The Public Discourse on the Abolishment of the Dairy Production Quota in Germany - a Sociology of Knowledge Approach
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Wageningen University - Department of Social Sciences Rural Sociology Group The Public Discourse on the Abolishment of the Dairy Production Quota in Germany - a Sociology of Knowledge Approach April 2017 MSc Programme: International Development Studies Name of Student: Janine Christina Rothmayer Registration No.: 850622710080 Specialization: Sociology of Development Thesis Supervisor: Dr. ir Dirk Roep Co-Examiner: Dr. ir Han Wiskerke Thesis Code: SDC-80424 Abstract The dairy production quota was a policy tool within the Common Agriculture Policy of the European Union which was in force from 1984 to 2015. In advance of its termination, the abolishment of the dairy quota was publicly discussed among a variety of different actors such as government institutions, farmers and industry associations, scientists as well as the public media. Upon those discussions partially contradicting knowledge claims with regard to the policy change could be observed. In this regard, this thesis aimed to investigate how the abolition of the dairy quota was constituted in the public discourse in Germany until its termination. By adopting a sociology of knowledge approach to discourse analysis, the study empirically reconstructed out of textual data the social processes, actors and power relations involved in the (re)production and transformation of the discourse. The study found that social actors which occupied powerful institutional positions constituted the abolition of the dairy quota as a fact ahead of the decision in 2008 to terminate the policy. Moreover, towards the actual abolishment in 2015, two distinct meaning patterns in the public discourse were identified: while the liberal sub-discourse constructed the dairy quota abolition as a chance and necessary step within the general tendency for liberalization in the EU policy framework, the critiquing sub-discourse warned about the increasing risks for the German dairy sector as well as for society and nature. Ultimately, the distinctive meaning patterns of the sub- discourses culminated in a central conflict about the legitimate definition of the dispositif to steer social change in the aftermath of the dairy quota. Therefore, the competing interpretations can be understood as the social construction of change which argue between the free market economy and state-led market interventions in the pursuit of a certain development paradigm. i Content Abstract ................................................................................................................................................ i List of tables ............................................................................................................................................... iv List of Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................................... iv 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Research Objective and Questions ......................................................................................... 3 1.2 Thesis Outline .......................................................................................................................... 4 2. Background Information ........................................................................................................................... 5 2.1 A Recap of the Common Agriculture Policy ............................................................................ 5 2.2 Dairy Production and the Quota System in Germany ........................................................... 10 2.3 Dairy Consumption and Current Market Outlook ................................................................. 12 3. The Research Approach and Theoretical Framework ............................................................................ 15 3.1 Social Constructivism as the Basis for Discursive Approaches .............................................. 15 3.2 The Sociology of Knowledge Approach to Discourse (SKAD) ................................................ 16 3.3 Basic concepts of SKAD ......................................................................................................... 20 4. Research Methodology ........................................................................................................................... 23 4. 1 Data Sampling and Collection Methods ............................................................................... 23 4.2 Data Analysis ......................................................................................................................... 25 4.3 Limitations and Ethics ........................................................................................................... 26 5. Discourse Analysis on the Abolition of the Dairy Quota in Germany ..................................................... 27 5.1 Introducing the Discourse: Origins and Emergence in Germany .......................................... 27 5.1.1 Major Discourse-Producing Actors and Timeline of Utterances ............................... 27 5.1.2 Constituting the EU and the CAP as Discourse Ordering Elements............................ 29 ii 5.1.3 A Quiet Political Discourse ahead of the 2008 Health Check Reform ........................ 30 5.1.4 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 32 5.2 Competing Sub-Discourses on the Abolition of the Dairy Quota in Germany ...................... 33 5.2.1 Justifications for the Termination of the Policy ......................................................... 33 5.2.2 Effects of the Quota Abolition on Dairy Practices: Risks or Chances ......................... 36 5.2.3 Responsibilities and Needs for Action: Market or State? .......................................... 37 5.2.4 Values of the Sub-Discourses: Two Distinct Development Paradigms ...................... 40 5.2.5 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 41 5.3 Discourse and Power: Actors - Coalitions - Dispositif ........................................................... 44 5.3.1 Tight Relations: a Discourse Block of Farmers’ and Industry Associations ................ 46 5.3.2 A Discursive Detour via Federal States Ministries: BDM and AbL .............................. 48 5.3.3 The Role of a Dominant Liberalist Thinking in Federal Research Institutes ............... 51 5.3.4 The Critiquing Discourse: Challenging from Below .................................................... 53 5.3.5 The Twofold Role of the Media: a Magnifier and Discourse Coalition Partner ......... 54 5.3.6 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 55 5.4. Synthesis of Research Findings ............................................................................................ 56 6. Discussion ............................................................................................................................................. 58 6.1 Research Questions and Possibilities for Further Research .................................................. 58 6.2 Reflection on the Research Approach and Methods ............................................................ 60 6.3 Overall Reflection and Contribution to Knowledge Gap ....................................................... 62 7. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................. 63 References ............................................................................................................................................. 64 iii List of tables Table 1: Interpretations of the Competing Sub-Discourses Table 2: Actors positions and discourse coalitions in the sub-discourses List of Abbreviations AbL Working Group on Peasant Agriculture [own translation] Arbeitskreis bäuerliche Landwirtschaft BMEL Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft) BDM Association of German Dairy Farmers (Bundesverband deutscher Milchviehhalter) BLE Federal Office of Food and Agriculture (Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung) CAP Common Agriculture Policy CDU Christ Democrat Union (Christliche Demokratische Union) CSU Christian Social Union in Bavaria (Christliche Soziale Union in Bayern) DBV German Farmer's Association (Deutscher Bauernverband) DRV German Raiffeisen Association (Deutscher Raiffeisenverband) EC European Commission Die Grünen Alliance 90/The Greens (Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen) Die Linke The Left (Die LINKE) EU European Union FAO Food and Agriculture Organization FDP Free Democratic Party (Freie Demokratische Partei) MIV Association of the German Dairy Industry (Milchindustrie-Verband) NGO Non-Governmental Organization OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development SKAD Sociology of Knowledge Approach to Discourse Analysis SPD Social Democrat Party (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands) VDM German Dairy Association (Verband der deutschen Milchwirtschaft) WTO World Trade Organization iv ZMB Central Reporting of the Dairy Market [own translation] (Zentrale Milchmarkt-Berichterstattung) v 1. Introduction This thesis focuses on the public discourse around the abolition of the dairy production