Using social reproduction theory to understand unfree labour

Most scholarship within social reproduction theory focuses on women’s paid and unpaid care and domestic work, typically within the global North. Rarely has social reproduction theory grappled with unfree labour in commodity supply chains, particularly in the global South. However, these labour relations also involve gendered power relations that cut across the productive and reproductive realms of the economy, which can be illuminated by social reproduction theory analysis. In this article, we reflect on how social reproduction theory can be used to make sense of unfree labour’s role in global supply chains, expanding its geographical scope and the forms of labour exploitation encompassed within it. Conceptually, we harness the insights of social reproduction theory, and Jeffrey Harrod and Robert W Cox’s work on ‘unprotected work’ in the global economy to examine how gendered power relations shape patterns of unfree labour. Empirically, we analyse interview and survey data collected among cocoa workers in Ghana through LeBaron’s Global Business of Forced Labour project. We argue that social reproduction theory can move global supply chain scholarship beyond its presently economistic emphasis on the productive sphere and can shed light into the overlaps between social oppression, economic exploitation, and social reproduction

From AKP’s ‘Conservative Democracy’ to ‘Advanced Democracy’: Shifts and Challenges in the Debate on ‘Europe’

Following the AKP's victory in the 2002 general elections, 'conservative democracy' has emerged as a trademark in Turkish politics, focusing on cosmopolitanism and European integration. In the late 2000s, the party's favourite notion was 'advanced democracy', this time underlining Turkey's leadership claim in the region and displaying a more critical approach to 'Europe'. In this paper, I aim to show how different narratives on 'Europe' emerged within the context of these empty signifiers. The paper claims that the difference in the two narratives on 'Europe' in two different periods does not point to a complete and fully fledged de-Europeanisation trend

The stigma system: How sociopolitical domination, scapegoating, and stigma shape public health

Stigma is a fundamental driver of adverse health outcomes. Although stigma is often studied at the individual level to focus on how stigma influences the mental and physical health of the stigmatized, considerable research has shown that stigma is multilevel and structural. This paper proposes a theoretical approach that synthesizes the literature on stigma with the literature on scapegoating and divide-and-rule as strategies that the wealthy and powerful use to maintain their power and wealth; the literatures on racial, gender, and other subordination; the literature on ideology and organization in sociopolitical systems; and the literature on resistance and rebellion against stigma, oppression and other forms of subordination. we develop a model of the ?stigma system? as a dialectic of interacting and conflicting structures and processes. Understanding this system can help public health re-orient stigma interventions to address the sources of stigma as well as the individual problems that stigma creates. On a broader level, this model can help those opposing stigma and its effects to develop alliances and strategies with which to oppose stigma and the processes that create it.Fil: Friedman, Samuel. University Of New York. School Of Medicine.; Estados UnidosFil: Williams, Leslie D.. University of Illinois; Estados UnidosFil: Guarino, Honoria. City University of New York; Estados UnidosFil: Mateu Gelabert, Pedro. City University of New York; Estados UnidosFil: Krawczyk, Noa. University Of New York. School Of Medicine.; Estados UnidosFil: Hamilton, Leah. University Of New York. School Of Medicine.; Estados UnidosFil: Walters, Suzan M.. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Ezell, Jerel. University of Chicago; Estados UnidosFil: Khan, María. University Of New York. School Of Medicine.; Estados UnidosFil: Di Iorio, Jorgelina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Psicología. Instituto de Investigaciones; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Yang, Lawrence. University Of New York. School Of Medicine.; Estados UnidosFil: Earnshaw, Valerie. University of Delaware; Estados Unido