DIE ERDE – Journal of the Geographical Society of Berlin
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Loose coordination and relocation in a South-South value chain: cashew processing and trade in southern India and Ivory Coast
Get PDFThis article is concerned with a crucial part of the cashew nut value chain which links raw cashew nuts to processing. We focus on the interactions of intra-chain governance and its institutional context. The central question is how the raw cashew nut value chain is coordinated and relocated as a response to its changing institutional environment. Using a qualitative methodological approach, the contribution shows the dynamics of loose chain coordination and relocation in India and Ivory Coast
From Vulnerability to Resilience: Hans-Georg Bohle's Scholarship and Contemporary Political Ecology
Get PDFMy emphasize on Bohle’s distinctive approach to vulnerability is related to the arc of my broad concern in this contribution, namely how vulnerability has since his writings on the topic in the early 1990s has become attached to three other keywords – or concepts – in novel ways that dominate both current analytical and prescriptive work across many domains from global poverty to conflict to urban governance to global pandemics and financial crashes: namely security, resilience and risk. Take for example, the new book by the President of the Rockefeller Foundation, Judith Rodin, entitled The Resilience Dividend. She has, according to the blurb on the back cover, recalibrated the foundation to address the disruptions, shocks and stresses associated with our interconnected world. In this age of complexity says Rodin, the ability to quickly and effectively bounce back is an urgent social and economic issue. The five characteristics of resilience (2015:14) – awareness, diversity, integration, self-regulation and adaptiveness – provide the building blocks of the “adaptive cycle” - a four-phase model integrating the ideas of Brian Holling (“resilience”), Jay Forrester (“systems thinking”) and Joseph Schumpeter (“creative destruction”). Rodin is of course not alone. In our times, resiliency has become a keyword (Williams 1985) for understanding the challenges of inhabiting, and living with the consequences of the Anthropocene (Schoon 2006).In this sense one might say that resiliency (along with its siblings security, and risk) has become a powerful technology of contemporary governance and neoliberal rule. Building resilient persons, communities and institutions is the sine qua non of twenty-first century forms of liberalism. Resilience provides an indispensable road-map by which all of us are purportedly able to anticipate and tolerate the disturbances, dangers and radical contingencies of inhabiting a complex world in which, to again quote the President of the Rockefeller Foundation in its new resilience manifesto, “we cannot predict where the next major shock to our well-being will manifest” (Rockefeller Foundation 2013:1). The argument I want to make is that in incorporating vulnerability into what is now a rather major academic industry operating under the sign of socio-ecological complexity, resilience thinking and risk management, much of the critical edge – the dialectical quality – of Bohle’s work has been lost. My focus will be on issues of food, famine and climate – topics of great interest to Hans-Georg and indeed on which he published extensively – and what resilience theory may, or may not, have to offer in light of the vulnerability analyses of the sort developed by Bohle and others
Environmental change and migration in coastal regions: examples from Ghana and Indonesia
Get PDFCoastal regions worldwide have been focal points for migration as well as affected by environmental changes for a long time. In the debate on climate change and migration coastal regions are among the “hot spot” areas that are supposed to be prone to “climate migration” in the near future. The paper analyses the situation in two different regional settings and advocates for a sound regional perspective on the relationship of environmental change and migration. Based on the conceptual framework of migrant trajectories, the paper shows how populations in Keta (Ghana) and Semarang (Indonesia), affected by similar environmental changes such as flooding and erosion, react quite differently in terms of migration and mobility. The regional perspective as well as each region’s past experiences with migration and environmental changes shows to be crucial in order to understand current reactions to environmental degradation. The Keta setting represents a typology that pronounces migration trajectories as part of long-standing interregional and international migration, the Semarang setting, however, may be classified as a rather typical modernization-induced migration scheme, linked to rapidly growing urbanisation, with “trapped populations” on the one hand and in-migration of migrant workers on the other hand
Climatic turn in migration studies? Geographical perspectives on the relationship between climate and migration
Get PDFData and methods in the environment-migration nexus: a scale perspective
Get PDFThe relationship between environment and migration has gained increased attention since the 1990s when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projected climate change to become a major driver of human migration. Evaluations of this relationship include both quantitative and qualitative assessments. This review article introduces the concept of scale to environment-migration research as an important methodological issue for the reliability of conclusions drawn. The review of case studies shows that scale issues are highly present in environment-migration research but rarely discussed. Several case studies base their results on data at very coarse resolutions that have undergone strong modifications and generalizations. We argue that scale-related shortcomings must be considered in all stages of environment-migration research
Editorial: Socio-economic networks and value chains in the Global South – an institutional perspective
Get PDFAdaptation as by-product: migration and environmental change in Nguith, Senegal
Get PDFIn the debate about the nexus between environmental change, climate and migration much attention has been given to a changing climate as a push factor for migration. A more recent strand of academic work focuses on migration as a means to enhance adaptation capacities and resilience. This article questions these intentional attributions and starts from the observation that migration is occurring regardless of environmental or climatic change and connects people and places through shared social and cultural identities and the flow of ideas and resources. Drawing on a case study of Nguith, a village in the Senegalese Sahel with a long and complex migration history, it is shown how migration and material and non-material remittances have led (in a way accidentally) to an increased independence from local agro-ecological conditions. Therefore, we investigate the social, cultural and historical background of the people of Nguith with regard to their mobility and trace the continents-traversing migration network and connected translocal spaces. Finally, we explain the cohesive forces of this community that perpetuate and reinforce migration and show the effects of migration on everyday life, economic development in the village and resulting land-use change
The impact of periodic air pollution peaks in Beijing on air quality governance in China
Get PDFDuring the month of January 2013, Beijing suffered air pollution of unprecedented intensity. This event, which was named “airpocalypse” in international media, was followed by vibrant media reporting and public discussion on the topic and prompted the central government to issue unusually ambitious measures to contain air pollution more effectively. This paper explores the impact of the airpocalypse on China’s air quality governance by conducting a qualitative analysis of pollution control policies that followed the airpocalypse and concludes that this event of heavy air pollution was indeed impactful in causing the issuance of stricter national targets for pollution control as well as increased public awareness. In combination with the newly amended environmental protection law, these aspects put local governments under intense pressure to address air pollution more effectively. However, the changes caused by the airpocalypse were not revolutionary in a sense that it led to major structural reforms of government institutions and their interrelationships. The case of the airpocalypse demonstrates that single disruptive events of heavy pollution can cause a recalibration of policy priorities. In this context, the role of “disruptive events” may be worthwhile of more systematic research in order to understand their potential impact on institutional environments
A Chinese company’s investment strategy in South Africa: the case of Hisense
Get PDFHisense, a Chinese home appliance manufacturer, entered South Africa’s TV market in 1996 and the company has since expanded its operations. Now Hisense is one of the major players in the TV market in South Africa. The company’s success can be measured through a mix of the four P’s of marketing: price, product, promotion and place (distribution). The successful combination of strategies helped Hisense penetrate South Africa’s TV market and acquire a growing market share. As a result, Hisense has contributed to export-led economic growth, technology transfer and job creation, among other development-related benefits to the host country. However, at the same time Hisense has faced challenges including problems with labour relations, e.g. poor working conditions and violations of minimum wage regulations. Most of these problems are recurring issues. This shows that overcoming these challenges is not an easy task for Chinese investors operating in South Africa or elsewhere in Africa, and questions remain regarding whether Chinese investment can contribute to fostering Africa’s industrialisation as well as China’s soft power
Challenging the current climate change – migration nexus: exploring migrants’ perceptions of climate change in the hosting country
Get PDFAlong with the growing scientific and political concern on global warming, the relationship of climate and migration is framed as cause and consequence. Alarmist numbers of mass migration and related conflicts currently represent the main scientific narratives merging the issue of migration and climate change. This paper takes a different and explorative perspective: it suggests that scientific discourses on migration and climate change should be reframed by taking into consideration the diverse ‘knowledges’ offered by migrants. Employing an experimentalist approach, we aim at filling this gap in research and introduce an empirical perspective on climate framings among Italian and Chinese citizens in the local context of the city of Hamburg (Germany). Qualitatively analysing semi-structured interviews, the paper conveys an in-depth analysis of how Italian and Chinese migrants frame climate change and, furthermore, explores philosophical backgrounds informing them. We start with a theoretical and methodological outline on undertaking research with migrants and then turn to an empirical analysis in which we examine and discuss four prevailing categories found in the course of our investigation. The final section summarises the results and reflects upon the methodological and theoretical approach applied which refers to the relevance of migrants as active actors in local adaptation and mitigation processes of the hosting country