Journal Articles by Ian Hussey
Socialist Studies, 2020
Feminist standpoint epistemology (FSE) is an important form of writing from below; that is, writi... more Feminist standpoint epistemology (FSE) is an important form of writing from below; that is, writing from embodied experience. FSE and other forms of writing from below involve practices of representation that are mediated by ideology. In this article, I tease out some of the complexities and limitations of feminist efforts to use FSE to situate and embody thought. Some feminist standpoint theorists understand Cartesian dualism as a dualism or a division that can be collapsed or reversed, but I show that what is called "Cartesian dualism" is in fact a paradox and therefore cannot be overcome but must be grappled with on an ongoing basis in our efforts to write from below. Recognizing the paradoxical nature of the mind-body problem both clarifies the basis for critiques of positivism and the challenges and limits of situating and embodying knowledge as we try to write from below. The article begins with an exploration of the basic tenets and presumptions of two schools of FSE. While neither school can evade the politics of representation, I show that one is able to withstand an intersectional critique whilst the other is not. Having unpacked these schools of FSE, I reflect on Himani Bannerji's ideology critique of intersectionality to lay bare the limitations of this concept that some writers from below deploy and to advance a reflexive materialist epistemology.
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Neocolonial Politics of Sustainability (Special Issue), Apr 2, 2016
In this article, we draw on ten years of research and participation in fair trade to argue fair t... more In this article, we draw on ten years of research and participation in fair trade to argue fair trade certification is a market-driven global regulatory system that standardizes neocolonial relations between Global North businesses and Global South producers in the name of sustainability and equality. Our analysis begins with a detailed history of how the fair trade certification system institutionalized unequal power relations between Southern and Northern actors. We then examine the ways fair trade certification regulates the activities of Southern producers and Northern businesses. We show that the certification system has been institutionalized to disproportionately regulate the practices of Southern farmers and leave unquestioned most of the practices of Northern businesses. We argue this obfuscates the responsibility of Northerners to manage the ecological crisis we created, while entrenching a system that regulates the actions of poor people in the Global South under the guise of creating a more sustainable world. We close the article with an exploration of producers’ political organizing both inside and outside the Northern-dominated certification system, including the invention of a Southern-based certification system run by and for small farmers, to show that producers continue to fight for their vision of fairer terms of international trade.
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New Political Economy, Sep 14, 2015
In this article we analyse Fair Trade as a form of non-state regulation, building on the literatu... more In this article we analyse Fair Trade as a form of non-state regulation, building on the literature on the internal politics and governance of Fair Trade International (FTI) certification. We focus on recent developments in the FTI certification system, including the split of Fair Trade USA from FTI and the emergence of the Small Producer’s Symbol (SPP) as an alternative to FTI certification. We highlight the role of the three regional Producer Networks, in particular the Latin American Producer Network, the CLAC, in the politics and governance of the FTI system. In order to analyse these issues we employ an alternative reading of Karl Polanyi’s work in relation to Fair Trade. We problematise the claim made by some in the literature that FTI certification is an example of Polanyi’s concept of re-embedding. Instead, we draw on Polanyi’s concept of oversight to analyse Fair Trade certification. We argue that the emergence of the SPP out of the CLAC shows promise for being a mechanism of oversight more reflective of Polanyian re-embedding than FTI certification. We also emphasise how the growth of the SPP and the pressure from the Producer Networks have prompted governance reform within the FTI system.
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Interface: A Journal For and About Social Movements, May 15, 2013
Abstract: The developmentalist gaze of the Fair Trade movement is on Global South producers. In t... more Abstract: The developmentalist gaze of the Fair Trade movement is on Global South producers. In this article we turn our analytic gaze toward North American fair traders to explore the racialized, neocolonial power relations in which these movement actors are implicated. Section One is a brief historical sketch of Fair Trade certification. We argue that the certification system is a multi-sited, global institution that is shaped by and shapes neocolonial power relations in Fair Trade by exploring the consolidation and more recent splintering of the international certification system. Section Two provides a postcolonial critique of developmentalism, with a focus on the timing of development, in order to lay a foundation for the remaining sections. In Section Three we analyze the spatiality of Fair Trade, with an emphasis on what and who are missing from or erased by the structural and conceptual frameworks of Fair Trade. In Section Four we explore the relationship between Fair Trade, commodity fetishism, and the developmentalist conception of space/time propagated by Fair Trade advocates. Section Five is a critical analysis of the neocolonialist and racist discourse of Fair Trade, with a focus on the “helping” discourse. We contend that as Global North fair traders strive to “help” Global South producers, they re-entrench neocolonial narratives of white supremacy and the desire to develop.
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The Political Economy of (Under) Development and Space/Time in Development Studies, Dec 17, 2012
Abstract: There is no accepted, unified, politico-economic theory of development. In critical dev... more Abstract: There is no accepted, unified, politico-economic theory of development. In critical development studies, there is a general agreement that two counter-posing theories of political economy, modernization and dependency, were most prominent in the three decades following World War II. Both of these schools of thought fell out of popularity in the mid-1970s, though some of their core temporal and spatial assumptions live on today. In Section One of this paper, I analytically reflect on the modernization/dependency debate to lay a foundation for a discussion in Section Two on the timing of development and of modernity. Timing is an area of debate that goes to the heart of modernization and dependency theories, development practice, and critical development studies. World-systems analysis (WSA) is one of the approaches involved in the space/time debate in critical development studies. In Section Three, the final analytic section, I explore WSA as a school of thought currently in vogue in critical development studies, though not without some controversy. I show that WSA's theory of the subject is Eurocentric.
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Canadian Journal of Sociology 37(1): 1-23., Apr 2012
Abstract: In this article I revisit and expand upon George Smith’s (1990) l... more Abstract: In this article I revisit and expand upon George Smith’s (1990) landmark article, “Political Activist as Ethnographer.” Political activist ethnography (PAE) is a specialized form of institutional ethnography (IE) that has not received nearly enough attention in the twenty years since the original publication of Smith’s article. In an effort to revisit and bolster this research approach, I provide an overview of IE/PAE, critically engage with three recent commentaries on PAE, and offer a new interpretation of this approach as well as an example of its application from my ongoing research on fair trade.
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Abstract: The G8 and G20 summits took place in Huntsville and Toronto, Ontario, Canada on 25-26 a... more Abstract: The G8 and G20 summits took place in Huntsville and Toronto, Ontario, Canada on 25-26 and 26-27 June 2010 respectively. Summits such as these often have large budgets attached to them and attract protests from people with various political leanings deploying a diversity of tactics, and these particular summits were no exception. In this article, we contrast official and media accounts of the protest and the policing of the events with a narrative grounded in protestors’ experience, in an attempt to complicate present popular understandings of these protests. In the discussion section of the article we provide theoretical and analytic insights into what the events of last summer can tell us about organizing and policing dissent.
Le sommets du G8 et du G20 se sont tenus à Huntsville et Toronto, Ontario, Canada le 25-26 et 26-27 juin 2010 respectivement. Les sommets comme ceux-ci ont généralement des budgets importants et attirent des manifestations organisées par des individus avec des tendances politiques multiples, utilisant des stratégies diverses. Ces sommets ne font pas exception. Dans cet article, nous contrastons les descriptions des manifestations et du comportement de la police par les sources officielles et les médias, avec les récits issus de l’expérience des manifestants, dans un souci de complexifier la compréhension populaire des ces manifestations. Nous offrons des contributions théoriques et analytiques pour comprendre ce que les événements de l’été dernier peuvent nous dire à propos de l’organisation et le contrôle de la contestation.
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Journal of Business Ethics, Jan 1, 2010
Abstract: This paper examines two issues related to research of certified fair trade goods. The f... more Abstract: This paper examines two issues related to research of certified fair trade goods. The first is the question of how agendas for fair trade research should be developed. The second issue is the existence of major gaps in the fair trade literature, including the study of the particular features of fair trade practice in individual northern countries. In taking up the first of these issues, the paper proposes that normative analysis should provide the basis for developing research agendas. Such an approach is important to ensure that the necessary types of questions to make normative judgments and policy decisions are posed and that biases that tend to favor mainstreaming practices in the generation of knowledge are minimized. The paper addresses the second research issue by examining the development of research agendas at the level of individual countries, using Canada as a case.
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Book Chapters by Ian Hussey
Regime of Obstruction: How Corporate Power Blocks Energy Democracy, 2021
Chapter 12 of Regime of Obstruction: How Corporate Power Blocks Energy Democracy, edited by Willi... more Chapter 12 of Regime of Obstruction: How Corporate Power Blocks Energy Democracy, edited by William K. Carroll, AU Press, April 2021. Chapter co-authored with Angele Alook and Nicole Hill.
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Regime of Obstruction: How Corporate Power Blocks Energy Democracy, 2021
Chapter 1 of Regime of Obstruction: How Corporate Power Blocks Energy Democracy, edited by Willia... more Chapter 1 of Regime of Obstruction: How Corporate Power Blocks Energy Democracy, edited by William K. Carroll, AU Press, April 2021. Chapter co-authored with Eric Pineault, Emma Jackson, and Susan Cake.
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Just transitions: Social Justice in the shift towards a low-carbon world, 2019
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Reilumman kaupan jäljillä: Kirjoituksia reilust kaupasta ja solidaarisesta vaihdosta. [Searching for fairer trade: Essays about fair trade and solidarity exchange]., Jun 18, 2012
Excerpt: While buying a cup of coffee at a local café one morning, I was transported to an exotic... more Excerpt: While buying a cup of coffee at a local café one morning, I was transported to an exotic far-off land. Immersed in the aroma of coffee brewing and surrounded by pictures of farmers picking coffee and their children smiling, I could imagine who had grown the coffee in my mug. Marketing materials littered the countertop, thanking me for buying fair trade certified coffee and telling me that I was making a difference and that fair trade works. My single cup of coffee was said to help poor farmers. One of the posters declared, “every purchase matters,” and another said I was helping end poverty “one cup at a time.” The promotional materials explained that my purchase brought me into a direct and intimate relationship with farmers as if the handle of my coffee mug was a farmer’s hand I was shaking to congratulate him or her on a job well done.
Fair trade marketing and advocacy rely on the idea that fair trade increases connectedness between Global South producers and Global North consumers. While fair trade does reduce the number of intermediaries in the supply chain as compared to the free trade system for most commodities (Raynolds 2002; Nicholls and Opal 2005; Adams and Raisborough 2008, 1169), it also serves to reinforce racist and colonial distinctions between the poor Global South farmer and the benevolent Global North consumer. Fair trade may channel slightly more income into agricultural communities, but it fails to address the colonial and capitalist structures that produce the impoverishment of farmers on an ongoing basis.
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Edited Journal Issues by Ian Hussey
Socialist Studies 7 (1&2), 37-302. Part 1., Jul 2011
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Socialist Studies 7 (1&2), 37-302. Part 2., Jul 2011
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Journal Contributions by Ian Hussey
Socialist Studies 10(1), 200-204, Aug 9, 2014
For some Marxists, issues of culture, identity and representation are secondary. In this research... more For some Marxists, issues of culture, identity and representation are secondary. In this research note, I analytically reflect on Stuart Hall's (1996) canonical essay "Cultural Identity and Diaspora," which stresses that these are significant concerns for anyone struggling for liberation. In his essay, Hall explicates two definitions of "cultural identity." The first is an essentialist identity, which emphasizes the similarities amongst a group of people. Hall argues that this definition can and does inspire feminist, anti-colonial and anti-racist art and activism, but cannot help us comprehend the trauma of colonialism. The second definition emphasizes the similarities and the differences amongst an imagined cultural group. Hall asserts that this definition is useful for understanding the trauma of colonialism because it emphasizes the historical and social contingency of identity. By using this definition in our analysis of power and normalization, we are better able to scrutinize historical and contemporary colonial relations and to struggle against them.
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Socialist Studies 8(2). 255-257., Dec 2012
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Socialist Studies 7(1&2), 338-340., Jul 2011
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Socialist Studies 5(2), 133-136, Nov 2009
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Research Reports by Ian Hussey
This report begins in the story of an activist coalition that was successful in getting change in... more This report begins in the story of an activist coalition that was successful in getting change in municipal purchasing policy. It tracks the process of a group in Vancouver British Columbia Canada and how they went about producing a proposal for municipal council and getting council approval. It provides a look at the work process involved and gives a model and advice on strategy for organizations who want to make change in policy at the local level.
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Magazine Articles by Ian Hussey
Canadian Dimension, Jun 1, 2015
This article makes the social and economic case for raising the Alberta provincial minimum wage t... more This article makes the social and economic case for raising the Alberta provincial minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2018.
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Journal Articles by Ian Hussey
Le sommets du G8 et du G20 se sont tenus à Huntsville et Toronto, Ontario, Canada le 25-26 et 26-27 juin 2010 respectivement. Les sommets comme ceux-ci ont généralement des budgets importants et attirent des manifestations organisées par des individus avec des tendances politiques multiples, utilisant des stratégies diverses. Ces sommets ne font pas exception. Dans cet article, nous contrastons les descriptions des manifestations et du comportement de la police par les sources officielles et les médias, avec les récits issus de l’expérience des manifestants, dans un souci de complexifier la compréhension populaire des ces manifestations. Nous offrons des contributions théoriques et analytiques pour comprendre ce que les événements de l’été dernier peuvent nous dire à propos de l’organisation et le contrôle de la contestation.
Book Chapters by Ian Hussey
Fair trade marketing and advocacy rely on the idea that fair trade increases connectedness between Global South producers and Global North consumers. While fair trade does reduce the number of intermediaries in the supply chain as compared to the free trade system for most commodities (Raynolds 2002; Nicholls and Opal 2005; Adams and Raisborough 2008, 1169), it also serves to reinforce racist and colonial distinctions between the poor Global South farmer and the benevolent Global North consumer. Fair trade may channel slightly more income into agricultural communities, but it fails to address the colonial and capitalist structures that produce the impoverishment of farmers on an ongoing basis.
Edited Journal Issues by Ian Hussey
Journal Contributions by Ian Hussey
Research Reports by Ian Hussey
Magazine Articles by Ian Hussey
Le sommets du G8 et du G20 se sont tenus à Huntsville et Toronto, Ontario, Canada le 25-26 et 26-27 juin 2010 respectivement. Les sommets comme ceux-ci ont généralement des budgets importants et attirent des manifestations organisées par des individus avec des tendances politiques multiples, utilisant des stratégies diverses. Ces sommets ne font pas exception. Dans cet article, nous contrastons les descriptions des manifestations et du comportement de la police par les sources officielles et les médias, avec les récits issus de l’expérience des manifestants, dans un souci de complexifier la compréhension populaire des ces manifestations. Nous offrons des contributions théoriques et analytiques pour comprendre ce que les événements de l’été dernier peuvent nous dire à propos de l’organisation et le contrôle de la contestation.
Fair trade marketing and advocacy rely on the idea that fair trade increases connectedness between Global South producers and Global North consumers. While fair trade does reduce the number of intermediaries in the supply chain as compared to the free trade system for most commodities (Raynolds 2002; Nicholls and Opal 2005; Adams and Raisborough 2008, 1169), it also serves to reinforce racist and colonial distinctions between the poor Global South farmer and the benevolent Global North consumer. Fair trade may channel slightly more income into agricultural communities, but it fails to address the colonial and capitalist structures that produce the impoverishment of farmers on an ongoing basis.
- Other jurisdictions in North America
- Sky-is-falling claims and historical data
- AB case and CFIB claims
- BC case and Fraser Institute claims
- Affects on small businesses
- Affects on business, economy, & government
- Benefits of minimum wage increase
Highlights and Key Findings:
• This chapter is an analytic narrative of how Vancouver’s Ethical Purchasing Policy was written. This empirically grounded policy story offers a practical example for others to follow.
• A municipal Ethical Purchasing Policy is one way local communities can contribute to ethical trade efforts aimed at avoiding tragedies like the 24 April 2013 garment factory collapse in Savar, Bangladesh, that killed 1,129 workers.
• Vancouver’s Ethical Purchasing Policy was written by a city task force comprising two city councilors, two city managers, and representatives of several businesses, unions, and civil society organizations with expertise on international labour standards, Fair Trade certification, and ethical purchasing of global commodities.
• Participation by city managers was key because policies solely crafted by city council might not take into account the practicalities of implementing a new policy while still following existing policies. Including city managers led to successful implementation and ensured the policy saved the city money.
• Participation by community members lent legitimacy to the city’s policy and helped ensure that the policy met international ethical trade norms for union-made garments and Fair Trade certified agricultural commodities including coffee, tea, and chocolate.
On 17 February 2005, Vancouver became the first Canadian municipality to adopt an Ethical Purchasing Policy (EPP) pertaining to union-made garments and Fair Trade certified coffee, tea, and chocolate. The EPP was crafted with a high level of participation by businesses, unions, and civil society organizations. The policy’s social justice ethos stands out in an ongoing era of neoliberal retrenchment of progressive public policies. Other Canadian cities, such as Calgary, Alberta, have since followed Vancouver’s lead in ethical purchasing. Vancouver’s EPP was written by a city task force that included two city councilors, two city managers, and representatives of several businesses, unions, and civil society organizations with expertise on international labour standards, Fair Trade certification, and ethical procurement through global commodity chains. This chapter is an institutional ethnography that focuses on the policy writing process and the standardized processes that comprise public participation, public decision-making, and public administration.
The chapter is empirically grounded in seven semi-structured interviews of 30 to 150 minutes in length with the two city councilors that chaired the policy writing process, two city managers (interviewed a second time together) that oversaw the implementation of the process, one of which participated in writing the policy, and a Fair Trade activist and a union organizer that participated in the writing process. These interviews were complemented with participant observation and textual analysis. Participant observation was conducted both in real-time in activist meetings and in city council meetings and reflexively from my experience as a Canadian Fair Trade activist-researcher. The interviews and observational work helped identify key texts for analysis, including the EPP and the connected Supplier Code of Conduct (SCC), council meeting minutes, minutes of standing committees of council, reports to council by city managers, and a critical analysis of the policy written by the Maquila Solidarity Network, a Toronto-based anti-sweatshop advocacy group. The research took place from January 2006 to August 2007 as part of a larger study in which I was involved alongside sociologist Dorothy E. Smith for a community-university research alliance called "Rural Women Making Change."