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Distribution Agreement In presenting this thesis or dissertation as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for an advanced degree from Emory University, I hereby grant to Emory University and its agents the non-exclusive license to archive, make accessible, and display my thesis or dissertation in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known, including display on the world wide web. I understand that I may select some access restrictions as part of the online submission of this thesis or dissertation. I retain all ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. Signature: ________________________________ ______________ Alison Heslin Date Three Meals Away: Crisis and Violence in the Global Food System By Alison Heslin Doctor of Philosophy Sociology _________________________________________ Alex Hicks, PhD Advisor _________________________________________ John Boli, PhD Committee Member _________________________________________ Rick Doner, PhD Committee Member _________________________________________ Rick Rubinson, PhD Committee Member Accepted: _________________________________________ Lisa A. Tedesco, Ph.D. Dean of the James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies ___________________ Date Three Meals Away: Crisis and Violence in the Global Food system By Alison Heslin BA, University of Richmond MA, Emory University Advisor: Alex Hicks, PhD An abstract of A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies of Emory University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology 2016 Abstract Three Meals Away: Crisis and Violence in the Global Food system By Alison Heslin The globalized nature of the modern day system of food production, coupled with societal shifts that have moved people away from the land, has created new opportunities and new vulnerabilities for the growing world population. While this interconnected system has allowed for greater variety and availability of food products throughout the world, linking local populations to global supply chains, it has also made these populations vulnerable to price and supply fluctuations throughout the world. This project investigates the mechanisms by which global shocks are felt and reacted to at the local level, using a comparative case study of food riots that occurred in South Asia in 2007 and 2008. Specifically, I focus on the local level political, economic, and social dynamics that interacted with global price increases to create or mollify violent protests. To illuminate these local factors, I draw on a variety of data, including extensive interviews collected throughout 2014 with residents of West Bengal, India and Dhaka, Bangladesh. Through a comparison of local characteristics and detailed explanations of riots from areas with and without riots, I test hypotheses on food riot occurrence developed by drawing on studies of historical and contemporary food riots as well as theories of social movements. This study finds support for moral economy theory and additional proposed factors in mobilizing the riots in West Bengal and Dhaka. In comparing riots in India to those in Bangladesh, this study complicates the depiction of food riots as a unique form of collective action, and instead demonstrates their resemblance to other forms of collective action, brought on by food insecurity. Three Meals Away: Crisis and Violence in the Global Food system By Alison Heslin BA, University of Richmond MA, Emory University Advisor: Alex Hicks, PhD A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies of Emory University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology 2016 Acknowledgements Conducting the planning, fieldwork, and writing of this study would not have been possible without the support of a many different people. I am grateful to the faculty in Sociology and Political Science at Emory University, who guided this project from its inception. In particular, my dissertation committee members, Alex Hicks, John Boli, Rick Rubinson, and Rick Doner, for their close involvement in the project over the past few years, including Skype calls to Bangladesh to check up on me. In addition to my formal project mentors, I thank Jeff Hass for encouraging me to pursue graduate school and supporting me throughout the entire process. The fieldwork conducted in India and Bangladesh was possible through a Boren Fellowship, awarded for in-depth Bengali language study and research on issues relating to security. With this fellowship, I was able to travel to India and Bangladesh to study the language and conduct interviews over the course of a year. While in these countries, I was fortunate to work with two invaluable research assistants, Chayanika Choudhury from Visva- Bharati University in West Bengal and Flora Rodriguez from Dhaka, Bangladesh. These women organized logistics of field visits, helped to locate areas for interviews, and served as translators during interviews, without their expertise the data collection would not have been possible. Lastly and most importantly, I thank my fellow graduate students at Emory and my family and friends throughout the world for their love and encouragement throughout the years. Overcoming the challenges of travel, fieldwork, and the completion of the project would not have been possible without the support of such an excellent group of people. Table of Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................................... 6 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................. 1 2 Understanding Variation in Protest Occurrences ................................................................................. 10 What is a food riot? ........................................................................................................................................... 10 Evolution of the Food Riot ............................................................................................................................. 11 Theories of 18th Century Food Riots ............................................................................................................. 13 Contemporary Riots ............................................................................................................................................ 20 A Theory of Contemporary Riots ................................................................................................................... 25 3 Food Riots as Contentious Politics: Explaining variation in food riots ....................................... 30 Contentious Politics .......................................................................................................................................... 32 Resource Mobilization ..................................................................................................................................... 33 Class Conflict ........................................................................................................................................................ 35 Why Now? ............................................................................................................................................................. 37 International Food Regime and the Global Food Crisis ......................................................................... 38 Hypotheses ........................................................................................................................................................... 45 4 Methods ................................................................................................................................................................... 50 Study Design ........................................................................................................................................................ 50 Process Tracing ................................................................................................................................................... 58 Case Selection ...................................................................................................................................................... 59 Data Collection .................................................................................................................................................... 61 Analysis .................................................................................................................................................................. 66 5 Hunger as Corruption and Political Opportunity: The Case of West Bengal, India ................ 73 The Case of West Bengal: 2007 .................................................................................................................... 73 Structural Basis of Conflict ............................................................................................................................ 75 Mobilization ......................................................................................................................................................... 80 Role of the