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“It’s still a north to south relationship” - A critical discourse analysis on the power of evaluative research and representations of social change within Voluntary Sustainability Standards

Baumeister, Julia Vita Helena LU (2022) MIDM19 20221
LUMID International Master programme in applied International Development and Management
Department of Human Geography
Abstract
Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSSs) build on market-based governance mechanisms to create fairer and more equitable terms of trade within smallholder-dominated agricultural value chains. Various frameworks and theoretical approaches have arisen to assess social impacts generated through VSSs; however, the findings are scattered and inconsistent. This thesis aims to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the conceptions of social change that guide evaluative research approaches. It examines how conceptions grounded in different development paradigms drive representations of social change and how these representations affect producers’ power and voice. The study draws on secondary data sources for empirical evidence. It... (More)
Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSSs) build on market-based governance mechanisms to create fairer and more equitable terms of trade within smallholder-dominated agricultural value chains. Various frameworks and theoretical approaches have arisen to assess social impacts generated through VSSs; however, the findings are scattered and inconsistent. This thesis aims to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the conceptions of social change that guide evaluative research approaches. It examines how conceptions grounded in different development paradigms drive representations of social change and how these representations affect producers’ power and voice. The study draws on secondary data sources for empirical evidence. It integrates a qualitative systematic literature review with poststructuralist critical discourse analysis. The study identifies significantly diverging and imbalanced representations of social change driven by underlying assumptions grounded in three main theoretical propositions of development: Liberal, Marxist and poststructuralist theory. The research establishes a linkage between representations and power dynamics and demonstrates the effects on producers’ power and voice. The findings highlight the need to problematise discursive, subjectification and lived effects created through the conceptions of social change and to direct attention to persisting silences within social impact assessments of VSSs. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Baumeister, Julia Vita Helena LU
supervisor
organization
course
MIDM19 20221
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Voluntary Sustainability Standards, agricultural value chains, social change, development theories, power asymmetries, power and voice, agricultural producers
language
English
id
9098294
date added to LUP
2022-09-14 13:20:30
date last changed
2022-09-14 13:20:30
@misc{9098294,
  abstract     = {{Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSSs) build on market-based governance mechanisms to create fairer and more equitable terms of trade within smallholder-dominated agricultural value chains. Various frameworks and theoretical approaches have arisen to assess social impacts generated through VSSs; however, the findings are scattered and inconsistent. This thesis aims to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the conceptions of social change that guide evaluative research approaches. It examines how conceptions grounded in different development paradigms drive representations of social change and how these representations affect producers’ power and voice. The study draws on secondary data sources for empirical evidence. It integrates a qualitative systematic literature review with poststructuralist critical discourse analysis. The study identifies significantly diverging and imbalanced representations of social change driven by underlying assumptions grounded in three main theoretical propositions of development: Liberal, Marxist and poststructuralist theory. The research establishes a linkage between representations and power dynamics and demonstrates the effects on producers’ power and voice. The findings highlight the need to problematise discursive, subjectification and lived effects created through the conceptions of social change and to direct attention to persisting silences within social impact assessments of VSSs.}},
  author       = {{Baumeister, Julia Vita Helena}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{“It’s still a north to south relationship” - A critical discourse analysis on the power of evaluative research and representations of social change within Voluntary Sustainability Standards}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}