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Focused Prefigurative Trading Projects As a Tool for Equalising Trade

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Focused Prefigurative Trading Projects As a Tool for Equalising Trade THE POWER OF TRADE: UPGRADE-FOCUSED PREFIGURATIVE TRADING PROJECTS AS A TOOL FOR EQUALISING TRADE RELATIONS ACROSS COLONIAL DIVIDES Sofia Persdotter Gradin QUEEN MARY COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy – October 2015 1 Statement of Originality I, Sofia Persdotter Gradin, confirm that the research included within this thesis is my own work or that where it has been carried out in collaboration with, or supported by others, that this is duly acknowledged below and my contribution indicated. Previously published material is also acknowledged below. I attest that I have eXercised reasonable care to ensure that the work is original, and does not to the best of my knowledge break any UK law, infringe any third party’s copyright or other Intellectual Property Right, or contain any confidential material. I accept that the College has the right to use plagiarism detection software to check the electronic version of the thesis. I confirm that this thesis has not been previously submitted for the award of a degree by this or any other university. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without the prior written consent of the author. Signature: Sofia (Sofa) Persdotter Gradin Date: 20 October 2015 2 Abstract To counteract the colonial division of labour and equalise trade relations across the global North and South, Global Value Chains (GVC) analysts have advocated value chain upgrade. Such upgrade would entail a much-needed financial improvement for Southern producers. Rather than turning to governments and IGOs, GVC analysts have generally addressed their policy suggestions to firms directly. There is an idea that firms can actively disentangle and disrupt prevalent hierarchies in their own activities. This thesis looks closer at prefigurative politics as a political strategy and asks: are prefigurative upgrade projects a successful tool for equalising trade relations across colonial divides? Can individual firms disentangle colonial inequalities in trade? As marxists and decolonial theorists have argued, global trade inequalities are about more than money: economic relations are inherently political. The 'value' in Global Value Chains should be understood not only as return on investment or profit, but also as something broader, a question of what makes a good life and a balanced division of work in society. GVC analysis has hitherto paid insufficient attention to these insights. As a remedy this thesis proposes the addition of a new concept to the GVC toolboX, 'voice upgrade', i.e. an improvement of the ability of all actors in the chain to speak and listen about the political questions of value. Two case studies are used to ground the discussion: firstly, the trading of coffee from the Zapatistas in Mexico to Café Libertad in Germany. Secondly, the eXport of spice blends and sauces from the Western Cape of South Africa via the firm Turqle. These prefigurative projects both subvert and reproduce prevailing hierarchies. Importantly, while the former is possible, it requires deliberate facilitation. 3 Table of Contents List of Acronyms ................................................................................................................................ 7 List of Tables ....................................................................................................................................... 9 List of Figures .................................................................................................................................. 10 Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... 11 Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................... 12 1-1. Purpose of this Thesis ....................................................................................................................... 12 1-2. Original Contribution ........................................................................................................................ 16 1-3. Main Argument ..................................................................................................................................... 19 1-4. Outline of Chapters ............................................................................................................................. 21 Chapter 2: Existing Literature on Trade Inequalities ........................................................ 26 2-1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 26 2-2. Neoliberalism as the Dominant Development Paradigm ................................................... 27 2-3. The Global Division of Labour ....................................................................................................... 30 2-3.1 The Colonial Nature of the Division of Labour ....................................................... 31 2-3.2 Dependency Theory and World Systems Theory ................................................. 33 2-3.3 Global Value Chains Analysis ......................................................................................... 39 2-3.4 Upgrades ................................................................................................................................. 43 2-3.5 Governance ............................................................................................................................ 46 2-4. Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................. 48 Chapter 3: Theoretical Framework and Methods ............................................................... 51 3-1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 51 3-2. Theoretical Framework .................................................................................................................... 52 3-2.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 52 3-2.2 The Ontology of Power ..................................................................................................... 54 3-2.3 The Ontology of Global Economic Relations ........................................................... 57 3-2.4 Value ......................................................................................................................................... 65 3-2.5 Voice ......................................................................................................................................... 73 3-2.6 Disentanglement ................................................................................................................. 75 3-2.7 Map of Concepts .................................................................................................................. 81 3-3. Empirical Methodology .................................................................................................................... 82 3-3.1 Overview and Justification .............................................................................................. 82 3-3.2 A Critical Look at my Empirical Tools ........................................................................ 86 3-3.3 Self-RefleXivity ..................................................................................................................... 87 3-4. Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................. 88 4 Chapter 4: Café Libertad/Zapatistas ....................................................................................... 91 4-1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 91 4-1.1 Introduction to Café Libertad and the Zapatistas ................................................. 93 4-2. Disentanglements ............................................................................................................................... 95 4-3. Entanglements ................................................................................................................................... 111 4-4. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 121 Chapter 5: Turqle, Bomvu and Luhlaza ................................................................................ 124 5-1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 124 5-1.1 Introduction to Turqle, Bomvu and Luhlaza ........................................................ 126 5-2. Disentanglements ............................................................................................................................ 130 5-3. Entanglements ................................................................................................................................... 137 5-4. Conclusion ..........................................................................................................................................
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