Stockholm Studies in Politics 135 Capital Visions The Politics of Transnational Production in Nicaragua Capital Visions The Politics of Transnational Production in Nicaragua Sofie Tornhill ©Sofie Tornhill, Stockholm 2010 ISSN 0346-6620 ISBN 978-91-7447-052-9 Printed in Sweden by Elanders, Stockholm 2010 Distributor: The Department of Political Science, Stockholm University) Contents Abbreviations ................................................................................................................ ix 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 11 Envisioning Capital: Aims and Research Questions .................................................................. 14 Background and Contextual Settings ........................................................................................ 15 Outline ..................................................................................................................................... 20 2. Contriving Transnational Capital: Theory and Method .................................... 23 Cartographies of Globalization and Progress: A Context ............................................ 25 Neoliberal Delineations ............................................................................................................ 25 States of Legitimacy .................................................................................................................. 29 Development Logics .................................................................................................................. 32 Locations of Labor and Capital ................................................................................................ 35 Productive Femininity ............................................................................................................... 38 Other Stories? .......................................................................................................................... 41 The Language of Politics: Analytic Considerations ....................................................... 43 Projections of the Nation ........................................................................................................... 44 Rhetoric, Meaning and Political Rule ........................................................................................ 46 Positions and Identifications ...................................................................................................... 48 The Empirical Material ........................................................................................................... 51 Summary.............................................................................................................................. 60 3. Scripts of Globalization: Between Progress and Revolution ........................... 63 Re-Narrating the Nation: The New Nicaragua .............................................................. 66 Transnational Images: The Nation as a Brand ......................................................................... 66 Post-revolutionary Goals in the Global Economy ....................................................................... 77 Global Anxieties: Advantages and Threats in “Flexible” Production ........................................ 81 Revisiting the Revolution .................................................................................................. 88 Revolution Interrupted .............................................................................................................. 88 Against the Savagery of Capitalism ........................................................................................... 92 Reconciliation and the Enemies of the Poor .............................................................................. 100 Conclusion: Projects of Globalization .......................................................................... 105 4. Transformative Subjects: Proper Workers and the Ascent of the Poor ...... 109 Proper Production: Work in the New Era ................................................................... 111 Work in Progress ................................................................................................................... 112 Fabrication of Femininity ....................................................................................................... 120 The Deficient Worker ............................................................................................................. 127 Popular Struggle in the Sandinista Imaginary ............................................................... 131 The Power of the People: Populism and Emancipatory Striving ................................................ 133 Revolutionary Subjects ............................................................................................................ 139 Feminism and the Transnational Menace ................................................................................ 143 Conclusion: Subjects of Value in Societal Change ...................................................... 152 5. Classifications of Belonging: (Dis)identification in Global Production ....... 157 Encounters within the Global Division of Labor ..................................................................... 161 National Belongings ............................................................................................................... 167 Categorizations of Work ........................................................................................................ 176 Disruptive Relations in Value Accumulation .......................................................................... 185 Images for Transformation ...................................................................................................... 191 6. Visions of Capital: Conclusion ............................................................................ 199 Transformative Visions .......................................................................................................... 200 The Global Production of Free Trade Zones ............................................................................ 206 Female Emancipation through the Negation of Class ............................................................... 210 References................................................................................................................... 217 Empirical Material ................................................................................................................ 228 Acknowledgements Although it is easily forgotten during those last months of desolation, to write a dissertation is a privileged and rewarding endeavor that has brought me to new geographical and intellectual places and generated friendships that I would not want to be without. For this, many thanks are due. During this project I have counted on the support of three supervisors. Maud Eduards has accompanied me from the start; I want to thank you for enthusiastically making me feel welcome at the department and then for all the discussions and careful readings of my texts during the years. Göran Bergström joined the project a little later with sharp comments in a beneficial mix between vigilance and encouragement, thank you! Peo Hansen stepped in at a time when the project had entered a shaky phase; thank you for your reassuring and resourceful readings and for all the full day meetings (in person or over the phone). For the fact that I at all came to embark on this project, I wish to thank Pauline Stoltz and Annica Kronsell, my supervisors at Lund University. Thank you for showing me that Political Science could actually entail more dimensions than I had initially thought and for encouraging me to apply to the PhD program. The department of Political Science at Stockholm University has been my main base during these years. At the department, I have had the fortune to be part of two research groups: Politics of Development (PODSU) and Politics and Gender – thanks to all the members for discussions, readings and seminars. Here, I have also been surrounded by colleges and friends who have sustained my workdays, provided support in the small and the large, collaborated on teaching, and who have turned academia into a stimulating place (not only for intellectual reasons). Thanks to Henrik Angerbrandt, Eva Hansson, Christina Alnevall, Linda Ekström, Anneli Gustafsson, Anders Sjögren, Mats Wärn, Elin Hafsteinsdóttir, Jenny Madestam, Per-Anders Svärd, Helena Tinnerholm- Ljungberg and Katharina Tollin. For counter-acting the sometimes rough aspects of a PhD candidate’s existence, I also want to thank Lena Helldner and Ulrika Mörth. The postcolonial reading group constituted a sphere for inspiring, theoretical encounters; thanks to Ylva Habel, Tobias Hübinette, Catrin Lundström, Maria Carbin and Paula Mählck. Several people have also specifically contributed to the fact that this project has now come to an end. Aina Tollefsen and Helena Tinnerholm Ljungberg were the discussants of my final draft and provided careful, encouraging and knowing readings of the manuscript – thank you! Thanks also to Lars Lindsröm, Kjell Engelbrekt and Maritta Soininen, who were on the committee at the seminar, for helpful comments. For friendship and valuable comments on versions of these chapters I want to thank Anneli Gustafsson, Ylva Habel, Catrin Lundström, Dalia Mukhtar