Material power or normative conflict: determinants of the interaction between global and local agrifood governance

Abstract

"We witness a constant interaction of global and local forces in the global agrifood system. This paper develops an analytical framework for the identification of the relative impact of these global versus local forces on the sustainability of the agrifood system. In pursuit of its objectives, the framework highlights material and ideational sources of power as important determinants of how the contest between global and local actors and norms in global agrifood governance plays out. With this framework, the paper provides an integrating function for the panel. In addition, the paper will employ the framework in an empirical investigation of determinants of policies and practices regarding genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in India. GMO policies and practices represent a contested ground where (different) ‘local’ and ‘international’ values clash, while at the same time, the discursive power of the biotech industry is highly visible. In consequence, the case of the commercial introduction of GMOs, and specifically the example of ‘Golden Rice’ in India, presents excellent evidence for the need to look beyond material sources of power and consider the ideational ones and their interaction with the material dimension, if one wants to understand the complexities of agrifood governance." [author's abstract]