Civil society and the political economy of GMO failures in Canada: a neo-Gramscian analysis

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Researcher: Peter Andree
Publisher: Routledge
Documentation: Environmental Politics

Despite the government of Canada’s close relationship with the biotechnology industry, critical social movement organisations have had a significant impact on the adoption of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in that country. Two cases of products rejected after widespread resistance – recombinant bovine growth hormone (1999) and herbicide-tolerant Roundup Ready (RR) Wheat (2004) – are revisited. Informed by empirical research that brings to light new factors shaping the RR wheat outcome in particular, two theoretical arguments are advanced. First, in response to those critics of a neo-Gramscian framing of hegemony who see it as overlydeterministic, these cases highlight just how deeply alliances with hegemonic ambitions may be forced to compromise. Second, these cases demonstrate that any study of civil society must still pay close attention to institutional and material ‘relations of force’ when seeking to explain the impact of social movements on environmental governance.

Civil society dan ekonomi politik kegagalan GMO di Kanada: sebuah analisis neo-Gramsci

Meskipun pemerintah Kanada memiliki hubungan yang dekat dengan industri bioteknologi namun organisasi-organisasi sosial di negara tersebut juga memiliki pengaruh yang signifikan terhadap pengadaan organisme yang dimodifikasi secara genetik. Jurnal ini membahas dua kasus produk yang ditolak keberadaannya, yakni hormon pertumbuhan rekombinan (1999) dan gandum Roundup Ready yang toleran terhadap herbisida (2004). Dengan mendapatkan masukan dari riset empiris yang menghasilkan temuan tentang faktor-faktor baru yang ikut membentuk hasil gandum RR, penelitian ini menyimpulkan dua hal penting. Pertama, untuk merespon kritisi yang menganut pemikiran hegemoni aliran neo-Gramsci yang menganggapnya sebagai terlalu deterministik, kedua kasus tersebut mengungkap seberapa dalamnya keterkaitan dengan ambisi-ambisi hegemonik dapat diberi kompromi. Kedoa, kedua kasus menunjukkan bahwa setiap penelitian tentang civil society harus tetap memperhatikan 'hubungan faktor pendorong' institusional dan material pada saat berusaha menjelaskan pengaruh gerakan sosial yang terjadi terhadap tata kelola lingkungan.

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