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The (post)politicisation of timber trade: (Un)invited participation in the EU-Vietnam Voluntary Partnership Agreement

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  • Verhaeghe, Elke

Abstract

This article analyses the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) between the European Union (EU) and Vietnam as a form of postpoliticisation. In addition to their primary objective the governing of bilateral timber trade value chains, VPAs also entail an element of democratisation, as they are conditional upon stakeholder and civil society participation. Building on poststructuralist discourse-theory (PDT) and Erik Swyngedouw's notion of ‘the postpolitical condition’, this article asks how (un)invited non-state actor participation in the EU-Vietnam VPA discursively (re-)articulates and (de)politicises problems and solutions. The article finds that invited participation in Vietnam was characterised by consensual and technocratic governance practices and a discursive foreclosure of problems and solutions. The VPA's consensual space was ruptured by uninvited participation by several Cambodia NGOs, who questioned the VPA's rationalistic logics of legality verification and certification for imported timber products. These concerns were dismissed as nonsensical by the EU, demonstrating the postpolitical discursive foreclosure for non-state actor engagement. The research is based on 33 interviews with respondents in Vietnam and Europe as well as a document analysis of the VPA text and annexes, EU communications, NGO advocacy materials and media appearances by Cambodian NGOs.

Suggested Citation

  • Verhaeghe, Elke, 2021. "The (post)politicisation of timber trade: (Un)invited participation in the EU-Vietnam Voluntary Partnership Agreement," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:forpol:v:129:y:2021:i:c:s1389934121000939
    DOI: 10.1016/j.forpol.2021.102487
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Erik Swyngedouw, 2009. "The Antinomies of the Postpolitical City: In Search of a Democratic Politics of Environmental Production," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3), pages 601-620, September.
    2. Hansen, Christian P. & Rutt, Rebecca & Acheampong, Emmanuel, 2018. "‘Experimental’ or business as usual? Implementing the European Union Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Voluntary Partnership Agreement in Ghana," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 75-82.
    3. Wodschow, Astrid & Nathan, Iben & Cerutti, Paolo, 2016. "Participation, public policy-making, and legitimacy in the EU Voluntary Partnership Agreement process: The Cameroon case," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 1-10.
    4. Ramcilovic-Suominen, Sabaheta & Lovric, Marko & Mustalahti, Irmeli, 2019. "Mapping policy actor networks and their interests in the FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreement in Lao PDR," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 128-148.
    5. Lesniewska, Feja & McDermott, Constance L., 2014. "FLEGT VPAs: Laying a pathway to sustainability via legality lessons from Ghana and Indonesia," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 16-23.
    6. Anh Ngoc Vu, 2019. "NGO-led activism under authoritarian rule of Vietnam: Between cooperation and contestation," Community Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(4), pages 422-439, August.
    7. Satyal, Poshendra, 2018. "Civil society participation in REDD+ and FLEGT processes: Case study analysis from Cameroon, Ghana, Liberia and the Republic of Congo," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 83-96.
    8. Cashore, Benjamin & Nathan, Iben, 2020. "Can finance and market driven (FMD) interventions make “weak states” stronger? Lessons from the good governance norm complex in Cambodia," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
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    Cited by:

    1. Cary, Michael, 2023. "Climate policy boosts trade competitiveness: Evidence from timber trade networks," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).

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