Vaughan Higgins - Böcker

Food security and sustainability are arguably the most important issues facing the agri-food sector at the beginning of a new millennium. In an era of globalization, where nation states appear to have a diminishing role in governing these matters, the existing and emerging power relations underpinning agri-food regulation demand renewed scholarly attention. Drawing upon the expertise of some of the most prominent writers in rural sociology, geography and anthropology, this book shows how globalization processes open up a new regulatory politics in which ‘non-political’ forms of governing play an increasingly influential role in shaping agricultural production and consumption.The first of its kind to critically and comprehensively examine new forms of governing and regulation, this important text explores the relationship between globalization and new sites, spaces and agents of agricultural regulation, using detailed case studies in developed nations to illustrate points made. Demonstrating the political significance of regulatory mechanisms extending beyond the state, the book also discusses the consequences for the governing of the agri-food sector.

Recent decades have witnessed the transition from the government of rural areas towards processes of governance in which the boundaries between the state and civil society are blurred. As a result, governance is commonly linked to ‘bottom-up’ or community-based approaches to planning and development, which are said to ‘empower’ rural citizens and liberate them from the disabling structures of top-down government control. At the same time, however, a range of other actors beyond the local level have also become increasingly influential in determining the future of rural spaces, thereby embedding rural citizens within new configurations of power relations.This book critically explores the social causes and consequences of these emerging governance arrangements. In particular, the book seeks to move beyond questions of empowerment in governance debates and to consider how new kinds of power relations arise between the various actors involved. The book addresses questions concerning the nature of power relations in contemporary forms of rural governance, including: how community participation is negotiated and achieved; the effects of such participation upon the formulation and delivery of rural policies; the kinds of conflicts that arise between various stakeholder groups and the capacity of each group to promote its interests; and the prospects of this new approach for enhanced democratic governance in rural areas.

Food security and sustainability are arguably the most important issues facing the agri-food sector at the beginning of a new millennium. In an era of globalization, where nation states appear to have a diminishing role in governing these matters, the existing and emerging power relations underpinning agri-food regulation demand renewed scholarly attention. Drawing upon the expertise of some of the most prominent writers in rural sociology, geography and anthropology, this book shows how globalization processes open up a new regulatory politics in which ‘non-political’ forms of governing play an increasingly influential role in shaping agricultural production and consumption.The first of its kind to critically and comprehensively examine new forms of governing and regulation, this important text explores the relationship between globalization and new sites, spaces and agents of agricultural regulation, using detailed case studies in developed nations to illustrate points made. Demonstrating the political significance of regulatory mechanisms extending beyond the state, the book also discusses the consequences for the governing of the agri-food sector.

Recent decades have witnessed the transition from the government of rural areas towards processes of governance in which the boundaries between the state and civil society are blurred. As a result, governance is commonly linked to ‘bottom-up’ or community-based approaches to planning and development, which are said to ‘empower’ rural citizens and liberate them from the disabling structures of top-down government control. At the same time, however, a range of other actors beyond the local level have also become increasingly influential in determining the future of rural spaces, thereby embedding rural citizens within new configurations of power relations.This book critically explores the social causes and consequences of these emerging governance arrangements. In particular, the book seeks to move beyond questions of empowerment in governance debates and to consider how new kinds of power relations arise between the various actors involved. The book addresses questions concerning the nature of power relations in contemporary forms of rural governance, including: how community participation is negotiated and achieved; the effects of such participation upon the formulation and delivery of rural policies; the kinds of conflicts that arise between various stakeholder groups and the capacity of each group to promote its interests; and the prospects of this new approach for enhanced democratic governance in rural areas.

This book examines how neoliberalism is constituted from multiple, diverse elements; Informed by assemblage thinking, the collection builds on research that emphasizes the forms of experimentation, adaptation, and mutation through which neoliberalism is enacted and rendered workable across different spaces.

This book examines how migrant remittances contribute to household social resilience in rural Bangladesh. Using a mixed methods approach, the authors show that remittances play a crucial role in enhancing the life chances and economic livelihoods of rural households, and that remittance income enables households to overcome immediate pressures, adapt to economic and environmental change, build economic and cultural capital, and provide greater certainty in planning for the future. However, the book also reveals that the social and economic benefits of remittances are not experienced equally by all households. Rural village households endure a precarious existence and the potentially positive outcomes of remittances can easily be undermined by a range of external and household-specific factors leading to few, if any, benefits in terms of household social resilience.

This book examines how migrant remittances contribute to household social resilience in rural Bangladesh. Using a mixed methods approach, the authors show that remittances play a crucial role in enhancing the life chances and economic livelihoods of rural households, and that remittance income enables households to overcome immediate pressures, adapt to economic and environmental change, build economic and cultural capital, and provide greater certainty in planning for the future. However, the book also reveals that the social and economic benefits of remittances are not experienced equally by all households. Rural village households endure a precarious existence and the potentially positive outcomes of remittances can easily be undermined by a range of external and household-specific factors leading to few, if any, benefits in terms of household social resilience.

This book considers the ability and capacity of the food supply system in Australia to provide food security for the ever-increasing domestic and international population in the face of growing challenges in production, resource supply and failures within the food system itself. Although Australia is a net food exporting country, domestic food insecurity exists and will increase as food prices rise in the coming decades. An overview of the food supply system highlights the main challenges that are determining the future. Many of these challenges can be resolved by the Australian government, but others are in the hands of global governance to which Australia can only adapt. This book sheds light on the challenges and discusses the prospects for developing more sustainable and resilient future food systems in Australia. In addition, it covers food security and sovereignty issues under the heading of “food equity and access,” “food production, policy and trade,” and “impacts of land use planning on agriculture.”  The unique features of the book include the following: • Most literature on food security pertains to developing countries. By way of contrast, this book explores food security in a developed nation (Australia) that seemingly should not have food security issues. The topics covered in the book are relevant to other developed nations with growing populations and resource management challenges. • The book chapters are written by specialists to paint a comprehensive picture of the political, social, economic and environmental issues that give rise to food insecurity, and the challenges these issues present to the security of the food system in coming decades. The overall organization of the book uses a theoretically informed and multi-disciplinary approach. This enables a critical and in-depth analysis of food security by outlining the key challenges as well as prospects for the development of more sustainableand resilient agri-food systems. • The three principal topics in the book are dealt with by a multi-disciplinary team of authors in a way that teases out diverse points of view illustrating the complexity of food security. Author disciplines include health and nutrition, agriculture, ethics, social science, law, and practitioners managing food aid programs. • The book shows how food security relates to many technical, social and moral issues in society and how it is possible to develop successful programs to improve food security.

This book considers the ability and capacity of the food supply system in Australia to provide food security for the ever-increasing domestic and international population in the face of growing challenges in production, resource supply and failures within the food system itself.

In recent decades, globalization has transformed rural societies and economies across the world. Much has been written by social scientists about the actors and structures underpinning these transformations and the effects on particular social groups, organizations and industries. Yet, to date much less attention has been given to the specific global processes that are fundamental to contemporary rural change. Rural Change and Global Processes provides a systematic analysis of the key global processes transforming rural spaces in the early 21st century – financialization; standardization; consumption, and commodification. Through detailed case studies, the book examines why these processes are important, how they work in practice, and the challenges they raise as well as opportunities created. The book will be of particular relevance to researchers, graduate students, and policy-makers interested in the implications of global processes for rural people and livelihoods.