5. CERES Global Commodity Chains

You can register for the course through this form.

20-22 November 2023, 11:00-13:00 and 14:30-16:30

Teacher: Dr Ben Radley

Location: In person, International Institute of Social Studies (ISS, The Hague)

Tuition: free for members; 400 euros for non-members

ECs: 3

Description:

The organization and governance of production within global commodity chains holds critical implications for local, national, and international processes of social and economic development. The 1980s to the 2010s was characterized by the offshoring of production from the global North to the global South. In recent years, supply chain disruptions caused by COVID-19 and the Russo-Ukrainian war have led to calls in certain quarters of the global North for the reshoring of production in the interests of national and regional security.

Located in this shifting context, this course will: 1) equip students with a critical and theoretically-informed understanding of the various approaches that have emerged over the last three decades to study and understand labour, firm, and state dynamics within and between commodity chains; 2) provide detailed empirical case studies of Southern efforts to integrate into and develop productive employment and capabilities within global commodity chains; 3) familiarize students with different methodological approaches to researching global commodity chains, and the associated ethical considerations and implementation challenges. For this, the course teacher will draw extensively (but not exclusively) on his decade of experience researching global mining and renewable energy commodity chains in Central Africa.

Register for the course through the form linked here.