape—and have shaped—the Central American region for many years. Where the Panama Canal was an imperial endeavor of the United States, China now stands to benefit from the Nicaragua Canal in terms of economic, political, and state influence throughout the region.

As it stands, the Nicaraguan Canal is a case well-suited to a green criminological interpretation. Defined as “a framework of intellectual, empirical, and political orientations,” green criminology looks at the “harms, offenses and crimes that impact in a damaging way on the natural environment, diverse species (human and non-human) and the planet (Ruggiero & South, 2013, p. 360).

This definition specifically addresses a lapse in orthodox criminological interpretations of “crime,” wherein criminal definitions are shaped by the ideology of the prevailing power system and are unlikely to categorize corporate environmental harms as crime (Friedrichs, 2015; Michalowski, 2016). The specific examination of crimes of the powerful is explored in depth in green as well as in state-corporate criminology, which focuses special attention on the existing power-structures that

shape and influence both individual and institutional (for example, governmental) behavior; highlights neglected crime...which causes more extensive damage than the street crimes examined by orthodox criminology; and, discusses the ways in which law and criminal justice processes reinforce power structures and contribute to class control. (Hillyard & Tombs, 2007, p. 9)

The tendency of green criminology to examine crime within a state-corporate context is of value to this study, wherein the widespread harms imposed on humans and the environment are of particular interest (Hillyard & Tombs, 2007).

This thesis uses the Nicaragua Canal as an exemplary case study to examine institutional anomie within the context of green criminology, represented by the wide range of social harms and criminogenic conditions that would materialize if and when it is constructed. Through a perspective drawn from green criminology, I seek to explore the criminogenic mechanisms established by the construction of the Canal as well as the

immanency of the project as dependent on the financial—rather than environmental— requirement.

Figure 1. Nicaragua Carve-up (Meyer & Huete-Pérez, 2014)

As a periphery nation, the economy of Nicaragua is marked by an extractionist economy, a common periphery state model wherein natural resources are exported to non-periphery nations, often via unequal trade relations that could be considered exploitative against the periphery (Wallerstein, 1974). This model is based on

Wallerstein’s world systems theory, wherein states are defined by the role they play in the capitalist world stage as either non-periphery nations that benefit the most from the world economy, or periphery nations which generates much of the global capital yet does

not benefit from it as a result of exploitation by the non-periphery (also referred to as the core) (Wallerstein, 1974).

As a result, Nicaragua and those living within its borders often find themselves with less agency to decide how their land, water, and airways are utilized in order to bend to the capitalist world economy (Wallerstein, 1974). In the case of the Nicaragua Canal, these deliberations have been allocated to the Hong Kong Nicaragua Development

(HKND) Group, a self-described “privately-held international infrastructure development firm” based out of Hong Kong (“Company profile,” n.d.). Founded in 2012, the sole purpose of the HKND Group is to manage the construction and prospective commercial aspects of the project, which promises to outpace the Panama Canal in terms of operational capacity (Miller 2014; Shaer, 2014). The monetary benefits that await the

HKND Group upon the completion of the Canal are great and potentially global in scale with tremendous ripple effects for the global economy; ports and canals that cannot compete with the capabilities of the Nicaraguan Canal and the demand to accommodate today’s largest commercial ships will fall by the wayside, creating both a monumental shift in economic activity as well as inter- and intra-state political power (Herrera, 2016;

Ordoñez, 2015). Currently, the toll to cross the Panama Canal can reach upwards of

$800,000 for large vessels carrying a full load of cargo (Schuler, 2016). This is a relatively recent price hike; the canal itself in 2016 underwent an expansion to create width as well as depth, providing passage to some of the largest commercial ships— perhaps an attempt to maintain its relevance in light of emerging plans of the Nicaragua

Canal (Stott, 2013; “The expanded Panama Canal,” n.d.; Zamorano & Martinez, 2016).

Despite this, the breadth of the Panama Canal would be eclipsed were its Nicaraguan

counterpart to reach fruition. With an unmatched ability to admit even today’s largest and heaviest commercial vessels passage through Central America, the Nicaragua Canal would enable larger trade capacities to be delivered in a shorter amount of time (Chen et al., 2017; Ordoñez, 2015; Renwick, 2015). With it, the opportunity for higher tolls and greater profit margins presents itself.

This is what is to be gained, but at what cost? Beyond the benefits awaiting the

HKND Group upon completion of the Canal and the high economic cost the project requires, the Nicaragua Canal has a price that extends beyond the monetary. For all the purported benefits to be gained by the backers of the Canal, there will be great disadvantage to the natural reserves of Nicaragua, the local people, and the integrity of the global environment, reverberating far beyond the borders of Nicaragua. The global population and future generations thereafter would be subject to the known and unknowable effects of the environmental degradation posed by the prospective environmental and human rights harms that the Nicaragua Canal project suggests

(Renwick, 2015).

Figure 2. Forest cover in 1983 and 2010 (Gourdgi et al., 2015)

Already plagued by decades of extractionist practices, Nicaragua would incur further losses of its increasingly rare and dwindling natural reserves were it to host the

HKND’s mega-project (Chase-Dunn, 1982; Renwick, 2015). Additionally, these nature reserves are home to over half a million indigenous peoples across seven unique tribes, the livelihoods of which would be irrevocably altered by the construction of the Canal

(Hansen, Jepsen, & Jacquelin, 2017). The global rainforest ecosystem is home to the majority of the world’s biodiversity, lauding two-thirds of the Earth’s plant species including an estimated 70 percent of its medicinal sources for anti-cancer drugs and research (“Reference: Rain Forests,” n.d.). Even though it comprises a mere six percent of the Earth’s land area, rainforests such as those housed in Nicaragua are responsible for

40 percent of the world’s oxygen (“Reference: Rain Forests,” n.d.). As such, rainforests have become a critical conservation endeavor, not only for local plant and animal biodiversity, but for planetary climate stability.

Levels of Victimization LAND WATER HUMAN RIGHTS Destruction of rainforest Civilian and indigenous Lake Nicaragua dredged and wetland displacement Increased risk of seismic shifts and subsequent Pollution in drinking water Pollution in drinking water earthquakes, flooding as a result of dredging Threatens habitat of plant Freshwater/saltwater Unfair compensation for and animal populations contamination land expropriation Introduction of invasive Introduction of invasive Global climate stability species species Could dry up some of

Nicaragua’s rivers Table 1. Levels of victimization posed by the construction of the Nicaraguan Canal

When examining the scope of Nicaragua’s natural resources from an environmental—as opposed to financial—viewpoint, the importance of preservation becomes clear. Historically and currently, Nicaragua has struggled to compete on the global market stage as a result of its periphery status, instead being exploited for its natural resources and biodiversity (Chase-Dunn, 1982; Wallerstein, 1974). As a result of the economic world system that subjugates Nicaragua to a periphery status, the state bears the burden of an inability to exercise full autonomy over its own lands, instead falling prey to the superpowers of the world. The HKND Group is just such one of these superpowers, funded by the global ultra-rich (“How a Chinese Billionaire,” 2015).

Chapter 2: Literature Review

The Central American Dream: An Institutional Anomie Approach State-corporate

Interests

For the purpose of this study, Messner and Rosenfeld’s institutional anomie theory will be applied to the case of the Nicaragua Canal. Institutional anomie and its predecessor, Merton’s strain theory, both utilize anomie at its core. The concept of anomie, first posed by Durkheim in 1897, was originally conceptualized as a means of explaining the collapse of social order as a result of the rise of capitalism and the destruction of a collective social mindset of solidarity (Durkheim, 1897; Khruakham,

2014; Lilly, Cullen, & Ball, 2011; Merton, 1938; Messner & Rosenfeld, 1994). Anomie theory was originally born at the turn of the twentieth century as a result of rapid social and structural change, from a largely agricultural society to one of industrialization. This rapid change resulted in what Durkheim referred to as “normlessness”—a state wherein the old norms and values that once prevailed are now irrelevant in a society ruled by a proliferation of industrial capitalism and technology. With those old norms, so too were strong community ties shed, prompting society to become much more individualistic.

Less face-to-face interaction occurred, and communal ties were no longer critical to one’s survival. As the agrarian model of society fell out of the norm, highly-specialized industrial jobs and the beginnings of modern urban life took its place. Durkheim describes this shift via his conceptualization of integration and regulation. Integration, representative of the older, communal model of society, describes the “collective beliefs and practices leading to strong social bonds and the subordination of self to a common cause,” whereas regulation was used to describe those forces that constrained the

individual to a set of norms (Durkheim, 1897; Lilly et al., 2011, p. 91). The forces of regulation become more important in an urban, commercialized society with increasingly complex divisions of labor, whereas inversely the forces of integration become less important (Durkheim, 1897; Lilly, Cullen, & Ball, 2011).

Robert Merton (1938) adopted Durkheim’s concept of anomie and discussions of regulation in order to detail the ways in which such a societal state is conducive to strain, which creates the potential for deviance. The social process of conforming to new, individualistic norms as the result of industrial revolution, he stated, contributed to heightened crime rates and encouraged deviance (Merton, 1938). It is Merton who first brings up the role of the “American Dream” in producing these criminogenic effects, the concept being useful in articulating the structural contradiction of American society as it selectively disallows access to a universal conventional goal despite requiring it of all citizens. In setting up culturally-prescribed goals for all of society to strive to without the institutionally-available means to achieve them, the strain necessary to encourage deviance is created. This deviance, then, is the result of a system that encourages the goal of economic success, yet requires socioeconomic stratification in order to forward the values and needs of an industrial-capitalist economy.2 Thus, while everyone is expected to adhere to the American Dream, not all who want it can attain it in a societally- approved way, or even attain it at all.3 Those who are prevented from attaining these

2 “Socioeconomic stratification” is utilized here to illustrate instances of class structure, wealth distribution, and income. 3 The American Dream is used here to explain the concept of economic success within a United States- centric sphere. However, it is important to note that the breadth of this term spans far beyond the economic institution, playing a role in the definition of other institutions such as meritocracies and the individual. The American Dream is not merely a flavor of economic success, but a worldview anchored around Judeo- Christian, heterosexual, Caucasian, patriarchal aspirations and value systems that is today no longer

culturally-prescribed economic goals experience strain that must be resolved through a typology of adaptations defined by Merton (1968). Among these typologies, criminal and deviant behavior is largely defined under innovation and retreatism, whereby the institutionally-available means of achieving goals is rejected in favor of alternate, deviant behaviors (Lilly et al., 2011; Merton, 1968; Merton, 1938).4

This is the point at which anomie is introduced: by imposing a universal goal yet not providing the means to achieve this universal goal, the ability of a preexisting social structure to rein in the behaviors of its citizens is greatly weakened. The keystone of

Merton’s theory is that anomie will flourish wherever an immense level of value is placed onto the economic success of a society (Lilly et al., 2011; Merton, 1938). At the time of its conception, the United States’ American Dream was a unique example of this type of criminogenesis. Messner & Rosenfeld built upon Merton’s theory with their Crime and the American Dream (1994), wherein they developed their own take on institutional anomie theory. Central to their theory was the definition of the American Dream, stated as the “commitment to the goal of material success, to be pursued by everyone in society, under conditions of open, individual competition” (1994, p. 69). The key concepts of material success and unanimous goal pursuit is no longer unique to American culture.

Today the backdrop conducive to anomie has expanded well beyond the borders of the

United States to include any area affected by the capitalist value systems and neoliberal governments that rule the globalized world.

exclusive to the United States. While this study’s theoretical framework is class-focused in its utilization of the American Dream concept, it can by no means be reduced to being a merely economic phenomenon. 4 Other typologies include conformity (adherence to cultural goals as well as institutionalized means), ritualism (personal reduction of cultural goals so as to be achievable within the framework of their own individualized means), and rebellion (rejection of goals and means altogether in favor of replacement by a new system entirely) (Merton, 1968).

In any anomic society then, according to Merton, societal norms of what is right and wrong do not hold up. Rather, “the sole significant question becomes: Which of the available procedures is most efficient in netting the culturally approved value?” with the culturally approved value, of course, being economic capital (Lilly et al., 2011; Merton,

1968, p. 189). In a middle-class community, for example, one might see that their neighbors have all the trappings of culturally-approved successes: an expensive car, an attractive partner, and well-dressed children who attend private school. In an effort to keep up with this image of cultural success, a neighbor might choose to reach these approved goals via unapproved means such as involving themselves in insider trading or embezzlement. As these alternative measures are explored and conducted, those that are met with success further the spread of anomie by broadcasting to others that illegitimate means can successfully yield legitimate goals. Deviant behavior, then, is both a product and facilitator of anomie (Merton, 1938).

With this, Merton argues that American culture (and, one could say now, any society that is affected by the global capitalist value system) is at its core is criminogenic, spawning strain as a result of a rift between societal goals and the legitimate means of attaining them. This concept was maintained in Messner & Rosenfeld’s institutional anomie theory.

Institutional anomie theory recognizes the multiple institutions that comprise society—not merely the economic. Social institutions expand beyond that of the economy to include those such as family, religion, and education. According to Messner and

Rosenfeld, these institutions play a key role in the mechanisms of anomie, and are what

Merton’s theory lacked. It is these institutions that experience problems when the

economic institution is overemphasized to the point of imbalance (Lilly et al., 2011;

Messner & Rosenfeld, 1994). In an institutionally-anomic society, for example, the economic institution may co-opt the educational institution for its own purposes. Rather than serving to further the knowledge and critical thinking of its pupils, education in an anomic society becomes a representation of ones marketability to potential employers.

Once signifying the creative application of ideas in furtherance of a base of knowledge, innovation itself may be transformed by definition into a term that is inextricable from business culture. Anomie, then, would be the weakening force that exploits the original intent of the educational institution so as to serve the needs of the economic.

This imbalance is critical to institutional anomie theory. Why might some developed, capitalist states struggle with high crime rates while others do not? The answer, according to institutional anomie theory, lies in the balance between institutions.

Those nations that do not struggle with anomie and high crime rates are the result of a balance between various social institutions and the economic institution, rather than subservience to it (Lilly et al., 2011; Messner & Rosenfeld, 1994). In other words, nations with features such as a strong social safety net comprised of robust political, familial, educational institutions and more can produce a strong counterbalance to any overbearing economic values, neutralizing strains that may cause deviant actions (Thio,

Taylor, & Schwartz, 2018).

The ways in which the economic institution triumphs are broad and insidious.

When pitted against non-economic institutions, the values of those non-economic institutions are often undermined to carry the values of the economic. In a society affected by this imbalance, the economic institution becomes so prioritized that

movements and initiatives within non-economic institutions often must have a financial reasoning or framing in order to be considered viable, legitimate, or worthwhile (Messner

& Rosenfeld, 1994). Examples of this phenomenon can be found in most workplace policies that purport to contribute to the happiness or wellbeing of their employees. When protecting employees against workplace sexual harassment or racial discrimination, for example, the policies that are put into place are often cited as a protective factor for productivity, reputation, and recruitment by human resource organizations (Benjamin, n.d.; Pinsky, 2009; Wright, 2015). Rather than being seen as an impediment to the quality of life of workers, discrimination and harassment becomes a threat to the bottom line. In this, one institution is effectively adapted to serve the needs and interests of another.

Viewed through a “green” lens, this pattern holds across the environmental institution as well. Rather than pushing green initiatives and movements because it will protect the environment over the long term, politicians and researchers often view environmental protection within a financial framework, judging initiatives as investment opportunities and green innovations as intellectual property. Renewable energy is oft- exploited by the financial institution, judged not for its ability to reduce global human impact and increase sustainability, but for its financial logic (Worldview, 2018). The

United States’ 2016 presidential election involved fierce debate over energy resources, with both Democratic and Republican nominees acknowledging financial viability and sustainability as an important aspect of renewable energy (Boersma, Ebinger, &

Greenley, 2016). Rather than serving the needs of a global population in dire need of sustainability, renewable energy was, and remains, a numbers game. In effect, the support for renewables—though a critical feature of the environmental institution—hinges

strongly on the financial returns it can offer and the support it can provide to the state- corporate institution.

Green Criminology: A State-corporate Approach

The concept of green criminology was created in the 1990s and filled a gap in criminological literature that reflected a growing interest and concern over environmental issues (Lynch, 1990; Ruggiero & South, 2013). According to Ruggiero and South, green criminology represents a perspective that can be adapted to inform various theoretical or empirical work (2013). Regarding the scope of its content, the following can be said:

Green Criminology can be defined as a framework of intellectual, empirical and political orientations toward primary and secondary harms, offences and crimes that impact in a damaging way on the natural environment, diverse species (human and non-human) and the planet. (Ruggiero & South, 2013, p. 27)

The definition of green criminology’s specific brand of harms requires a specialized look at the state-corporate context, as the definition of environmental harms is often “directly created” by those in power who are often the entities doing the perpetrating, and are unlikely to classify their harms initiated against the environment as actual crime (Ruggiero & South, 2013, p. 27). Bearing this in mind, green criminology is often closely tied to state-corporate criminology and the economic institution; understanding the state of a society’s political economy is crucial to understanding crimes perpetrated against nature (Barak, 2015; Lynch, Long, Barrett, & Stretesky, 2013; Lynch,

2017; Lynch & Burns, 2010; Lynch, Stretesky, & Long, 2016; Ruggiero & South, 2013).

Indeed, the harms defined by green criminology might be classified by the economic power structure as privatization or commodification. Inherent in this perspective is the idea that resources and land can be bought, owned, and sold. Rather than being an inherent right of the people, these resources serve the capitalist purpose of generating

profits; it is this process of privatization that is inherently exploitative and constitutes

“harms” (Johnson, South, & Walters, 2015).

The Nicaraguan Canal as an Economic Endeavor

The HKND Group is just one such private corporate body that seeks to gain from

Nicaragua’s natural resources. Yet while the HKND Group is the corporate initiator of the project, there are additional political and state interests at play; the Nicaraguan government also stands to benefit from the mega-project as a result of its economy- spurring outcomes, despite the fact that it may not be in the best interests of its populace.

And while half of the 50,000 jobs created by the construction of the Canal will be purportedly granted to Nicaraguan citizens, the Chinese government stands to benefit greatly from the mega-project via capitalist expansion as well as a political strengthening in the area (Daley, 2016; HKND News: Third Issue, 2016, p. 20). In the determination that the Canal is a worthwhile endeavor, non-financial institutions and the integrity and support thereof fall to the wayside to make way for potential economic benefits. In light of the vast drawbacks the Canal poses to individuals and environment. the development project’s staunch continuation illustrates a potential imbalance among Nicaraguan institutions. As the integrity of these non-financial institutions is compromised to carry the objectives of the financial, the ability of local populations to cope with a rapidly shifting environment and adapt to a changing landscape dominated by the Canal (in a political, economic, and literal sense) utilizing external institutions is stymied. Indeed,

“ecological destruction [is] often created by the normal operation of capitalism” (Lynch,

2017). Without the usual cushion of social institutions to balance the scales of a deteriorating environment, a society is susceptible to the degradation of the prevailing

value system, subsequent widespread anomie among the population, and an eventual increase in criminality as a result of a shifting ecological, financial, and cultural landscape (Khruakham, 2014; Agnew, 2011).

This is not to say that the state of the institutional power balance in Nicaragua is currently in perfect stasis; however, the Nicaragua Canal would prove to be the biggest instance of such natural resource expropriation, its scale beyond that of any project undertaken in Latin America (“HKND News: First Issue,” 2015). Such a feat boasts the ability to create its own commercial and tourism industry around its creation, with promises of providing the nation with economic stability (“HKND News: Fourth Issue,”

2017). Yet while Nicaragua’s economy may be bolstered, it is unlikely that its local citizens will benefit. In fact, the use of Nicaragua’s natural resources for commodification can be described as a “theft of nature” when considering the tendency of capitalism to disregard “the cost of nature’s labor” (Lynch, Stretesky, & Long 2016, p. 140). In utilizing the natural resources of Nicaragua’s tropical forests and its largest freshwater reservoir, the HKND Group’s disproportionate access to nature will thereby yield unequal access to the wealth created by such access (Lynch, Stretesky, & Long, 2016).

Under institutional anomie theory, as Nicaragua becomes a hub for commercialism, its social, educational, religious, familial, and occupational needs will fall to the wayside, their purpose shifting to support the prevailing financial institution (Messner &

Rosenfeld, 1994). The Nicaraguan Canal is a project so vast that it would forever change the social, commercial, and environmental landscape of the planet. Further, the rate at which such change would occur would be rapid, inducing anomie and a subsequent norm shift—factors conducive to criminality, as “that unequal access to nature may result in the

criminalization of the poor, who access nature (sometimes to survive or protect their culture) without paying the fee” (Lynch, Stretesky, & Long 2016, p. 148).

While the American Dream is an important concept in Messner and Rosenfeld’s institutional anomie, it is important to note that the American Dream is—despite its moniker—a cultural aspiration that is able to exist in countries other than the United

States. Prevalent anywhere that economic, profit-driven goals triumph over non- economic goals, the American Dream is, in a modern context, now simply a set of values that can be found in any capitalist culture where values of individualism and financial success are touted as the ultimate goal in life (Messner and Rosenfeld, 1994). The concessionaire of the Nicaraguan Canal—an organization with ties to China—can be seen spinning its own version of an economic “dream” that caters to Chinese history and values. With the construction of the Canal, Nicaragua can expect to experience an advancement toward this state of advanced capitalism under institutional anomie theory, and China can expect a fulfillment of a romanticized dream of economic prosperity.

Additionally, undergoing such rapid change may interrupt the functioning of the current institutional structure of Nicaragua. Culture-wide adoption of and ascription to a neoliberal governance and capitalist value system can therefore exist well outside the borders of the United States, and would ultimately induce normlessness and anomie in the host country under Messner and Rosenfeld’s institutional anomie.

Messner and Rosenfeld’s institutional anomie theory has undergone a limited range of testing as a result of its macro-level variables that prove difficult to evaluate, including “the American dream, anomie, the institutional balance of power, and the efficacy of informal control exercised by societal institutions” (Lilly et al., 2011, p. 80).

These variables, while challenging to operationalize, have been attempted by a number of studies. Generally, these studies have yielded support for institutional anomie as a theory of crime (Kubrin, Stucky, & Krohn, 2009; Baumer & Gustafson, 2007; Pratt & Cullen,

2005; Cullen, Parboteeah, & Hoegl, 2004).

Baumer & Gustafson conducted an assessment on the empirical validity of institutional anomie theory by comparing geographically-based variance in crime rates as a function of citizen’s commitment to values of economic success and the illegitimate means of accomplishing the financial goals lauded within a given society (2007). They accomplished this by aggregating survey response data to GSS data to gauge financial value commitments among sample populations. In doing so, they judged “commitment to monetary success goals” by measuring respondents’ answers to the question “next to health, money is the most important thing”; additionally, they measured “weak commitment to legitimate means” via respondent answers to the survey question “there are no right or wrong ways to make money, only hard and easy ways” (Baumer &

Gustafson, 2007, p. 633). In measuring the strength of non-economic institutions, Baumer and Gustafson examined the prevalence of various factors, including “low educational and economic attainment,” “percentage of government expenditures on education,”

“pupils per teacher,” “time spent with family,” “voter participation,” and “civically engaged church adherence rate” (2007, p. 634-636). Baumer and Gustafson’s study yielded the following results:

a high level of commitment to monetary success goals and a particularly weak commitment to legitimate means (denoted in the table with higher values on the “weak commitment” variable) significantly increase instrumental crime when the indicators of welfare assistance and time with family are average or relatively low, but they have no significant effect on crime when these indicators are above average. (2007, p. 651)

Despite these studies in support of institutional anomie, there are still limitations to Messner and Rosenfeld’s theory. The body of literature attempting to test institutional anomie theory is empirically limited by the challenging nature of the theory’s key causal variables noted above. Additionally, the American Dream is a central—and sometimes controversial—addition to institutional anomie theory’s core mechanisms. While general support for institutional anomie has been noted among studies that manage to successfully operationalize the theory, support is less certain when assessing whether the

United States in particular stands out as having harbored a unique value system conducive to a state of “American exceptionalism” characteristic of the American dream

(Lilly et al., 2011, p. 81). Messner and Rosenfeld themselves attempt to address this question, concluding “mixed results” as to whether American society is truly unique in a world where neoliberal governance and capitalist value systems are now a widespread and global phenomenon (Messner & Rosenfeld, 2006, p. 143).

A Historic Look at Central America & Interoceanic Canals

Though the Nicaraguan Canal is the first of its kind in terms of the sheer scale of the project, many parallels can be drawn between it and the Panama Canal, which was built just over one hundred years ago in 1914 (Bray, Gordon, Worthington, Cho, &

Padelford, 2005). While a canal through Central America had long been deliberated, two routes came to be considered: one that cut through Panama, and another slicing through

Nicaragua. Eventually, the US-constructed Panama Railroad turned the tides in favor of

Panama as the site for the new canal (Bray et al., 2005). The canal was first attempted by the French company, Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interocéanique; any progress on the canal proved expensive and time consuming, and after eight years there was little to

show for the resources invested in the project. With little hope of a return on investment, the Compagnie Universelle du Canal Interocéanique lost its country’s—and investors’— support (Bray et al., 2005; “Ferdinand de Lesseps,” n.d.). As the French abandoned ownership of the project, the United States began to negotiate with Columbia for rights to construct and operate the canal in its stead. When negotiations between Columbia and the

United States fell through, Panama—previously apart of Columbia—declared their independence with the backing of the US, and the rights to construct and operate the canal was granted to the US (Bray et al., 2005; “Panama Declares Independence,” 2010).

The separation of Panama from Columbia is a historic example of the ways in which

Central America has been shaped by state-corporate interests. The independence of

Panama was undoubtedly a point of local political contention among the two countries, but it was US interference that finally enabled the separation between Columbia and

Panama. This historic case is important to acknowledge as Nicaragua faces the same state-corporate influence over its legal, political, and geographic landscape. The

Nicaraguan Canal as a “dream” is by no means a new concept; Central America itself has been historically shaped by external forces seeking to “connect the Atlantic and Pacific” for over a hundred years (HKND News: First Issue, 2015, p. 12).

Recent demands.

In more recent history, the Panama Canal has seen an expansion in response to mounting demand for a passageway that can accommodate today’s largest modern commercial vessels (“Panama canal expansion,” 2018). As noted by shipping group

CMA CGM, “[t]he expanded canal will turn international trade on its head, and it is shipping lines that will be affected the most, particularly those involved on the Asia/East

Coast United States routes” (2018, para. 3). Perhaps in response to interest in the

Nicaraguan Canal project, the update that the Panama Canal underwent allowed the maximum size of so-called “Panamax” vessels to grow from approximately 965 feet long by 105 feet wide to 1,191 feet long by 161 feet wide. The increase in size would allow cargo ships to nearly triple their capacity (“Panama canal expansion,” 2018).

The Impacts Posed by the Nicaraguan Canal: A Subjugation of People and

Environment

Were the Nicaraguan Canal to come to fruition, the vast construction project would reflect the environmental and social structural requirements outlined in institutional anomie theory—a largely agricultural nation that is otherwise unaccustomed to rapid industrial development, undergoing what would be “one of the biggest civil engineering projects of all time” (McFarland, 2015). The conditions outlined for Messner

& Rosenfeld’s institutional anomie to exist would be so thoroughly met that the nation of

Nicaragua and the Nicaraguan Canal is an ideal case study of institutional anomie theory; despite how detrimental a canal may prove to be to the welfare of the environment and human rights, the financial benefit that an interoceanic canal would bring supersedes all non-economic institutions, potentially leading to imbalance and resultant strain (1994).

Under Messner & Rosenfeld’s institutional anomie theory, this imbalance results in normlessness and is in itself a criminogenic factor, meaning that it is itself a factor that encourages a state conducive to crime. In creating such a state, normlessness may be considered the catalyst for future criminality among groups of both high and low socioeconomic status (Khruakham, 2014; Agnew, 2011). Robert Agnew’s “dire forecast,” for example, cites a myriad of negative impacts of manmade environmental

degradation (such as deforestation) as contributing to more traditionally-defined crime such as interpersonal violence and victimization over scarce resources, migration, and weakened social control (Agnew, 2011). These impacts—which include changes in habitat, an increase in health threats, resource scarcity, and migration—contribute to environmentally-induced strain, the effects of which are already beginning to indicate increased instances of “localized conflict” (Agnew, 2011; Buhaug, Gleditsch, & Theisen,

2008). Among those affected, Agnew notes that those most at risk are “those who lack conventional coping skills and resources, such as money [and] are low in conventional social supports” (p. 31). Yet as groups lacking power and economic resources are at risk of small-scale criminality, it is additionally noted that “powerful groups will engage in a range of criminal or otherwise harmful acts as they seek to maintain their privileged position” in an increasingly hostile and resource-scarce world (2011, p. 35). In some cases, state and corporate powers have been known to work together in order to accomplish these illicit acts (Barak, 2015).

Deforestation, habitat disruption, and resource depletion are necessary environmental harms required for the development of the Nicaraguan Canal, and could— in accordance with Agnew’s “dire forecast” and Messner & Rosenfeld’s institutional anomie theory—trigger additional criminality as it contributes to subsequent environmental harms such as resource scarcity (2011; 1994). Thirty percent the global land surface is forest cover; of that forest, rainforest land comprises a mere six percent, and is perhaps considered the most valuable, serving as “incredibly rich ecosystems that play a key role in the basic functioning of the planet” (Boekhout van Solinge & Kuijpers,

2013; “Measuring the Daily,” n.d.). Yet despite this, the use-value of rainforest land—

defined by an object’s (in this case, a natural resource’s) instrumental use or utility purpose—falls secondary to its exchange-value—which one can define as the market or economic value of that resource as a commodity. In the case of the Nicaraguan Canal and other projects; “[s]tate policies to encourage economic development, such as road and railway expansion projects,” for example, “have caused significant, unintentional deforestation in the Amazon and Central America” (Nicholas, 2011; “Causes of

Deforestation,” 2007, para. 5). Such a trend does not bode well for the environment when considering that the HKND Group has expressed interest in not only an interoceanic canal, but also a railroad system, multiple free trade zones and ports, an airport, an oil pipeline, tourist resorts, and “all the infrastructure that the investor deems necessary for the development and operation of one or more sub-projects” (Amnesty Interntional, 2017, p. 17; HKND News: First Issue, 2015). Historically, the implications of environmental degradation victimizes human and animal forest populations at a local level (Boekhout van Solinge, 2010). At the macro-level, the destruction of rainforest environment and subsequent loss of its environmentally invaluable carbon-storing abilities is responsible for twenty-five percent of all greenhouse gas production (Bennett, 2017). As stated by

Rob White, “[t]he race by the powerful to exploit increasingly scarce environmental resources is placing an incredible strain on vulnerable ecosystems worldwide. As well as directly and indirectly contributing to global warming and climate change, these activities are also increasingly a source of violent social conflict” (2015, p. 211).

Livelihood loss among those in and around the Canal’s proposed path; displacement of both indigenous and non-indigenous Local Impacts people; increased migration; increased local pollution; loss of local biodiversity; increase in social conflict A rise in global average temperature; increases and decreases in precipitation; rising sea levels; increased instances of Global Impacts natural disaster; destabilized habitats; increase in flooding and erosion; resource scarcity Table 2. Environmental harms posed by the construction of the Nicaraguan Canal

The HKND Group is not the first organization to contribute to the breakdown in the integrity of the Nicaraguan—and ultimately global—environment. The Nicaraguan

Canal would in fact only be a singular event in a long series of large-scale harms against the environment initiated by government and corporate agencies. Among these, several stand out as prominent historic markers of crimes against human and animal populations: the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also known as the BP oil spill), the National Mine,

Metal and Steel Workers Union of Mexico case, and the 2013 Savar garment factory building collapse (Barak, 2015; Bradshaw, 2015; Ezeonu, 2015). Yet in light of these widely publicized and even publically persecuted incidents, there remains a challenge and reluctance to address the acts leading up to these events as criminal ones and initiate the proper action (Barak, 2015; Soutar, 2015). Some criminal harms against the environment are only possible through the calculated coordination of government and corporate powers (Lynch, Burns, & Stretesky, 2010). These criminal harms are often not viewed as such. As Lynch et al. notes:

Technically, state-corporate crime are not crimes in the sense that laws must be violated. Rather, cooperative actions and agreements between the state and the corporate sectors may involve violations of the law, but may also extend to illicit

agreements and actions that are immoral or unethical and which exist at the edge of crime, involving actions that violate the spirit of governance. (2010, p. 215- 216)

The actions and state-corporate coordination surrounding the Nicaraguan Canal, then, can be identified as such: existing “at the edge of crime” (Lynch et al., 2010, p. 216).

As the populace of Nicaragua begins to reel with rapid commercial growth, so too can it—and the global community at large—expect to reconcile with fewer natural resources, a destabilizing biosphere, and degradation of air and water quality as a result of the environmental compromises inherent in the Nicaraguan Canal (Boekhout van

Solinge & Kuijpers, 2013; Agnew, 2011; Boekhout van Solinge, 2010). The choice to yield to the economic institution in the case of the Nicaraguan Canal would reverberate across the world in the form of carbon release and a subsequent contribution to climate change, causing other institutions to be affected as they are subjugated by the financial institution. While the integrity of local human rights and biological integrity is enough to warrant protection against the Canal, the large-scale ramifications of climate change are arguably criminogenic in nature as well, increasing opportunities for social conflict and decreasing the likelihood of a stable set of social norms (Agnew, 2011).

Chapter 3: Methodology

The Case Study: A Research Design

This research design is a case study approach, employed in order to examine instances of state-corporate actions in the context of human rights and the environment. A case study research design examines one or a few cases closely, and can involve individuals, organizations, events, groups, and “enable us to link micro level, or the actions of individuals, to the macro level, or large-scale structures and processes

(Neuman, 2011; Vaughan, 1992). The case study allows one to examine how a specific setting is influenced by broad social forces (Walton, 1992). While the unit of analysis in a case study can vary from a single person, an organization, an entire government, and more, in this study, one particular project—the Nicaraguan Canal—will be examined as our case (Leon, 2017). The object of study within this case is the state-corporate actions of the Nicaraguan government and the HKND Group against the environment and human rights, using institutional anomie as a theoretical framework in order to “clarif[y] our thinking and allow...us to link abstract ideas in specific ways with the concrete specifics of cases we observe in detail” (Neuman, 2011, p. 42).

The methods able to be employed in this research design are broad. “Case studies can contain a variety of methodological instruments and mode on inquiry, ranging from small-N (i.e., small sample) quantitative analyses of a bounded phenomenon, to a mixed method analysis of some feature related to a historical event” (Leon, 2017). For the purpose of this study in particular, the following methodological instruments were used:

The case study was (1) initially guided by a broad research question, which was procedurally and continually refined to account for new information discovered, leading

to more specific lines of inquiry while still maintaining openness to new information, (2) employed utilizing multiple data sources, including open and accessible documents, reports, and news articles from case participants, including the concessionaire of the project, opposition organizations, and reporting news sources, and (3) the case study was conducted after the major events tied to the project had already occurred, the data source documents collected after the fact while monitoring for new developments and noting potential future projections of the case (Leon, 2017).

When coding the data sources selected for the critical discourse analysis, special attention was paid to the ways in which various actors in the case in question were represented, as “the decision as to what event or person gets reported in the news is not an ideologically neutral process” (Bang, 2003, p. 4). The importance of patterns yielded in the CDA coding process, then, relies on the prevalence (or lack thereof) of a certain group, event, or idea. Not only this, but how the item in question is presented is of major importance and plays a significant role in the coding process. As data sources were manually coded, a hierarchy of processing emerged:

CDA Coding Process Hierarchy Order of Operations Example Prevalence of major, recurring “Human relocation” cited in all data sources themes across data sources Relative prevalence or absence of Virtually no mention of ‘indigenous populations’ major themes between data sources; in HKND News the content, itself Canal proponents frame indigenous evictions as Framing of recurring themes and minimal and advantageous to indigenous content within data sources populations; Canal opponents frame indigenous evictions as inexcusable and disruptive Specific language and details utilized HKND News describes human relocations as to orient thematic groups and “resettlement” while other data sources prefer concepts within the frameworks the term “eviction” established by the data source

Table 3. Illustration of the manual CDA coding process

First, major and recurring themes were noted across data sources. These themes are significant in that they recur not only within a specific data source, but across multiple or all data sources, typically in reference to broad and macro-scale concepts.

“Evictions,” “economic prosperity,” and “environmental concerns” are all broad, conceptual terms coded across all data sources in any context.

Next, the absence or prevalence of these concepts across data sources are noted.

While mentioned, the HKND Newsletters—representing the stance of the Canal project concessionaire—rarely mentions indigenous populations as compared to other, adversarial sources, which regard indigenous populations with some frequency as an important human rights concern to consider in regards to the Canal project.5

The framing of recurring themes is perhaps one of the most important features of the hierarchy of analysis as a part of the CDA process. It is here that the positions, intentions, and prioritizations of the specific data sources are made clear. This is accomplished by examining the contexts in which major themes are introduced and maintained. Environmental protection and sustainability, for example, are granted much discussion within the HKND News as compared to other data sources, making clear that it is a primary concern to address, discuss, and mitigate among the intended audience of the newsletters. However, the opposing Amnesty International report only discusses environmental resources and integrity as ancillary to ensuring human rights and

5 Within the data sources analyzed, indigenous communities are identified by territory or location. The following indigenous communities are mentioned throughout the data sources and pertain to the label of ‘indigenous populations’: the Rama-Kriol Territorial Government (GTRK) territory, Autonomous Region of the South Caribbean Coast (RACCS), Autonomous Region of the North Caribbean Coast (RACCN), North Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN), & the South Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAS)

livelihood security. In their use of “human rights,” Amnesty International references a myriad of human rights violations that are likely to occur or have already occurred on behalf of the Canal project, and are listed in the table below. As the context is constructed around these major concepts by the data sources, the CDA coding process reveals that

HKND News finds environmental concerns to be an important, stand-alone issue, while

Amnesty International frames environmental issues as having a supportive function to the greater issue of human rights.6

Table 4. Human rights violations mentioned within the Amnesty International report Already Occurred Will Likely Occur If Project Continues Secrecy and lack of transparency Forced evictions No right to recourse or objection to land Inadequate compensation for land expropriation and the compensation thereof expropriation Lack of public consultation for the passage Inhibiting access to required resources such of Law 840 and approval of the Canal as land and clean water project Inhibition of the right to peaceful protest and demonstration Intimidation, violence, and unlawful detention

Finally, the specific lexicon employed to discuss these concepts is noted in order to further glean perspectives on the attitudes and stances of the data sources and how they conflict (or don’t conflict) with one another. HKND News, for example, refers to human evictions exclusively in terms that are less inflammatory—terms such as “relocation” and

“resettlement”—while news coverage from The New York Times refers to the same concept in less neutral terms such as “displacement” and “expropriation.”

6 “Given the scale of the Project, human rights organizations anticipate that it will have a significant impact, causing serious damage to the environment, to the water supply, to adequate housing and to livelihoods. These impacts could undermine the exercise of human rights” (Amnesty International, 2017, p. 11).

Critical Discourse Analysis

What critical discourse analysis is.

This study examines HKND Group informational and promotional materials as well as opposing materials such as an Amnesty International report and select news media coverage through a critical discourse analysis (CDA). Critical discourse analysis, described as a “problem-oriented social research [approach], founded in social history, semiotics and linguistics,” focuses on examining the ways in which “dominant ideologies” are packaged and explained, accepted or challenged (Teniorio, 2011, p. 183).

This analysis of the “fabric of discourse” is not merely an examination of the linguistic methods employed to portray a narrative, but how that narrative contributes to an ideology that is either received or rejected. These two critical components of discourse analysis are sometimes referred to as small-d-discourse and big-D-discourse (Gee, 1999).

While small-d-discourse denotes the literal construction of ideas through words both written and spoken, big-D-discourse is more abstract, denoting the ideas and knowledge being conveyed and produced (Teniorio, 2011). In the sociological context, discourse becomes a very intentional act and a means toward an ideological end (van Dijk, 1997).

What defines an analysis as a critical discourse is the act of assessing the intended meaning of written or spoken word, and the effect of that meaning exchange

(Widdowson, 2004).7

Why CDA is the best option for this study.

7 Symbolic interactionism is a perspective often associated with the CDA process. The inferred, subtextual meaning of interaction within symbolic interactionism (whether it be written or spoken aloud) is critical to the process of interpretation that is so often employed in discourse analysis. Symbolic interactionism is what allows the researcher to examine and interpret the subtle meaning underlying a discourse between two parties (Keller, 2011).

The HKND Group utilizes newsletters to keep their readership informed on their recent triumphs and milestones in regards to the Nicaraguan Canal. But in the case of a critical discourse analysis, it is not only the text itself being circulated that is of importance, but the ideological subtexts being conveyed—that is, the discourse. In order to go beyond the content of the text to conduct a critical discourse analysis, it is important to analyze not merely the language of the newsletters, but how ideologies are conveyed through the newsletters and how these ideologies are negotiated between groups.

A brief example of the CDA ideology exchange process can be found in an examination of how immigration is negotiated in southern US states. Abraham discusses the process of discourse between the state of Georgia and the Mexican immigrant population within it; in response to an increase in Hispanic populations, government institutions contributed to an ideological exchange wherein immigrants were either subtly or explicitly targeted (2015). While local law enforcement gave press releases blaming

Hispanic populations for rising crime rates in a more direct exchange of ideology, the educational system responded to the discourse of Hispanic presence by creating more narrow definitions of a passing answer on standardized tests. By refusing to grade answers that included Spanish terms or important cultural concepts such as musical lyrics and poetry, Hispanic children were excluded in a very subtle and insidious way. The

“narrowing” of possible passing responses was in itself a discourse that negotiated

Hispanic groups into a place of exclusion (Abraham, 2015).

For the purpose of this study, and also as with the above example, CDA is the better choice as opposed to a content analysis for its ability to focus on what is between the lines. Rather than examining the exact wording or meaning intended by a specific

group, CDA allows for the assessment of what is not said, holding the exclusion, reasoning, and avenue for how discourse is shared as being just as important as what is being shared. Where a content analysis focuses on the intent, CDA allows for the exploration of the effect. In Abraham’s study detailing Hispanic populations in Georgia, the narrowing of acceptable standardized test answers was deceptively subtle on its surface, yet its effect was that it forced the hand of every teacher to grade the cultural expression of Hispanic schoolchildren more harshly, subjugating them within the context of the educational system (2015). In this way, CDA allows researchers to understand how a community orients itself around a new population in such a way that a content analysis would not reveal. In the context of the Nicaraguan Canal, it is important to examine how the HKND Group constructs a narrative not only in what they say, but how it is said and what is excluded.

In analyzing the Nicaraguan Canal within the context of a critical discourse analysis, the interaction between pro-Canal and anti-Canal groups will be examined. It is for this reason that a critical discourse analysis is additionally conducted on select news sources as well as an opposing Amnesty International report, Danger: Rights for Sale,

The Interoceanic Grand Canal Project in Nicaragua and the Erosion of Human Rights.

This report, first published in 2016, is the primary report of its kind in that it is a lengthy assessment from a large-scale organization that directly combats the ideology that the

HKND Group attempts to spread. Its existence provides a unique challenge to the power that the HKND Group tries to construct, and it is this interaction between opposing groups for which a critical discourse analysis is the most appropriate option for this study. In examining the text within the materials of the HKND Group and Amnesty

International, a critical discourse analysis can yield valuable information on how power and values are negotiated between opposing groups.

It is this interaction between groups that allows for a more direct observation between institutions—in this case, the financial, environmental, and human rights institutions—as represented by their various information outlets: the HKND Group newsletters, the Amnesty International report, and select news coverage. In examining the interactions between these groups, the ways in which their represented institutions interact with each other can be closely examined via the theoretical framework of institutional anomie. By doing this, the critical discourse analysis does what a content analysis cannot, focusing specifically on Canal-related content within the context of their institutions and how they use discourse to interact and use one another.

Limitations.

As is the case with any research design, there are limitations that must be acknowledged. Critical discourse analysis relies on the examination of the subtleties of language in terms of words used, interaction, and omission. The core mechanism of CDA involves the ways in which the subjective nature of discourse is assigned meaning and explored as an instrument for effecting change and influencing interpretation. While the nature of the CDA process is inherently subjective, this subjectivity may lend different interpretations to different audiences (Keller, 2011). Therefore, an economist and an environmentalist may conduct a CDA on the same collection of data and interpret it in two unique ways. Because of this, the CDA process may not always yield findings that are able to be perfectly replicated.

However, this is not to say that a CDA is not the most appropriate research design for this study. The critical discourse analysis allows for a special examination of the interactions between and within groups, empowering the researcher to analyze not just the content of an exchange, but the intent, omission, and effect that such content generates. Such a research design is well suited for case studies wherein multiple viewpoints vie to construct a more powerful ideology that best represents their complex and sometimes-competing interests. Given the advantages that this kind of research design offers within the context of the Nicaraguan Canal as a mega-project with many actors, the CDA is the best option for this particular case study.

Another limitation of the study at hand is the finite scope of the project. While the

Chinese government is utilized to exemplify state-corporate relations throughout the text, this study is limited in its application of state-corporate criminality as it intersects with the geopolitical influences of other powerful nations in the area such as the United States.

The nature of state-corporate criminality is increasingly global as it is often inextricably tied to capitalist value systems that permeate the global economic network (Lynch, 2017).

While this is noted here and at other points in the study, the scope of this work largely focuses on the interactions taking place across the Nicaraguan state and with the HKND

Group.

Sampling Method

This study employs a convenience sampling approach in order to select materials to be analyzed through a critical discourse analysis (CDA). These select materials include: all five HKND newsletters, thereby encompassing the entirety of HKND News discourse, a report on the topic by Amnesty International, and finally select media

coverage from news organizations Al Jazeera, BBC News, National Geographic, The

Guardian, and The New York Times. Accomplished via the selection of data sources that are readily available, convenience sampling (also known as availability sampling) is a viable option within qualitative studies (Neuman, 2011). Rather than assessing the opinions, thoughts, and discourse of a probability selection of involved individuals, this case study is interested in the discourse between specific groups as representatives of their larger institutions. Within this case study, the HKND Group reports in depth on the interests of the financial institution, and no other report boasts the same depth and breadth on human issues as the Amnesty International report against the Canal. The

HKND newsletters in their entirety tells a story of discourse, optimism, and careful framing that is absent from more formal materials on the HKND website, making them the ideal data source when examining the ways in which information is utilized to construct and negotiate an image that the group seeks to disseminate to the greater population. Likewise, the Amnesty International report is the only report of its kind that details in depth the human cost that the HKND Group purportedly poses. Critical discourse analysis is thus an optimal mode of inquiry for this case study.

In analyzing these materials, careful attention will be paid to the means through which the HKND Group establishes itself as an economic and authoritative power for the

Nicaraguan community and how it portrays and maintains that image in light of groups such as Amnesty International that may seek to dismantle or undermine the image the

HKND Group has constructed. Power is an important concept within this analysis, and may take multiple forms. Authoritative power, for example, is for the purpose of this study defined in a more political sense, indicating one’s ability to enact power to

influence policy, control resources, and execute projects. Economic power, on the other hand, is less action-oriented and more often utilized in this context to refer to the capital one has access to and can leverage. It is critical to note here, however, that authoritative and economic power, while different, are by no means separate. Often going hand in hand, the two are not synonymous, but complimentary, the strength of one party’s economic power often directly contributing to the extent of their authoritative power.

While the HKND Group has released a plethora of materials on the Nicaraguan

Canal, from press releases to complex legal documents, the newsletters provided by the company are intended for consumption by the greater community, not simply those within the company or with a vested interest in its financial success. The newsletters, provided on the HKND Group website, afford an updated look at the current state of the project’s funding, environmental data acquisition and testing, impact reports, community feedback, and philanthropic endeavors on behalf of the company (“HKND News: First

Issue,” 2015; “HKND News: Second Issue,” 2016; “HKND News: Third Issue,” 2016;

“HKND News: Fifth Issue,” 2017; “HKND News: Fourth Issue,” 2017). The newsletters span back to November of 2015, two years after the HKND Group was able to get their canal project approved by the Nicaraguan government (“HKND News: First Issue,”

2015; “Nicaragua Congress approves,” 2013; Watts, 2013).

Additionally, this study includes a critical discourse analysis of a report conducted by Amnesty International on the topic of the Nicaragua Canal. The report, starkly in favor of shutting down all progress toward the Canal, is an aggregation of data that outlines what harms the Canal poses to the local biosphere, the global environment, and local

human life (Amnesty International, 2017). With this, the Amnesty International report is essentially the counterargument to the picture that the HKND Group newsletters paint.

By analyzing the ways in which the HKND Group portrays itself, greater themes can be drawn to determine the ways in which powerful corporate and government entities package their harms against the environment so as to be palatable to the greater community at risk. The HKND Group website is a well of information, where a plethora of official legal documents and third-party environmental reports can be found. For the purpose of this study, however, the scope of analysis will remain on the materials prepared and published specifically for the purpose of influencing the perceptions of the general public. This analysis will examine all HKND Group newsletters released to date—five newsletters total, spanning from November 2015 to December 2017, as well as the singular Amnesty International report, released in 2016. While considerable time has passed since the last HKND newsletter, there currently is no indication that future

HKND newsletters will not be published.

Chapter 4: Findings

For the purpose of composing a findings section that best highlights the opposing and supportive views of the Canal project, the findings will be presented below, first by overarching theme. In the case of this study, the two sweeping themes found across all data sources (HKND News, Amnesty International, and select news coverage) are human rights issues & concerns and Canal progression. Both themes are interpreted quite differently according to the data sources stance toward the Canal project, sometimes diverging quite far in its interpretation of what it means to address human rights or Canal progression. Beneath each overarching theme, findings are separated by data source, and among these are the specific interpretation of subthemes detailed by each source. For illustrative purposes, a general outline of the coded themes and subthemes by data source is detailed below:

I. Human Rights Issues & Concerns a. HKND: i. Nicaraguan consent ii. HKND Group’s involvement for Nicaragua’s own good iii. Mitigating environmental fears iv. Neutralizing concerns for the indigenous b. Amnesty International: i. Human rights violations c. Select News Sources: i. Environmental concerns ii. Mandatory evictions II. Canal Progression a. HKND: i. Assurance of the Canal’s progress ii. Profitability & economic potential iii. Celebration of economic virtues alongside non-economic virtues b. Amnesty International: i. Inordinate power c. Select News Sources: i. Profitability & viability of the Canal

Human Rights Issues & Concerns

The HKND Group.

The first and arguably most important data source reviewed was the HKND

Group newsletters, titled “HKND News,” of which there are five with publication dates spanning from November of 2015 (three years after the company’s founding) to

December of 2017. Further, the publication timeline of each newsletter has no identifiable pattern, with newsletter one released in November of 2015, newsletter two released in January of 2016, newsletter three in June of 2016, newsletter four in January of 2017, and newsletter five in December of 2017.

Date of Publication Data Source HKND News, Issue 1 November 2015 HKND News, Issue 2 January 2016 HKND News, Issue 3 June 2016 HKND News, Issue 4 January 2017 HKND News, Issue 5 December 2017 Table 5. HKND News issues and their publication dates

There is no formal reasoning for the steadily increasing span of time between each newsletter. However, the newsletters themselves carry steady themes in light of changing information. Spanning just over two years, the Nicaraguan Canal newsletters have covered a myriad of events and developments. Yet as the content of the newsletters change to help serve the HKND Group’s interests at various points in time, a number of themes are consistently maintained.

Nicaraguan consent.

Nicaraguan consent is a major theme prevalent throughout the course of all five

HKND newsletters, and HKND devotes quite a bit of content to display the Nicaraguan

people as willing, hopeful, and excited participants in the Canal’s construction. While many “consent scenarios” posed by HKND News falls under small-d-discourse, the big-

D-Discourse implication is that the Canal is a Nicaraguan-made idea that the HKND

Group is generously fulfilling. Quotes such as the following serve as an example of the ways in which HKND News includes Nicaragua as an active participant in the Canal’s construction: “the ESIA process has been exhaustive and we spent longer completing it than we original (sic) envisaged, because we listened to the input we received about the design and made various changes that have improved it” (“HKND News: First issue,”

2015, p. 2). The fact that the HKND Group made alterations that sacrificed time and money to the benefit of Nicaragua and its citizens is cited multiple times throughout the newsletters in very similar format:

“...a number of amendments have been made to the canal route for the purpose of protecting the mangrove, wetlands, natural palm forest and marine reserves, which in turn raised the construction cost” (“HKND News: First issue,” 2015, p. 7). In order to protect a small parcel of wetland, near where the Tule River runs into Lake Nicaragua, the company said that it plans to change the route of the waterway, even though such an alteration would add $700 million to the cost of the project. (“HKND News: Third issue,” 2016, p. 18)

Although this increased the construction cost of the Project, HKND Group is convinced that it is necessary and it is worth assuming the social and environmental responsibilities, because the firm is deeply identified with the environmental values of the Nicaraguan people. (“HKND News: Fifth issue,” 2017, p. 4).

“Despite the higher construction cost, the final alignment was chosen as it can protect the mangroves, wetlands, natural palm forest and marine reserves, and also reduce disturbance on the local communities and minimize impacts on indigenous territories” (“HKND News: Fifth issue,” 2017, p. 9).

Additionally, the HKND Group is consistently portrayed as providing the

Nicaraguan people with something that has been deeply and historically desired. HKND

newsletters often refers to the history of Nicaragua, which has been considered as a potential site of an interoceanic canal before. Utilizing this history, the HKND News often credits themselves as fulfilling the Nicaraguan Dream. This dream is most often portrayed as benefitting the Nicaraguan people for the support it will deliver to the nation’s economy, the local jobs it will create, and the historic reconciliation it will bring after having been passed over for Panama long ago:

“Standing on the threshold of a new era, we are developing the Canal Project as part of a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road to help Nicaragua realize its century- old dream” (“HKND News: Third issue,” 2016, p. 2).

“Building its own canal is Nicaragua’s century-old dream that is yet to be realized. Now Nicaraguans are getting closer to their dream and can nearly touch it” (“HKND News: Third issue,” 2016, p. 16).

“Respondents, in general, said they felt confident, optimistic and happy about the realization of this great dream of the Nicaraguans” (“HKND News: Fourth issue,” 2017, p. ii).

“It was precisely because of the enthusiastic support of the Nicaraguan people, the Government of Nicaragua and the Canal Commission, together with all the joint work, that our effort to fulfill the dream of the Nicaraguans was appreciated...” (“HKND News: Fourth issue,” 2017, p. 25).

“HKND Group will, with the support and under the supervision of the Nicaraguan Government, continue to work with the people of Nicaragua to realize their century-old canal dream with great enthusiasm and confidence” (“HKND News: Fifth issue,” 2017, p. 3).

“According to KW Pang, Nicaraguans have dreamt of building an interoceanic canal for centuries” (“HKND News: Fifth issue,” 2017, p. 11).8

It takes courage, as president, to revive in the Nicaraguans the expectations of the materialization of our historical mega-project of well-being, and to undertake the work. And he also has the courage to, in case the world does not need it, tell the people: "Here ends our dream of the canal." (“HKND News: Fifth issue,” 2017, p. 15)9

8 KW Pang—short for Pang Kwok Wai—is the current Executive Vice President of the HKND Group. 9 This quote drawn from an independent Nicaraguan news article and reprinted in the fifth HKND newsletter.

“A dredge abandoned by Vanderbilt in San Juan del Norte (Grey Town), is what remains of the dream of that canal” (“HKND News: Fifth issue,” 2017, p. 29).

Notably, the concept of the Nicaraguan Dream does not present itself until issue three of

HKND News, from which point it becomes a highly prevalent theme. Though not explicitly defined, the Nicaraguan Dream appears to represent a longing for economic prosperity the likes of which was granted to Panama upon the construction of the Panama

Canal. Transformative and even sensationalist tones seem to color the HKND newsletters’ depiction of this Nicaraguan Dream.

HKND sponsorship is another method employed by the concessionaire in order to turn public perception in their favor and display a sense of Nicaraguan consent.

Throughout the newsletters, this has translated to articles that report on the HKND Group as supporting various projects, cultural events, and educational initiatives within

Nicaragua that enrich the lives of its residents. Regarding a series of archaeological digs,

“[the] HKND Group will work with the Government to establish museums to preserve and display important cultural heritage material” (“HKND News: Second issue,” 2016, p.

3). Such events allow HKND News the opportunity to share comments such as the following:

HKND Group places great importance on the preservation of Nicaragua’s cultural heritage because of its respect for the history, culture and traditions of the country. HKND Group is convinced that the Nicaragua Canal Project will bring great social benefits to the country, and the archaeological work will be an important component of the overall social benefit. (2016, p. 3)

Additionally, the HKND Group launched an educational program in order to “cast light on the grave ecological situation in Nicaragua, as well as to raise their awareness of forest conservation and enrich their knowledge of seedling care” (“HKND News: Fourth issue,”

2017, p. 4). This type of sponsorship serves a double-purpose: the HKND Group is able to convey a sense of responsibility and environmental awareness to the general public and newsletter readership, as well as directly disseminate their take on the environmental situation of Nicaragua and how the Canal is the best solution to the “grave ecological situation” via the training program (“HKND News: Fourth issue,” 2017, p. 4). This educational campaign was presented across 80 schools with a total participation of

15,000 parents, students, principals, and teachers, and signified an intentional and sustained step in the direction of engaging the children of Nicaragua (“HKND News:

Fourth issue,” 2017).10

HKND Group’s involvement for Nicaragua’s own good.

A critical theme throughout the HKND newsletters is the concept of the HKND

Group’s involvement for Nicaragua’s own good. This could be in reference to the people of Nicaragua, the environment, or the economy of the nation. Regardless of the target, the

HKND newsletters consistently emphasize the critical role that their company plays in bettering Nicaragua as a whole:

“Experts have estimated that the project will directly or indirectly create up to 250,000 jobs during the construction phase” (“HKND News: First issue,” 2015, p. 4).

“Up to this point, archaeology in Nicaragua has been a small scale affair...Thanks to the resources provided by HKND, we have dug 73 exploratory pits in a month” (“HKND News: Second issue,” 2016, p. 12).

“After reviewing the [environmental impact] study with due rigor, the Government of Nicaragua acknowledged that the Canal will have a net positive impact on the environment and society” (“HKND News: Second issue,” 2016, p. 15).

10 The Educational Reforestation Program for the West Canal was publicized in the fourth issue of HKND News and depicted child-centric engagement.

While the explicit benefits outlined in HKND News to come to Nicaragua can be considered small-d-discourse, the presentation of such material implies higher, big-D-

Discourse abstractions of “Nicaragua’s own good,” which is never directly mentioned.

What’s more, the HKND newsletters go beyond this to include language that implicates blame toward Nicaragua. This tendency was often employed in reference to a grim predicted trajectory for the periphery nation, and how the HKND Group could redirect that trajectory to a brighter and more prosperous future. This prompted the creation of a sub-theme of saving Nicaragua from itself:

“All the residents on acquired land, including those without property titles, will live a better life as compared to today” (“HKND News: Third issue,” 2016, p. 18).

“Marred by poverty, they would immediately accept our relocation offer...” (“HKND News: Third issue,” 2016, p. 19).

[T]he project is an opportunity to achieve the economic and social development of Nicaraguans, who have faced historical structural poverty for more than 200 years, with social lags, and for that reason the Grand Canal is not only a dream that is possible, but also a great alternative. (“HKND News: Fourth issue,” 2017, p. ii)

A project of this magnitude will guarantee the economic independence of Nicaragua, whose income depends on its insufficient raw materials and natural resources, and represents the only possibility of obtaining the necessary resources to preserve the water and forest resources of that area, affected by the indiscriminate felling of trees and the dumping of industrial waste, made by ourselves. (“HKND News: Fourth issue,” 2017, p. ii) 11

[T]he Canal Project is expected to tackle the problems of ever deteriorating environment (sic) and poverty. If people just sit back, the excessive deforestation trend will continue and the environment will be further damaged beyond repair. Meanwhile, local people will remain to be trapped in poverty. (“HKND News: Fourth issue,” 2017, p. 14).

11 This quote pulled from an introductory letter in Issue four of the HKND newsletters, entitled “The Grand Canal, a Dream that is Possible” and penned by Adolfo Pastrán Arancibia, chief editor of a Nicaraguan news outlet.

HKND News consistently describes Nicaragua as being in a bleak state in need of interference, lest they devolve into an even darker future. This is a pattern of small-d- discourse within the newsletters, a tendency to portray the construction of Nicaragua as a state in need of saving from itself. With the Canal, they suggest that much of Nicaragua’s challenges—deforestation, culture loss, poverty, and more—can be curbed by the Canal.

This leads to another sub-theme of net positives. Used to explain the ways in which the

HKND Group seeks to save Nicaragua from a deteriorating environmental and social state, HKND News purports that while the Canal will require collateral damage, once it is up and running, there will be a net positive impact:

“A rigorous review by the Government has confirmed the ESIA finding that, subject to HKND meeting a number of agreed mitigations and offset conditions, the Canal will produce a net positive environmental and social impact” (“HKND News: First issue,” 2015, p. 1).

“Lake Nicaragua is already damaged by human activities...Contrary to the depiction by some people, Lake Nicaragua is anything but a ‘pristine wilderness’” (“HKND News: First issue,” 2015, p. 8).

“After a thorough scientific study, we believe that the Canal project will eventually produce net positive environmental benefits, after we take appropriate mitigation, control and compensation measures” (“HKND News: First issue,” 2015, p. 18).

Pang Kwok Wai, Executive Vice President of HKND Group and Bill Wild, Chief Project Advisor of HKND Group, gave a thorough presentation of the ESIA results and the “Net Positive Impact” demonstrated by ERM that will eventually be realized in the environment and society of Nicaragua after the environmental mitigations are completed. (“HKND News: First issue,” 2015, p. 7)

“After reviewing the study with due rigor, the Government of Nicaragua acknowledged that the Canal will have a net positive impact on the environment and society, provided that the concessionaire complies with the agreed mitigation and compensation conditions” (“HKND News: Second issue,” 2016, p. 15).

“HKND Group is committed to achieving Net Positive Environmental and Social Impact, which means that the unavoidable negative impacts on the environment

will be more than balanced and compensated by the positive environmental and social benefits” (“HKND News: Fourth issue,” 2017, p. 14).

“Like any infrastructure work, the Canal will have significant environmental impacts. However, the final balance from environmental, economic and social perspectives will be ‘highly positive’” (“HKND News: Fifth issue,” 2017, p. i).

Clearly, the idea of producing a net positive impact is an important theme in the HKND newsletters, as they allow for the big-D-Discourse implication of the environmental and social harms posed by the Canal to be considered “better” than the harms Nicaragua is currently inflicting on itself, to no net positive end. Of course, one could say that $50 billion, devoted solely to solving social and environmental problems, would have an even larger net positive impact, with little to no overall harm in need of mitigating.

Mitigating environmental fears.

As can be imagined, HKND News devotes a huge amount of time to mitigating environmental concerns. Such a vast canal project prompts much conjecture on the impact it will have on the environment. As a result, the newsletters understandably spend much time trying to minimize fears and conjecture over the potentially-destructive nature of the Canal. This is accomplished by (1) discussing the ways in which the Canal will halt current environmental degradation of forests, wetlands, and waterways, (2) stress the

“net positive” effect that the Canal will provide, and (3) neutralize skepticism of their ability to do so.

It does not take long for HKND News to get to the point, either. As early as page one of the first newsletter, the HKND Group is tackling the perception of environmental harm posed by the Canal. Issue one continues on in a nineteen-page attempt to mitigate these fears. Starting with the damage Nicaragua poses to itself, the HKND Group mentions that “at present, one of the most serious ecological problems which Nicaragua

is facing is that residents excessively cut down the forests to maintain their livelihood”

(“HKND News: First issue,” 2015, p. 18). They then quickly discuss the environmental benefits the Canal would bring, which they state will “effectively curb the deterioration of the environment in Nicaragua” and includes “large-scale reforestation...prevent[ion of] soil erosion...employment for the residents...eliminate the phenomenon of deforestation...mobiliz[e] illegal residents to move out of Indio Maiz ecological reserve...retain precious water resources wasting into the Caribbean Sea,” and “alleviate the local drought caused by El Nino and global climate change” (“HKND News: First issue,” 2015, p. 18). Finally, instances of directly addressing criticism is more rare, but often pointed:

“...this temporary uncertainty is exploited by some politicians in Nicaragua, who have made one-sided statements, causing unnecessary misunderstandings and concerns to a small number of residents” (“HKND News: First issue,” 2015, p. 19).

“In general, the number of residents who need to be relocated is not vast, but this has been exploited by some western media” (“HKND News: Third issue,” 2016, p. 19).

Neutralizing concerns for the indigenous.

While indigenous people receive very minimal mention in the HKND newsletters, they are a special interest of skeptics of the Canal and their absence in HKND News is noted. While the HKND Group reports that “no more than 6,800 families and 27,000 citizens” live within the Canal’s proposed path and will therefore need to be relocated, indigenous populations included in this count carry with it greater implications, facing perhaps a more heightened duty to protect and maintain the culture of these groups situated at the GTRK, RACCS, RACCN, RAAN, & RAAS, which are often so closely tied to the land on which they have resided for generations (“HKND News: First issue,”

2015, p. 19). HKND Group makes an attempt at neutralizing this weighty move by reporting that “only 25 households are indigenous people living in the Rama-Kriol

Territorial Government (GTRK) territory” (“HKND News: First issue,” 2015, p. 3).

While the small-d-discourse interpretation of this framing illustrates minimal cause for concern over indigenous populations, the big-D-discourse abstraction present reveals an attempted undermining of concerns for the indigenous as being exaggerated.

Following archaeological work in the areas set to be excavated for construction,

HKND News boasts how its archaeological work (conducted in compliance with environmental report recommendations and International Best Practices) uncovered further “understanding of the life dynamics of [Nicaragua’s] aboriginal societies and strengthens [its] national identity” (“HKND News: Second issue,” 2016, p. 13). Still, its respect and understanding of indigenous societies remains to be seen, as such populations are only ever mentioned within HKND News in reference to their relocation, even calling into question the true identities of the 6,800 families to be relocated upon mentioning that

“among which only 25 households are real indigenous people” (“HKND News: Third issue,” 2016, p. 18, emphasis added). This small but striking word choice calls into question what HKND Group’s criteria for indigenous people is, and how many of the

27,000 residents self-identify or otherwise might qualify as indigenous. HKND News goes on to attempt to assuage fears of indigenous disrespect by assuring readers that they are aware that “understanding the customs and traditions and the cultural system of indigenous people is of great value” when communicating in an “inclusive and transparent” matter in regards to the proposed Canal route cutting through sections of indigenous territory (“HKND News: Third issue,” 2016, p. 23).

Amnesty International.

Amnesty International is a research-based campaign and advocacy organization that tackles issues of human rights, international justice, and freedom of expression, among others (“What We Do.,” n.d.). For the purpose of this study, their report, Danger:

Rights for Sale, The Interoceanic Grand Canal Project in Nicaragua and the Erosion of

Human Rights, was utilized. The report is unique in that it is perhaps the sole formal report of its kind that goes in depth on the Nicaraguan Canal and the ramifications of such a project. Its analysis of the legal documents and legislation critical to the Canal is complimented by semi-structured interviews and focus groups with Nicaraguan farmers, environmental and human rights organization leaders. The Amnesty International report was initially published in 2016, and was again published in August of 2017, situating it both after the initiation of the HKND newsletters and before the final newsletter was published.

Date of Publication Data Source HKND News, Issue 1 November 2015 Amnesty International Report, First publication 2016 (month unknown) HKND News, Issue 2 January 2016 HKND News, Issue 3 June 2016 HKND News, Issue 4 January 2017 Amnesty International Report, Second publication August 2017 HKND News, Issue 5 December 2017 Table 6. Data sources and their publication dates

Given the timing of both the HKND newsletters and the Amnesty International report, the two are not merely entities operating independently of one another, but interacting with one another, the information shared therein serving to either reinforce or discredit the other.

Human rights violations.

Per the title of the report, Amnesty International’s primary contention with the

Canal is its implication for human rights and thus human rights violations is a central theme. While HKND News claims that the Canal project will be completed in accordance with “the standards of International Best Practice” (“HKND News: First issue,” 2015, p.

3), Amnesty International remains skeptical, noting that the actions of the concessionaire of the Canal as well as the Nicaraguan government “constitute an unacceptable failure to respect its international human rights obligations” (Amnesty International, 2017, p. 5).

Citing that “Nicaragua has an irrefutable obligation to implement a series of guarantees grounded in human rights principles and standards,” Amnesty International focuses heavily on the ways in which the Nicaraguan Canal project has already violated these human rights. Such observations somewhat undermines the HKND Group’s repeatedly- noted intentions to construct the Canal with international best practices in mind and leading to a better quality of life for all those affected. Instead, Amnesty International reports that the Canal—despite not yet having broken ground—has already negatively impacted the people of Nicaragua through instances of intimidation & excessive force, secrecy & issues of transparency, and finally making the Nicaraguan people vulnerable to mandatory eviction. For the purpose of this study, these will be utilized as subthemes nested under human rights violations.

Mandatory evictions.

While HKND News referred to these acts with words such as “relocation,”

“resettling,” and “moves,” Amnesty International utilized more frank language: “mass displacement,” “land expropriation,” “forced eviction.” Additionally, HKND News

makes only somewhat passing references to these resettlements, noting that the moved families will enjoy an increase in their quality of life. Yet Amnesty International makes note that even the Canal’s environmental impact report states that, “[t]he resulting displacement of human populations is one of the Project’s most significant impacts”

(Amnesty International, 2017, p. 18). Indeed, Amnesty International agrees that “one of the effects of most concern is the possible mass evictions,” and not merely for the “risk of depriving people of their family environment, social networks, livelihood, adequate food and employment opportunities, as well as hindering access to education and water, among other services”; the legal framework in place to handle the evictions “...reveals that human rights standards, especially with regard to the process of expropriation, have not been respected” (Amnesty International, 2017, p. 5).

While evictions are severely disruptive to the lives of those affected in itself,

HKND News attempts to mitigate this by “ensur[ing] that the conditions of their new house will be better than their existing ones” (“HKND News: First issue,” 2015, p. 19).

However, Amnesty International points out that the increased quality of life guaranteed by the HKND Group in their newsletters is not supported by the legislation in place:

According to the law, the amount of compensation will be the property’s cadastral value (that is the rateable value set the by municipal authorities) or the fair market value, whichever is the lower. In other words, the law expressly states that the compensation payable will be the most disadvantageous for the owner. (2017, p. 18)

Amnesty International notes that the inclusion of the cadastral value is particularly devastating to the people of Nicaragua set to be evicted. As one peasant farmer interviewed by the organization notes: “We feel we are being affected because the law says that they will pay for property according to the cadastral value. That shocked us,

because in this area cadastral [rateable] values are generally well below the real price of property” (2017, p. 18). Such concerns have been backed up by the analyses of human rights organizations in Nicaragua, summarized by Amnesty International:

[T]he cadastral value is a reference value that is used for tax purposes, but it is well below the market value at which properties are bought and sold. Therefore...this represents a derisory payment with respect to the actual value of the land and will make it impossible for those affected to restore their economic situation. (2017, p. 18)

Amnesty International goes on to acknowledge the mitigation attempts made by the HKND Group and Canal project representatives. In addition to the HKND Group’s bid to assuage fears of unfair expropriation via their newsletters, “a spokesperson for the

Commission was quoted in the media as stating that the cadastral value of property will only be a reference point” (2017, p. 18). To this, Amnesty International notes that “[t]he lack of clarity in the information given is causing even greater uncertainty with respect to this aspect of the expropriation process. What is clear is that the law has not been modified despite the statements made” (2017, p. 18). Without any legislation to ensure adequate compensation, “nothing ensures that these are not merely empty promises”

(Amnesty International, 2017, p. 22). Without legal clarification and with conflicting messages swirling around the media, residents of Nicaragua are left with little information they can rely on with certainty.

Amnesty International spoke to over 190 peasant farmers (campesinos) living in various communities near the projected route of the canal. Their statements revealed a profound concern at the lack of access to the information necessary to understand the details of the Project and all its impacts, especially those related to future expropriations and mass evictions. (Amnesty International, 2017, p. 5)

Further, Amnesty International notes that there is some question as to who is able to receive compensation according to the legislation in place. While “HKND News:

Third issue” states that “All the residents on the acquired land, including those without property titles, will live a better life as compared to today” (2016, p. 18), the laws in place refer “to the ‘owner’ or ‘owners’ as those who will receive compensation payments for expropriation. The law does not refer to the situation of those who do not formally have legal title or are merely tenants” (Amnesty International, 2017, p. 22). What’s more,

“once an expropriation order has been issued, it cannot be reviewed in any forum or under any circumstances,” and “even though there is an option to lodge an objection to the amount, the compensation paid will never exceed the minimum amount possible”

(Amnesty International, 2017, p. 19). Such a framework—if put into practice for the purpose of the expropriation process—would go against human rights principles where evictees are entitled to fair compensation, as well as “the right of access to timely remedy...[such as] a fair hearing, access to legal counsel, legal aid, return, restitution, resettlement, rehabilitation and compensation...” (Amnesty International, 2017, p. 20).

Clearly, the eviction process is already shirking human rights practices, yet

Amnesty International takes an additional step. Through their open-ended interviews, they are able to make a pressing case against HKND News’s central theme, Nicaraguan consent, with a few poignant quotes drawn from interviews with those along the proposed

Canal route:

We don’t want to go because we don’t want to go to another place that we do not know; we don’t know what that other place is like. We love our land because it is our land that feeds us. (2017, p. 37)

There are 12 children in our family. None of us has the skills needed to work on the canal. What’s going to happen to us, we’ll be completely without work. At this point, how are we going to get the skills to be able to get a job on that canal. The canal is no use to us, nor to Nicaragua. (2017, p. 37)

Almost all of us living here live off the land, planting crops, raising animals. We don’t know how to do anything else; working the land is what we know. That’s why we prefer to die here, because if we go to the city, what are we going to do? (2017, p. 38).

Clearly, the Canal Project—despite not yet having officially started—has already failed to comply with human rights principles such as “the right to resettlement, which includes the right to alternative land of better or equal quality and housing that must satisfy the following criteria for adequacy: accessibility, affordability, habitability, security of tenure, cultural adequacy, suitability of location, and access to essential services such as health and education” (Amnesty International, 2017, p. 40).12 Additionally, despite the

HKND News’s assurance of Nicaraguan consent, those affected along the proposed

Canal route express anything but in their open-ended interviews with Amnesty

International.

Secrecy & transparency.

Secrecy & transparency is a major theme in the Amnesty International report, which details much of the actions of both corporate and private entities as being shrouded in secrecy and misinformation, particularly in regards to the passage of legislation surrounding the Canal and its sub-projects. Despite the fact that “Nicaraguan legislation...guarantees public participation in the law-making process” (p. 30), Amnesty

International has found through the interview process that “Nicaragua has pushed ahead with the approval and design of a mega-project that puts the human rights of hundreds of thousands of people at risk, without consultation and in a process shrouded in silence”

(2017, p. 5):

12 Excerpted from the Basic Principles and Guidelines on Development-Based Evictions and Displacement, para. 16.

Campesinos told Amnesty International that before Law 840 was adopted, they had no access to any official details about its possible content, let alone a chance to participate in a serious consultation process. Some people said all they heard via media linked to the government was “how beautiful the canal would be.” (Amnesty International, 2017, p. 32)

When the granting of the Interoceanic Canal concession was approved in 2013, it took us all by surprise, because the government had not consulted, or given people a chance to comment and submit opinions on it... But it was clear that there is no interest in consulting the opinions of experts or the public in general. That was clear by the way they went about the process, which was extremely fast, involved few people and was very hastily approved by parliament. (Amnesty International, 2017, p. 32, Dr. Jorge Huete-Perez)

The approval of Laws 800 and 840 were the first instances of this secrecy and lack of transparency, but they were not the last. “Following the adoption of the Law 840, human rights organizations and communities living in the vicinity of the projected route have continued to complain about state secretiveness” (Amnesty International, 2017, p.

36). Amnesty International notes in their report that “[a]ccording to international human rights principles, “Urban or rural planning and development processes should involve all those likely to be affected” who “have the right to relevant information, full consultation and participation throughout the entire process”. In addition, Nicaragua has an obligation to guarantee the right of all individuals to request access to state-held information, as part of the right to freedom of thought and expression” (Amnesty International, 2017, p. 30).

In the face of this, the people of Nicaragua struggled to access the relevant information, leading to serious issues of transparency throughout the process:

As members of civil society, we first learned about draft Law 840 when it came before the National Assembly and opposition members of parliament made public that it had been presented. Everyone started to try to find the draft law. To start with it wasn’t anywhere to be found; we couldn’t get hold of it, it was not accessible. Then the same thing happened with the Master Concession and Implementation Agreement. (Amnesty International, 2017, p. 32)

“The authorities didn’t bother to tell us about it [Law 840] and when they learned that we had it in our hands, they didn’t bother to explain it” (Amnesty International, 2017, p. 33).

“Despite public protests, legal appeals and requests for information, the state refuses to initiate a meaningful dialogue with people who may be affected and their representatives” (Amnesty International, 2017, p. 6).

Despite exhibiting secrecy and issues of transparency throughout the legal process, HKND News states that there were several open consultation meetings with the public, which were “successful in conveying the facts about the project and it received a very favorable response” (“HKND News: First issue,” 2015, p. 4). Unsurprisingly, the legal and political practices surrounding the Canal did not improve as the process went on. As the project moved into the surveying stages, Amnesty International notes that

“[t]hey were doing this study, but in secret, calling sick people to receive medication...but it was to get information from them, their ID numbers, signatures and all that, where they lived, their property and how big it was” (Amnesty International, 2017, p. 37). Again, it would appear that—despite not yet having broken ground—the Canal project has already violated human rights practices and that this is not likely to change as the project continues.

Intimidation and excessive force.

Intimidation and excessive force at the hands of government entities for the sake of the Canal project is an unfortunate reality for the Nicaraguan people, as well as the point at which the two narratives between the HKND Group and Amnesty International diverge. Understandably, the HKND newsletters makes zero direct mention of or allusion to any form of protest against the Canal, much less what the Amnesty International report details as an “unnecessary and excessive use of force, disproportionate violence and

unlawful detentions by police targeting people who take part in peaceful public demonstrations against the negative impacts of the Project and its legal framework”

(Amnesty International, 2017, p. 7).

When I go to the demonstrations my husband comes too, and when I leave my house, it really hurts me because maybe I’ll get to come home or maybe I won’t because of government oppression. And when I say goodbye to my children when I leave, I tell them: I don’t know if I will come back. But they say, yes, Mummy, we know that you are doing it because you love us, for our future...Sometimes they are crying. (Amnesty International, 2017, p. 45).

Amnesty International expresses great concern over the legal framework of the

Canal in that it may be used to inhibit the Nicaraguan people’s right to peaceful protest as a form of freedom of expression (2017). According to the agreement laid out in the

Master Concession and Implementation Agreement (MCA) of Law 840, “situations such as riots, public disorder or violent demonstrations may be considered political force majeure events” (Amnesty International, 2017, p. 24).

Force majeure events, commonly used in agreements over international construction projects, typically refers to any event outside of one’s control that affects the progress of the project. Force majeure agreements typically state that, should such an event occur, the contracting party is not to be held to the original standards outlined in the agreement to mitigate for the effect such events may have (International Law Office,

2000). In the case of the Nicaraguan Canal, the MCA states that, should such an event occur,

the government must ensure payment of the amount necessary to cover all the fixed costs of the Key Entity for the period during which such Sub-Project is unable to be (or otherwise is materially restricted or impeded from being) developed or operated in a manner consistent with the detailed operating budget. (Amnesty International, 2017, p. 24)

Such language, stressed Amnesty, may encourage instances of intimidation and excessive force in order to inhibit people from exercising their right to peaceful protest and demonstrations, lest the state be held accountable by the concessionaire of the Canal project (2017). According to interviews and reports by other organizations, such measures of intimidation have already begun outside the context of protest:

Some of the communities interviewed indicated that they learned about the existence of the project or the risk that they could face expropriation when people, most of them foreign, accompanied by police and the military visited their communities to measure their land. Several interviewees added that people had entered their homes and land without their consent. (Amnesty International, 2017, p. 37).

“In addition, human rights and environmentalist organizations have reported acts of harassment, intimidation and retaliation against human rights defenders who have expressed concerns about the future impacts of the project” (Amnesty International,

2017, p. 6).

Select news coverage.

In addition to HKND newsletters and the Amnesty International report, several news articles were selected and coded. Each of the articles had dates ranging from 2014 to 2016, with the majority of articles appearing in 2016 as a result of peak interest and activity around the Canal. The coverage came from various news sources, including Al

Jazeera, BBC News, National Geographic, The Guardian, and The New York Times.

Environmental concerns.

The first and potentially most prominent collective theme across all five articles was that of environmental concern. While HKND News expends great efforts to assuage fears on the environmental effects and “net positives” of the Canal project, the news

articles covered for the most part spoke in unison of doubts and skepticism of the environmental prudence of the Canal project:

“I worry that we are putting all of our future at risk by destroying Nicaragua's lake” (“Nicaragua’s great divide,” 2016, para. 17).

The report expresses particular concerns for Cocibolca Lake, which it says is the “main fresh water reserve for all of Central America”. It cites “hydrocarbon pollution, salinity and turbidity problems,” adding: “No element related to sustainable development has been included in the project. (“Nicaragua “must drop canal,” 2016, para. 10-11)

“Conservationists warn the dredging and perhaps also blasting of the lake could cause immense damage to ecosystems and freshwater supplies” (Watts, 2016, para. 14).

“Three times as long and twice as deep as the Panama Canal, it would slice 170 miles across the southern part of the country — bulldozing through fragile ecosystems, virgin forests and scenes of incredible beauty” (Daley, 2016, para. 3).

Understandably, National Geographic perhaps devoted most time to this theme, stressing the effects that a Grand Interoceanic Canal could bring upon a rich and diverse ecosystem, stating that the project “threatens vital wildlife and wetlands” (Howard, 2014, para. 1):

The effects of construction, major roadways, a coast-to-coast railway system and oil pipeline, neighboring industrial free-trade zones, and two international airports will transform wetlands into dry zones, remove hardwood forests, and destroy the habitats of animals including those of the coastal, air, land, and freshwater zones. (Howard, 2014, para. 10).

Importantly, National Geographic notes that under the legal framework established, the entirety of Nicaragua’s resources—including protected reserves known for their biodiversity—are at the mercy of legal interpretation:

[T]he construction and industrialization process of HKND's canal and all of the subprojects pose a very serious threat not only to Lake Nicaragua and the Atlantic Autonomous Regions, but also to the rivers to be used for transit or to be dammed to raise and maintain the level of the lake; to the Island of Ometepe, declared a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO; and of course, to the MesoAmerican

Biological Corridor, which incorporates the Bosawas Biosphere Reserve, the Indio Maíz Biological Reserve, and the Cerro Silva Nature Reserve. (Howard, 2014, para. 11)

Indeed, “[t]he concession allows HKND to make use of any natural resources and to declare any national territory to be necessary for the purpose of the project. This could be interpreted in many ways, to Nicaragua's detriment” (Howard, 2014, para. 13).

Mandatory evictions.

All news articles coded made mention of displacements in some capacity, though unlike the HKND News, articles took after the Amnesty International report in labeling them evictions or expropriations, rather than relocations:

Since the law clearly states how much they will be reimbursed for the seizure of their ancestral lands, there is little hope for success in lodging any complaints. And lodging complaints, moving, and purchasing new land requires resources that most of these communities lack. (Howard, 2014)

Up to 120,000 peasants had no way of relocating and there was insufficient compensation, the International Federation for Human Rights said... The expropriations process doesn't provide for any administrative or judicial recourse, but does provide for a blatantly insufficient compensation. (“Nicaragua “must drop,” 2016)

Interestingly enough, the New York Times utilizes a unique economic perspective when discussing the Canal’s required evictions:

Economists and human rights activists also object to the powers Mr. Wang has to expropriate land at far less than market rates, saying the terms of Mr. Wang’s concession could discourage anyone else from investing in Nicaragua. That aspect has prompted protests from farmers, some of which have turned violent. Experts say Mr. Wang will have to pay only the assessed value, or about 5 percent of the market value, for any lands he takes. (Daley, 2016)

While such phrasing is certainly noteworthy, Daley fails to specify what exactly it is that may steer potential investors away from unfair compensation rates. Perhaps such investors have a strong moral code to uphold; more likely, this is a reference to the

trepidation of investors to sully their name in the public sphere by involving themselves with the wrong side of a human rights battle.

Canal Progression

The HKND Group.

Assurance of the Canal’s progress.

Assurance of the Canal’s progress is a major theme throughout the newsletters, and in fact is arguably the purpose of HKND News, itself. While doubts have followed this massive-scale project since the beginning, skepticism seemed to reach a tipping point in late 2015 when Chinese billionaire and founder of the HKND Group, Wang Jing, was known to have lost a significant portion of his wealth along with the Chinese stock market, leaving much doubt as to where the $50 billion in funding for the Canal would come from (Associated Press, 2015; Stargardter, 2014; Watts, 2015). This widespread uncertainty is indirectly reflected throughout the newsletters, but is perhaps most prominent in the first HKND News issue. Of nine featured articles on the front page of the newsletter, eight of them serve the purpose of assuring the reader of the Canal’s progress. “Environmental Permit Granted for the Canal Project: Canal Development

Moving Forward Firmly,” “The Major Milestones of the Project,” and “HKND Group:

Nicaragua Canal Preliminary Works Progressing Steadily” are a few such examples featured on the front page of the first newsletter.

“Recently, rumors have been circulating about the possible suspension of the Canal Project and concerns of local Nicaraguans over seizure of land and deterioration of the environment... The so-called fears and the rumors are totally groundless” (“HKND News: Fifth issue,” 2017, p. 11).

Here, small-d-discourse illustrates the neutralization of rumors regarding the project’s operation, but big-D-discourse might lead the reader to infer that a pointed neutralization

is taking place, wherein HKND strives to label opposition reports against the Canal as invalid.

Profitability & economic potential.

Profitability is an important theme within the HKND newsletters. While HKND

News strives to highlight the non-economic benefits that the Canal would bring—benefits such as protecting the environment and indigenous populations, making Nicaragua a cultural hub, and bettering the lives of local citizens—their true imperative is made clear:

“The Project of Nicaragua Interoceanic Grand Canal is a pure commercial project”

(“HKND News: First issue,” 2015, p. 19). HKND chronically assures its readership of the financial gains to be had in light of the large initial $50 billion investment in the

Canal. Keen on assuring the world of its potential, the newsletters tend to avoid utilizing frank language on the expected financial profits of the Canal. Instead, they stress the more abstract, non-financial and Nicaragua-centric benefits to be expected, such as job creation and lifting the Nicaraguan people out of poverty. The most direct reference to monetary generation in the newsletters is the claim that the Canal would double

Nicaragua’s GDP, which they state currently rests at $12 billion (HKND News: First

Issue, 2015). Otherwise, the newsletters are consistently vague in regards to the hard numbers of the project, avoiding exact profit monetization and current investment progress, stating instead that the Canal “will be funded through global financing” (HKND

News: First Issue, 2015, p. 19). While the benefits the Canal will bring are purportedly great, HKND appears hesitant to discuss the numbers.

The newsletters consistently stress the financial prosperity that the Canal would bring, which in turn would lead to a bettering of many other aspects of Nicaraguan citizen’s lives:

From the economic perspective, experts predict that the initiative...will double the GDP of the country and generate about 250,000 direct and indirect jobs. The Project, which also involves the construction of an airport, several roads, a free trade zone, tourist resorts and two ports, will benefit the whole Latin American region. (“HKND News: Second issue,” 2016, p. 17)

It is just such promises that has led government officials, such as Minister of

Mainland Affairs Council, Andrew Hsia, to state that “[a]s long as [the Canal] is beneficial to the economic development of Nicaragua, we will have no objection”

(“HKND News: Third issue,” 2016, p. 16). Such quotes make clear that the government’s standard for approval of the Canal is low when considering the environment and its people. It places doubt on the government Canal Commission’s “in-depth analysis” of the environmental impact report, which already faces criticism as being poorly conducted

(“HKND News: Second issue,” 2016, p. 2; Schneider, 2015). Such strong themes of economic prioritization leads one to believe that the Nicaraguan government’s approval throughout the construction process is far from rigorous.

Instead, the HKND Group is at times presented as merely a vessel for economic progress, framing the Canal as fulfilling a duty to meet the demands of global trade:

The ESIA noted that the Canal Project will provide economic and social benefits for the people of Nicaragua and meet the demand from the international maritime industry which is in need of a transoceanic route that is able to accommodate the largest ships in the world. (“HKND News: Second issue,” 2016, p. 15)

In this, Nicaragua is merely a location for the Canal to exist, it’s biologically-sensitive wetlands and indigenous populations merely factors to mitigate, cultures and livelihoods

quantified in dollars and cents in order to uphold the HKND Group’s net positive promise.

Celebration of economic virtues alongside non-economic virtues.

The tone of the HKND newsletters are notably celebratory and at times self- congratulating, prompting its own theme of celebration of economic virtues alongside non-economic virtues that often takes on historic and even religious tones as it highlights the non-economic values that will purportedly be lifted up with the economic:

Today is a historical day for Nicaragua and will go down in history. This is a project that will bring significant economic, social and environmental benefits. It will not only benefit this generation of Nicaragua, but will also benefit future generations, even the whole world. (“HKND News: First issue,” 2015, p. 2)

“We should pray to God that this Project will be realized smoothly and Nicaragua will gain vast benefits” (“HKND News: First issue,” 2015, p. 9).

“Practicing the spirit of hard work and courage rooted in traditional Chinese value system (sic), Chinese companies are competent to develop the world’s largest and most complex civil engineering project ever endeavored by humanity, the Nicaragua Grand Canal” (“HKND News: Third issue,” 2016, p. 1).

Indeed, one need not doubt the projection that “[o]nce the Canal is opened, the history of

Nicaragua can be divided into ‘Pre-canal era’ and ‘Post-canal era’” (“HKND News:

Fourth issue,” p. 20).

Amnesty International.

Inordinate authoritative power.

When referencing Canal progression within the Amnesty International report on the Nicaraguan Canal, the inordinate authoritative power of the Canal and its concessionaire, the HKND Group, is the main focus. Amnesty makes the argument throughout their report that the Canal and it’s legal framework lends overwhelming power to the HKND Group over not just the Canal project, but any number of sub-

projects, the people of Nicaragua, and the government of the state, itself (2017). What’s more, such powers were granted to the HKND Group with alarmingly little deliberation.

“According to civil society organizations, after the Infrastructure and Public Services

Committee delivered its opinion in favour of the law, the plenary discussion in the legislature “determining the fate of the country for more than 100 years” lasted approximately three hours” (Amnesty International, 2017, p. 32). The law in question here is Law 840, the second of two important pieces of legislation giving inordinate power to the concessionaires of the Canal. It is for this reason that legislation and Law

840 is a coded subtheme for this study, in addition to prioritization of investors and government compliance.

Legislation and Law 840.

In order to grant the HKND Group the power to construct and regulate the Canal and its sub-projects, legislation was put in place in a manner that Amnesty International noted was “irregular, extremely fast, opaque and lacking real and genuine consultation”

(2017, p. 5). Indeed, Law 840 was passed in a way that lacked transparency, the consultation process for which “did not comply with international human rights standards and norms” (Amnesty International, 2017, p. 27). What’s more, however, is the fact that

Law 840 granted the concessionaire of the Canal, the HKND Group, the rights over all other government legislation:

...The law governing the project takes precedence over other national legislation by modifying or repealing any provision or legislation that opposes it. The complete subordination of national legislation to a trade agreement does not augur well for human rights. Nicaragua’s international human rights commitments cannot and should not be adapted around trade agreements. (Amnesty International, 2017, p. 5)

Indeed, “[i]t would appear that according to Law 840, the entire Nicaraguan legal framework must conform to the objectives and provisions of Law 840 and the MCA”

(Amnesty International, 2017, p. 22). Such a law is noteworthy in its strength and scope, and has understandably caused much concern among Nicaraguan residents, human rights, and environmental organizations alike for the broad implications it poses on the state and its people:

We understand that under the law, the company is immune in this country; it faces no administrative, criminal or civil sanctions. Law 840 says that they will not face any criminal sanctions for any breach of contract. So, if they don’t pay us, where do we go to complain? (Amnesty International, 2017, p. 21)

If later foreigners [concession holders] like the place we are relocated to, then they are well within their legal rights to throw us out of there as well, because they have the right, the law says that they can’t even be taken to court. Our lands, our lakes have been totally surrendered to them. (Amnesty International, 2017, p. 21)

Additionally, Law 840 grants the HKND Group, as concessionaire, the rights to any number of sub-projects. These sub-projects have been mentioned in HKND News, which only ever discussed potential sub-projects in terms of “two ports, a free trade zone, an international airport, and other infrastructure development projects” (2015, p. 5). But the Amnesty International report goes a bit more in-depth, noting the sub-projects to potentially include “two ports, an oil pipeline, a “dry canal” for the construction of a railroad, two free trade zones, an airport and any infrastructure that the investor determines is necessary for the IGC [Interoceanic Grand Canal]” (2017, p. 27).

Additionally, the rights granted to the concessionaire to pursue these sub-projects with impunity appears to be transferrable, leading to concerns that Law 840 essentially puts Nicaragua’s lands up for sale to the highest bidder:

With respect to Sub-Projects, the Commission shall guarantee the exclusive (transferable) right to possess, occupy, use or perform any activities upon all government-owned and privately-owned real property which may be reasonably necessary or desirable to Develop and Operate such Sub Project. Similarly, it shall also ensure the unfettered right to use for the purpose of the Development and Operation of the relevant Sub-Project, land, air and maritime space where construction works related to such Sub-Project will be performed. (Amnesty International, 2017, p. 25)13

Amnesty International goes on to note that the privileges granted to the concessionaire in Law 840 are too broad, the implications of which spelling grave danger for the people of Nicaragua as Law 840 is in itself a threat to human rights. Once again, despite the Canal project not yet having even gone forward in any groundbreaking capacity, “Law 840 is not consistent with international standards in respect to compensation and by limiting the rights of property owners...” (Amnesty International,

2017, p. 22).

One of the threats posed by Law 840 is that these privileges granted will remain whether or not the Canal project is ever started or completed. “[T]he failure to implement the canal waterway sub-project would not remove the risk of areas of the territory being used for the construction of other infrastructure projects” (Amnesty International, 2017, p. 25). Under this legal framework, the concessionaire has almost limitless jurisdiction over the state of Nicaragua for the next 100 years. Fighting the Canal project is important to many people of Nicaragua. But for the sake of their current way of life, their lands are not safe until Law 840 is repealed.

Suppose the foreigner [concession holder] says tomorrow that the canal project will not go ahead, this still does not satisfy us, because as long as the law exists, at any moment they can expropriate our property, either for some project of as part of a business deal, for whatever reason. This law is a threat to Nicaraguans. (Amnesty International, 2017, p. 25)

13 MCA, Clauses 8.1.a and 8.1.b.

Prioritization of investors.

The inordinate powers granted for the sake of the Canal are very one-sided. While the HKND newsletters may strive to lead one to believe that the Canal is a project spun up by the Nicaraguan people in order to realize their own dreams, the truth of the matter is that the Canal Project and its legal framework highly prioritizes the investors of the project, whether they be affiliates of the HKND Group or any future entities that offer the highest bid on the transferrable rights granted by Law 840. At this point in time, there is little information across any data source as to the investors of the Canal other than

HKND Group founder, Wang Jing. While entirely speculative at this point, it would be reasonable to assume that—given the vast geopolitical power that an interoceanic canal would grant China in an area historically controlled by US trade relations—the idea of the Nicaraguan Canal being a state-corporate joint investment between the HKND Group and its home country of China is worth consideration. The power disparity between Canal investors and the Nicaraguan people is noted repeatedly by Amnesty International in their report:

...the project’s legal framework should not privilege the interests of the concession-holder and investors at the expense of human rights. On the contrary, it should preserve and strengthen human rights guarantees and avoid at all costs provisions that grant privileges and protections in favour of the investor while restricting or qualifying the rights of the people affected. (2017, p. 5)

The legal framework of the project should not give priority to the interests of the concessionaire and investor at the expense of the human rights of those who will be impacted by the project. On the contrary, the legislation should preserve and strengthen human rights and avoid at all costs provisions that grant privileges and protections in favour of the investor while restricting or qualifying the rights of the people affected to take the necessary legal actions to protect their rights. (2017, p. 20)

The vast discrepancy in the prioritizations of the project creates instability for disadvantaged groups whose interests are at odds with the commercial and profit-driven ones of the concessionaires. “Obviously,” the powers granted to the concessionaire to operate with virtual impunity “is very convenient for any investor and prioritizes the interests of private investors over the rights of those who could be affected” (Amnesty

International, 2017, p. 26).

Select news coverage.

Profitability and viability of the Canal.

Unlike Amnesty International and HKND News—which had strong and consistent stances on the Canal’s progression—the news coverage varied in expressions of optimism as well as skepticism toward the Canal in terms of its potential economic benefits, primarily focusing on profitability from the Nicaraguan perspective and bringing with it questions of viability:

According to some government advisors, the canal has the potential to increase Nicaragua's annual growth from 4.5 percent to as much as 15 percent in 2016, and then back down to 8 percent per year” (Howard, 2014, para. 29). “To risk all of our most valuable resources, affecting more than 119,000 people, just to get 25,000 jobs for a small period of time ... it doesn't make any sense at all. (“Nicaragua’s great divide,” 2016)

“Mr. Chamorro said that the majority of the construction jobs would not go to Nicaraguans and that Panama did not become prosperous until it won control of its canal” (Daley, 2016).14

Additionally, some articles stand on the same side as one of our previous data sources, but offers new information. Take this excerpt from Al Jazeera, which stands

14 Quote taken from Juan Sebastián Chamorro, “general director of the Funides research institute” who stands in opposition of the Canal (Daley, 2016).

staunchly against the Canal, but notes that—despite the potential detriment it may bring—still draws support from those along the Canal route:

...the less fortunate—in spite of the lack of information available to them— continue to embrace the project as a potential means to escape poverty. They have been promised a change and more opportunities as a result—but this is without knowing the consequences. (“Nicaragua’s great divide,” 2016)

Also consider the following from the New York Times, which brings into play the potential political influences that affect the Canal’s viability:

“Facilitating the movement of goods from the Pacific to the Atlantic aligns with Chinese interests, and the cost of the project is hardly an obstacle if the Chinese government wants to go forward—if it is involved” (Daley, 2016).

Chapter 5: Discussion

The Concessionaire’s Necessary Goal: Tackling Normalization

As an enterprise, the HKND Canal project not only draws concerns over potential future human rights and environmental violations, but has already done so in several respects according to Amnesty International and other news sources (2017; BBC News,

2016; Daley, 2016; Howard, 2014; Watts, 2016). Yet the framing of these harms is tightly controlled by the state-corporate entities involved as illustrated consistently throughout the HKND News. As a result, the dubious nature of the lawfulness of these state-corporate actions is lost among the power they wield to construct and package their harms. The concept of state-corporate crime is suggested here as the HKND Group commits “illegal or socially injurious actions that result from a mutually reinforcing interaction between (1) the policies and/or practices in pursuit of the goals of one or more institutions of political governance and (2) policies and/or practices in pursuit of the goals of one or more institutions of economic production and distribution” (Barak, 2015).

While Nicaragua’s governance is certainly a facilitating party, they are more so in the respect that the HKND Group forces their hand in bending to the economic institution as a component of the normal operation of capitalism (Lynch, 2017). Much more suggestive is the concept of the Chinese government benefitting from the construct of the Canal and the geopolitical interests at play in the region. Though outside the scope of this study, it is entirely possible that the interests of the Chinese government in the region is a much stronger conductor of the state-corporate criminality relationship.

HKND News has a singular purpose: to further the best interests of the HKND

Group by spreading their message. More specifically, HKND News must accomplish the

task of disseminating information about the Nicaraguan Canal project in such a way that is received favorably by the general public. In doing so, the Canal garners support and encounters less opposition. HKND News seeks to sway public opinion in their favor as

Nicaragua’s savior and bringer of the “net positive,” fulfilling the Nicaraguan Dream that the people of Nicaragua have so desperately wanted. However, much of this is a careful construction that begins to unravel upon further inspection.

The “Canal dream” cherished by the Nicaraguan people can be traced back to one hundred years ago... Building its own canal is Nicaragua’s century-old dream that is yet to be realized. Now Nicaraguans are getting closer to their dream and can nearly touch it. (“HKND Group: Third issue,” 2016, p. 15-16)

The Panama Canal is often referenced when discussing the Nicaraguan Dream, depicting

Nicaragua as being “passed over” as a potential canal site one hundred years ago and leading to Nicaragua’s economic subjugation as one of the poorest nations in Central

America, with a population “marred by poverty” (HKND News: Third Issue, 2016, p.

19); in its stead, Panama was chosen and now enjoys a strong economy that might have been Nicaragua’s. Yet the idea of Nicaragua being “passed over” is a concept only discussed within the HKND newsletters, and are not mentioned in any of the other sources. Indeed, the Nicaraguan Dream itself is only ever mentioned within the HKND data sources, and could not be found to exist anywhere else, leading to the belief that the

Nicaraguan Dream is an entirely HKND-made construct. What’s more, HKND News often depicts the Nicaraguan Dream as though speaking to a Chinese audience, discussing the Canal in terms of Chinese history and imagery:

With the continuing influence of traditional Chinese values and philosophies, Chinese companies are now putting old teachings into modern context. Standing on the threshold of a new era, we are developing the Canal Project as part of a

21st Century Maritime Silk Road to help Nicaragua realize its century-old dream. (“HKND News: Third issue,” 2016, p. 1)15

By discussing the project largely as “a dream fueled by the Chinese concessionaire,”

HKND News implies that—though the Canal is situated in Nicaragua—it is a Chinese endeavor (“HKND News: Third issue,” p. i.). This distinction is important. The HKND

Group makes it a point throughout their newsletters to detail the Canal from a Nicaraguan perspective; framing the Canal as being “for” the Nicaraguan people helps to depict the project as being a consensual, local endeavor. However, the above excerpt shows a different side of the Canal—one that seeks out profits of a historic caliber for the benefit of the Chinese concessionaire of the project. The passage above is a rare reveal of the true value of the Canal to the concessionaire.

HKND News additionally utilizes educational programs in its favor, not only to spread their version of the truth regarding the Canal and its environmental ramifications, but also to intentionally target a more vulnerable generation. Viewed through institutional anomie, the HKND Group is utilizing the educational institution to further their economic imperative and disseminate economic values across a younger and more receptive subpopulation. Further engagement techniques include a new comic section in the subsequent fifth issue of HKND News geared heavily toward a child audience. This could be interpreted as an effort to turn perceptions in the Canal’s favor across the younger age group of Nicaragua, a corporate technique commonly utilized in a marketing context in order to sell a product or value set to a family via children: “A child develops in the context of family dynamics but his/her competence and the adoption of cultural and

15 This excerpt pulled from an introductory note by the HKND Group’s Chairman and CEO, Wang Jing, at the beginning of HKND News: Third Issue.

social norms depend on his/her peers, teachers, the media and other educational environments that impact behaviour and view formation” (Zloković, 2013, p. 291). By employing training early, the HKND Group is potentially contributing to this kind of

“manipulation and aggressive attempts of downgrading the importance of family and educational institutions” in order to push the values of the concessionaire (Zloković,

2013, p. 291). By constructing an entire educational program, the HKND Group is advancing an environmentally-friendly initiative with an economic claim in mind. By teaching children about reforestation and sustainability, their corporate injection into the educational institution is cloaked under a friendly guise of featured children’s paintings and child-directed comics.

Some investments made by the HKND Group for the greater good of Nicaragua are of a larger scale. Mentioned consistently throughout the HKND News is the proposed route of the Canal, which was changed “even though such an alteration would add $700 million to the cost” (“HKND News: Third issue,” 2016, p. 18). Viewed through institutional anomie theory, HKND is acknowledging the fact that the economic institution should triumph, and thus the most economically-efficient Canal route should be selected by default; but for the sake of the Canal’s host country, no price is too high to pay to protect its environment. From the surface, this may be perceived as the environmental institution overpowering the economic. In actuality, this is a veiled investment that satisfies a secondary economic endeavor: while the Canal is the ultimate imperative, making it palatable to the public is an important, ancillary goal. In this respect, the additional $700 million investment in an alternate Canal route is still an

instance of the economic institution prevailing, and in fact utilizing other institutions (in this case, the environmental institution) for its own purposes.

There is an assumption that there is an economic advantage to be gained in keeping negative perceptions of the Canal project to a minimum. Rather than having a vested interest in assuaging the fears of environmentalists and human rights advocates, the idea of curtailing hostility toward HKND’s project poses many economic benefits to the concessionaire of the Canal: widespread protest may attract increased scrutiny and subsequent restriction of project freedoms, and demonstrations can lead to property damage and project delays. Perhaps most importantly, however, is that investors are more likely to express interest in a project they can associate their names with freely. By minimizing associations of the project with human rights violations and environmental destruction, potential investors are less wary to affiliate themselves with the Canal, thereby contributing to the certainty of the project as well as hastening its construction.

Neutralizing concerns over the HKND Group’s harms against the environment and the mass eviction of thousands of Nicaraguan residents and indigenous people is a particularly challenging task. And according to the skepticism present in the Amnesty

International report, as well as select media coverage, the HKND newsletters still battle widespread concerns over the effects on Nicaragua’s environment as well as the human rights of its people in regards to the Canal. Throughout the newsletters, the HKND narrative utilizes multiple techniques to mitigate these attitudes toward the HKND Group and the Canal project, some of which were central themes. These include: stating compliance with “best practice” suggestions, displaying consent from the Nicaraguan

people, sponsorship of various cultural and educational initiatives and events in

Nicaragua, and framing the Canal project as an economic duty.

HKND News consistently mentions their compliance with international best practices. Not only do they mention the actions taken in compliance previously, as in when “a total of nine public consultation meetings for the Environmental and Social

Impact Assessment (ESIA) report of the Nicaragua Interoceanic Canal Project” were conducted, but also the compliance yet to come (“HKND News: First issue,” 2015, p. 6):

As stated by the international consultancy, construction and operation of the Project in a manner consistent with international standards in future “could offer the best future for Nicaragua” and “could provide environmental, social, and economic benefits to the people of Nicaragua. (“HKND News: First issue,” 2015, p. 15).

Though the HKND Group has done nothing yet, the possibility of them following international standards at a future point in time is enough cause for self-congratulations as a bringer of Nicaragua’s “best” future. Such references toward HKND’s future good behavior is one of the ways in which they dress their current and potential future harms toward the people and environmental integrity of Nicaragua in such a way that is palatable and even seen as beneficial.

In an important development, the third issue of HKND News makes note that

“Western media [has] argued” that the HKND Group changed the route—not out of concern for the delicate wetlands along the originally-planned route—but due to the

“physical proximity to the stronghold of the opposition” in El Tule, “where massive demonstrations against the government are witnessed” (2016, p. 19). This is a rare mention of demonstrations by HKND News, and—if the Western media speculation mentioned is true—would illustrate well the HKND Group’s attempts to make the Canal

more palatable. As the original plans to construct the Canal run through a town that is staunchly against the project and not unwilling to protest it, it would be in the HKND

Group’s best interests to avoid the area and neutralize the threat of combative demonstrations which would most likely create a media maelstrom or cause project delays. In this case, $700 million is clearly worth avoiding a potential domino effect of bad publicity and future protests. But, ever-inclined to lead the public to believe in its best intentions, the HKND Group denies these claims in favor of the narrative that the decision was made for purely environmental reasons. Reports of anything else are

“nothing but a media speculation” (“HKND News: Third issue,” 2016, p. 19).

By dressing the project up as an economic duty or a demand being met, the

HKND Group makes the Canal seem less voluntary and more mandatory in order to maintain the prosperity of the international maritime industry. But again, as with the

Nicaraguan Dream, HKND News is more likely to address the economic aspects of the

Canal in terms of Chinese values:

China’s strategy is driving more and more Chinese enterprises to “Go Global”, with an aim to expand its reach in international market by enforcing the “Belt and Road Initiative”. By this means, China is able to bring the advantages of its manufacturing industry into full play, and at the same time promote the internationalization of Renminbi, which is in line with the objectives stated in the “Belt and Road Initiative” of building a win-win “community of shared interests” and a “community of shared destiny” featured by common development and prosperity. (HKND News: Third Issue, 206, p. 19)

Here, the concept of destiny and duty to one’s nation are a mechanism for the economic endeavor, taking some of the agency out of the concessionaire’s choice to construct the

Canal; it is less an option and more an inevitable project that must come to fruition. In this respect, the HKND Group creates an identity of faultlessness; they themselves are

bending to the economic institution to carry out its objective, their very creation initiated in order to do so.

In utilizing these framing techniques, the newsletters are able to manufacture a perception of the Nicaraguan Canal as being reasonable, responsible, and necessary, as well as historic in scope and life changing for the residents of Nicaragua. Importantly, much of the techniques used throughout the newsletters employ a non-economic viewpoint in order to sell a project that serves a highly economic purpose. Yet excerpts such as those discussing the Nicaraguan Dream in terms of Chinese values reinforces the

Canal as serving the purpose and directives of the Chinese concessionaire, which itself seeks to satisfy an overwhelming institutional demand. This demand necessitates that one go to great lengths in order to generate profits and stimulate the global economy, even at the expense of the environment and human rights on a criminal scale. The weakness of

Nicaragua’s economy may, in this case, be somewhat desirable as a host for an interoceanic canal, as institutional anomie may suggest that other institutions of the state are more readily available to bend more deeply in order to further the advancement of an underdeveloped economy. In this way, Nicaragua appeals to the concessionaire in a geographic sense, as well as a manipulatory sense.

Law 840 and Institutional Anomie

Thus far, the Nicaraguan Canal lags behind their original timeline, with little to show for their efforts in terms of construction. Yet despite having little physical evidence of the Canal, Nicaragua is far from untouched by the colossal project. Law 840 effectively ensures that Nicaragua’s people and environment are exceedingly vulnerable to an entity that may operate with virtual impunity. The inordinate and transferrable

powers granted by Law 840 is a frank example of institutional anomie theory, as the legal institution is exploited and utilized as a tool to carry the goals and values of the economic system. By its mere existence, Law 840 ensures that the Canal—in some form or another—exists in the modern day, whether it be in the form of metal and concrete or in the framework of the state’s legislation. Whether or not the money to create the Canal is present, the project has already had a massive effect on the Nicaraguan legal system, and by extension, Nicaragua’s natural resources, environment, and the security of their people’s rights. Despite the lack of physical progress, the Canal still has an effect on

Nicaraguan institutions, requiring them to carry the imperatives of the economic institution.

Further, the HKND Group itself is an entity whose very existence was borne of the imperative to create a profit. According to institutional anomie theory, “social standing tends to be highly dependent on the performance of economic roles over noneconomic roles” (Messner & Rosenfeld, 1997). On an individual level, this may translate to someone’s success being defined by their salary or assets, rather than non- economic values such as familial ties or distinction in their career field. Likewise, at the macro-level, institutional anomie may posit that a larger organization such as the HKND

Group—especially one which has a singular profit-driven goal such as building an interoceanic Canal—can be judged to be successful only upon the achievement of this economic imperative and the creation of a profit. It is for this reason that the HKND

Group is under particularly strong pressure to complete the Canal, regardless of how it may undermine other, non-economic institutions. Rather, this pressure may even ensure that the legislation put in place by Law 840 does not lie dormant; if the requisite

investment amount cannot be generated to start and complete the Canal, then the HKND

Group would—in an environment where the economic institution dominates—be best served by selling off the rights as sole concessionaire or exploiting Nicaraguan resources in the most profitable way possible with the investment amount attained. In this sense, the only way to “fail” is by not exploiting the sovereignty granted by Law 840 for the purpose of the economic institution. It is for this reason that—should the HKND Group fail to construct the Canal—non-economic institutions that seek to maintain the integrity of Nicaragua’s biodiversity or protect the indigenous population cannot claim victory. So long as Law 840—a legislative product of the economic institution—exists, the values of

Nicaragua’s non-economic institutions are destined to be subjugated by a profit-driven value system.

Chapter 6: Conclusion

In stating that the construction of the Nicaraguan Canal would be devastating to local and non-local communities alike, the assumption is made that the economic value system is only exacted by the physical manifestation of a project. In actuality, the

Nicaraguan Canal has already affected nearly irrevocable change on Nicaragua, as well as left it exceedingly vulnerable to future economic exploitation. Had the capital been acquired, the Canal project—in accordance with institutional anomie theory and reflected in the progress of the Canal itself, which ebbs and flows in accordance with the concessionaire’s fortune—would have likely been made reality. Rather than stalling the

Canal for the sake of widespread environmental concern and preexisting human rights violations, the Canal’s progress has been halted by a lack of funds. As the fate of the project lies so heavily on economy, every action the HKND Group takes, including the creation of the HKND News, is completed to further the goal of the economic institution.

Despite this tendency, such motives are disguised, as in when explaining away the concessionaire’s $700 million Canal reroute to avoid a known opposition hotspot; explained as being motivated by environmental concerns over wetland reserves, the environmental institution is thus exploited to support the economic imperative. This rendering of corporate hegemony illustrates how cases/instances of institutional anomie theory manifest where capital is insufficient and economic goals must be facilitated by non-economic institutions. In such a case, the lack of financing is nearly moot; the economic institution, even without actual capital, transformed the legal institution to be completely subordinate to the economic institution’s needs. Such a move, while potentially devastating to the people of Nicaragua and the state’s natural resources, is

clever in that it has exploited the nature of the legal institution so as to be unable not to yield to economic interests, thereby generating profits at the concessionaire’s discretion.

In short, the economic institution has protected itself against just such situations: where profits cannot be found, other institutions may be called forth to ensure that the economic institution prevails. While the Canal may never come to fruition in the foreseeable future, the state of Nicaragua has been effectively signed over to the HKND Group to exploit as they see fit. If the company were to sell their transferrable rights to Nicaragua, then the

HKND Group’s iteration of the interoceanic canal will truly be dead; but the prospect of profits will continue to grip Nicaragua for the foreseeable future.

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