(none)

This thesis is a discussion on whether every sector of human activity really is or needs to be 'global'. It discusses the impact that economic globalization has on the role of the nation-state and on the concept of democracy, at both local and international levels. Particular emphasis is put on some of the democratic challenges associated with dispute settlement at the WTO and also under foreign investment international instruments. It is argued that increased participation by non-state actors, particularly NGOs, in state-to-state and in investor-state arbitration threatens to weaken the arbitration process and does little to remedy alleged democratic deficiencies. The author concludes that many democratic concerns regarding these types of dispute settlement processes may be better addressed by strengthening national democracies. Increased public information, consultation, and participation in the shaping of foreign policy could reduce much of the criticism concerning both, international dispute settlement and decision-making.

One of the objectives of my thesis is to argue that regulatory capitalism and international law are problematic forms of power implicated both directly and ideologically in the standardizing practices and regulation of certified fair trade. My work begins by explaining variations in the way fair trade coffee is conceptualized and offered in the market, then moves on to explain how fair trade certification standards link up with other international standards and certification bodies, and finally, describes how standards and certification are used to textually construct social facts. I examine first those places where regulatory capitalism and international law remain embedded and active in fair trade certification practices, then the way standardizing practices work to organize (or disorganize) the relationships of people who work with fair trade coffee. The ethnography consists of interviews with three informally regulated fair trade roasters in the Victoria region. My aim is to identify precisely the points where the standardizing practices of certified fair trade reduce concrete relations of exchange to conceptual notions of fair trade. Identifying these points allows me to examine areas where dominant forms of power remain embedded and active in the concept and realization of certified fair trade coffee, and also how standardizing practices limit the potential of fair trade to transform unjust relations of trade. The question this thesis raises is not whether or how we can make fair trade coffee but rather, how can we focus solutions to unjust trade relations to be politically effective for all involved?

The global coffee industry is in a state of crisis. Small-scale producers are those most seriously impacted by the crisis, facing the challenges of a precarious and changing market, despite limited resources. In Oaxaca, Mexico, a prominent response among indigenous small-scale farmers has been to join independent coffee producer unions. Within theses unions there is currently a move to encourage organic coffee cultivation among campesinos, so that these groups might niche market their coffee. This niche, or "conscience", market is shaped by the "organic coffee discourse" which emphasizes the themes of environmental protection, social justice and indigenity. By examining the relationship between organic coffee production (as an economic strategy for marginal producers) and its discourse (which mobilizes consumers in wealthy countries) we will see the impetus behind organic coffee production as it ranges from Oaxaca's indigenous farmers, their producer unions, and consumers.

Thèse (M. Ges.Org.) -- Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 2005. / Bibliogr.: f. [133]-142. Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Anthropology, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2004. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 260-268). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2009. / "Graduate Program in Anthropology." Includes bibliographical references (p. 261-272).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2004. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 260-268). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--York University, 2008. Graduate Programme in Communication and Culture. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 376-397). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL:http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:NR51490