Agricultural Governance Globalization and the New Politics of Regulation [Hardcover]

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.

1. Introduction: Globalization and Agricultural Governance  Part 1: (Re)Regulating Spaces  2. Globalization and Global Governance  3. Reshaping the State: Global/Local Networks of Association and the Governing of Agricultural Production  4. Rural Development and Agri-Food Governing in Europe: Tracing the Development of Alternatives  Part 2: (De)Politicizing Practices  5. Reshaping the Agrifood System: The Role of Standards, Standard Makers, and Third-Party Certifiers  6. Disciplining the Organic Commodity  7. Governing Conflicts over Sustainability: Agricultural Biotechnology in Europe  8. Governing Agriculture through the Managerial Capacities of Farlî