For decades, North Atlantic-based transnational agribusiness firms have been the most powerful corporate players in the global food system. But over the past several years, Chinese firms have started to challenge their power in terms of market-share, territory, rulemaking, and trade. As the recent US-China Trade War illustrates, internationally traded agricultural commodities are crucially important in politics and geopolitics more broadly.
How do we understand this changing terrain of power? Who are the key players in the global food system today? Are there fundamental differences between Chinese (ie. WH Group, COFCO, Syngenta) and non-Chinese agribusiness firms (ie. JBS, Danish Crown, Cargill, ADM)? Between Chinese state and private agribusiness capitals?
If these (or related) questions interest you, I’m looking for a student to work on a thesis project or internship on Agribusiness and Global China. The centerpiece of the project is working with a qualitative Chinese agribusiness database, from which would be welcome to develop your own questions and analyses.
Prerequisites
- You are student of a master programe with an SDC thesis trajectory and you meet the requirement of doing an SDC thesis.
- You have some training in critical development theory and food politics.
- You have a research interest in food politics, agribusiness, rulemaking, comparative qualitative research.
- Chinese language (reading and writing).
Contact
For more information on the content of the thesis: Dr. Mindi Schneider (mindi.schneider@wur.nl)
Procedure
The elected student for this thesis project contacts Jessica de Koning (jessica.dekoning@wur.nl) to register her/himself as official SDC thesis student.
Sociology of Development and Change 