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Stockholm Studies in Human Geography No. 22

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Stockholm Studies in Human Geography No. 22 ACTA UNIVERSITATIS STOCKHOLMIENSIS Stockholm Studies in Human Geography No. 22 Making Borders Engaging the threat of Chinese textiles in Ghana Linn Axelsson This is a print on demand publication distributed by Stockholm University Library. Full text is available online www.sub.su.se. First issue printed by US-AB 2012. ©Linn Axelsson and Acta Universitatis Stockholmiensis 2012 ISSN 0349-7003 ISBN 978-91-86071-99-8 Publisher: Acta Universitatis Stockholmiensis, Stockholm Distributor: Stockholm Unversity Library Printed 2012 by US-AB Cover photograph: Kente-inspired African print. Photo: Luke Bosman. Abstract The borders of the twenty-first century come in many forms and are performed by an increasing number of actors in a broad variety of places, both within and beyond the territories of nation-states. This thesis sets out a detailed political geography of how borders operate to reconcile the often conflicting demands of open markets and security. Focusing on Ghana, where there is a widespread fear that the inflow of Chinese versions of African prints will lead to the collapse of the local textile indus- try, the study explores where and when borders are enforced, who performs them and what kinds of borders are enacted in order to maintain and protect the Ghanaian nation and market without compromising the country‘s status as a liberal economy. It combines interviews and documentary sources with analysis drawn from border, security and migration studies to explore three sets of spatial strategies that have defined the Ghanaian approach to the perceived threat of Chinese African prints. They are the institution of a single corridor for African print imports, the anti- counterfeiting raids carried out in Ghana‘s marketplaces, and the promotion of gar- ments made from locally produced textiles as office wear through the National Fri- day Wear and Everyday Wear programmes. These strategies stretch, disperse and embody the borders of the state or nation to control trade in ways that resolve the fears of both open flows and closed borders. This thesis thus seeks to show how a geographical analysis can clarify the specificities of how borders now work to con- trol mobility. In doing so, it not only unsettles conventional assumptions about what borders are and where they are supposed to be located, but also the idea that borders primarily are used to constrain the mobility of certain people while facilitating eco- nomic flows. Furthermore, this thesis adds to the understanding of the variety of responses to the inflow of Chinese consumer products to the African continent. Keywords: borders, political geography, smuggling, intellectual property, national dress, Ghana, textiles, China-in-Africa. Contents 1 Introduction: Engaging the threat of the Chinese African print ............................. 13 A question of borders ................................................................................................................ 17 Aims of the thesis...................................................................................................................... 21 Structure of the thesis ................................................................................................................ 25 2 Placing the African print ........................................................................................ 29 Becoming African prints ........................................................................................................... 29 Symbols of Ghanaian independence ......................................................................................... 36 The rise of China and the fall of the Ghanaian textile industry ................................................. 43 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 49 3 Making borders to manage threatening mobilities ................................................. 51 From lines at the edges to processes of bordering ..................................................................... 51 The fear of free flows and closed borders ................................................................................. 55 Constructing the illegitimate ..................................................................................................... 58 Border-making as a spatial strategy .......................................................................................... 62 The workers of the border ......................................................................................................... 66 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 68 4 Doing research on African prints in Ghana ............................................................ 71 Methods and materials .............................................................................................................. 71 Generating materials, constructing interpretations .................................................................... 76 Ethics, power and positionality ................................................................................................. 84 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 88 5 Stretching the border: Chinese African prints as smuggled ................................... 89 The threat of the smuggled Chinese African print ..................................................................... 91 Constructing Chinese African prints as smuggled ..................................................................... 93 Becoming the right price ..................................................................................................... 97 Becoming smuggled .......................................................................................................... 100 Contraband, corruption and a contested border ....................................................................... 103 The single import corridor: Stretching the border ................................................................... 112 Twisting the border into an import corridor ...................................................................... 114 Constructing multiple spaces of governing ....................................................................... 116 The borderworkers of the single import corridor............................................................... 121 The single corridor revoked .............................................................................................. 123 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 125 6 Dispersing the border: Chinese African prints as counterfeit .............................. 127 The threat of the counterfeit Chinese African print ................................................................. 128 Constructing the Chinese African print as counterfeit ............................................................. 131 Becoming counterfeit ........................................................................................................ 131 Becoming intellectual property ......................................................................................... 134 Becoming governable ....................................................................................................... 138 The anti-counterfeiting operations: Dispersing the border ...................................................... 139 Abandoning the line .......................................................................................................... 140 Constructing the marketplace as a space of governing ...................................................... 146 The ubiquitous border ....................................................................................................... 152 The borderworkers of the anti-counterfeiting operations .................................................. 153 The problematic state revisited and new ways forward ........................................................... 156 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 159 7 Embodying the border: Chinese African prints as morally unjust ....................... 161 The threat of the Chinese African print to the Ghanaian nation .............................................. 163 Constructing the morally unjust Chinese African print ........................................................... 168 Being the product from the wrong place ........................................................................... 168 Becoming morally unjust .................................................................................................. 171 The National Friday Wear and Everyday Wear programmes: Embodying the border ............ 173 Distributing Ghanaian identity .......................................................................................... 175 The borderworkers of the National Friday Wear and Everyday Wear programmes .......... 178 Constructing the body as a space of governing ................................................................. 180 Governing through moral sanctions .................................................................................. 184
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