In your coffee, in your tea, fruit and vegetables, in your chocolate bar. Whichever packaging we look at we ought to find more and more colorful labels (eg Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, Bio / Organic, and many more). Their meaning is not always clear, often overlooked or even completely unknown to consumers. So how and why did they come to exist? What are these organizations actually do? And what do these labels have to deal with Political Science or International Relations?
In this seminar, students will get familiar with Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) while we will journey from the traditional “government-only” model of politics to the rising of new (and relevant) actors, within a global arena where states, market- based, and civil-society organizations interact and influence each other. We will cover concepts of (Transnational and / or Private) Governance, Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives and their relations to classic political science problems, weaving a net of complex multi-level governance arrangements that are inherent to VSS. Towards the end of the term, the focus will be primarily on sustainable coffee schemes.
This seminar will rely on online means of participation and will be given in English. Students will participate in one practical academic game and will give a presentation on a text from the selected literature.
At the beginning of the course, students will be split into groups and each group will present a designated text from the literature. Each presentation comprised of 30 minutes, followed by a group discussion. After each presentation, the student’s will be offered some reflections as well as key questions about the text. They should then come up with answers for those, bearing in mind the main take-aways that should be acquired from the literature.
Examination (Prüfungsleistung): Term paper according to the examination regulations.
Course times: Mondays from 14:00 to 16:00.
Course Calendar and Content
|
Date |
Content |
| 12.04.2021 |
Introductory lecture
Introduction to the course, contents, literature, and learning goals.
|
| 19.04.2021 |
Game – Fishbanks - Introducing Governance
The link for the game will be provided to the students prior to this lecture, together with instructions and a short introductory reading.
|
| 26.04.2021 |
Literature
Introducing Governance for Sustainable Development Meadowcroft, J. (2007). Who is in Charge here? Governance for Sustainable Development in a Complex World*. Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning, 9(3–4), 299–314. https://doi.org/10.1080/15239080701631544
|
| 03.05.2021 |
Private Governance and International Relations– Part I
Ruggie, J. G. (2004). Reconstituting the Global Public Domain—Issues, Actors, and Practices. European Journal of International Relations, 10(4), 499–531. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354066104047847
|
| 10.05.2021 |
Private Governance and International Relations – Part II
Literature Hall, R., & Biersteker, T. (2002). The emergence of private authority in the international system. In R. Hall & T. Biersteker (Eds.), The Emergence of Private Authority in Global Governance (Cambridge Studies in International Relations, pp. 3-22). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511491238.002
|
| 17.05.2021 |
Private Governance and International Relations – Part III
Literature Falkner, R. (2003). Private Environmental Governance and International Relations: Exploring the Links. Global Environmental Politics, 3(2), 72–87. https://doi.org/10.1162/152638003322068227
|
| 31.05.2021 |
The legitimacy of Private Governance
Literature Bernstein, S., & Cashore, B. (2007). Can non-state global governance be legitimate? An analytical framework. Regulation & Governance, 1(4), 347–371. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-5991.2007.00021.x
|
| 07.06.2021 |
On the functioning of Certifications
Literature Bartley, T. (2011). "Certification as a Mode of Social Regulation". In Handbook on the Politics of Regulation. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. doi: https://doi.org/10.4337/9780857936110.00049 |
| 14.06.2021 |
Limitations of Private Governance
Literature Mayer, F., & Gereffi, G. (2010). Regulation and Economic Globalization: Prospects and Limits of Private Governance. Business and Politics, 12, 11–11. https://doi.org/10.2202/1469-3569.1325 |
| 21.06.2021 |
The rise of the sustainable coffee certification regime
Literature Ponte, S. (2002). The “Latte Revolution”? Regulation, Markets and Consumption in the Global Coffee Chain. World Development, 30(7), 1099–1122. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0305-750X(02)00032-3 |
| 28.06.2021 |
Political dynamics within the SC regime
Literature Levy, D., Reinecke, J., & Manning, S. (2016). The Political Dynamics of Sustainable Coffee: Contested Value Regimes and the Transformation of Sustainability: The Political Dynamics of Sustainable Coffee. Journal of Management Studies, 53(3), 364–401. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12144
|
| 05.07.2021 |
The current state of VSS
Literature Petrokofsky, G., & Jennings, S. (2018). The effectiveness of standards in driving adoption of sustainability practices: A State of Knowledge Review . ISEAL. https://www.isealalliance.org/get-involved/resources/report-effectiveness-standards-driving-adoption-sustainability-practices
|
| 07/12/2021 |
The current state of coffee-related VSS
Literature Panhuysen, S. and Pierrot, J. (2020): Coffee Barometer 2020. https://coffeebarometer.org/
|
| 07/19/2021 |
Final lecture
The course's main take-aways, as well as a final group discussion about the lessons learned and possible VSS future. |
- Lehrende/r: Paulo Mortara Batistic