Special issue: The political economy of agroecological transitions

Nehring, Ryan; McKay, Ben M.; Resnick, Danielle; Catacora-Vargas, Georgina

Special issue: The political economy of agroecological transitions

Autores

Nehring, Ryan

McKay, Ben M.

Resnick, Danielle

Catacora-Vargas, Georgina

Editor

Taylor and Francis

Descripción

The transition from conventional, input-intensive agriculture to agroecology is a complex process that is multidimensional and multiscale. An agroecological transition entails economic, social and ecological change that shapes and is shaped by the broader economic and political system. Power relations are a key mediating factor underpinning the prospects and possibilities for agroecological transitions. The possibilities for increasing and/or expanding agroecological transitions, therefore, also entail analyses into policy and institutional reforms at different scales. This collection brings together articles that contribute to a political economy of agroecological transitions. The contributions offer novel ways of considering how power underpins food system transformation; understanding vested interests in the agro-industrial food system and the sectors reinforcing them; and why and how alternatives based on agroecology are proposed, perceived and implemented within diverse food systems contexts. Existing analytical frameworks on agroecology have tended to focus either on evaluating the performance of existing experiences, often drawing on local case studies, or general analysis of factors that either promote or inhibit agroecological transitions. Less attention is being paid to how existing or potential agroecological transitions are situated in a broader context where agro-industrial systems dominate. The collection spans a broad set of methodologies, ranging from survey collection, ethnographic research, discourse analysis, comparative case studies, and natural language processing. Moreover, the empirical foundations of the papers draw on cases in Latin America, Africa, and South Asia, thereby ensuring broad representation of diverse agroecological conditions, constituencies, policy settings, and political systems.