Repackaging colonialism: Good governance, democracy, globalization and cognitive platitudes as assumed basic values in tropical small-scale ...
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SPC Traditional Marine Resource Management and Knowledge Information Bulletin #36 – April
13
Repackaging colonialism: Good governance, democracy, globalization
and cognitive platitudes as assumed basic values in tropical small-scale
fisheries development
Kenneth Ruddle1
Abstract
A continuity of colonial era attributes and models characterizes the post-colonial period, although their
presentation and vocabulary has been adapted by the use of inoffensive blandishments. “Good govern-
ance”, “democracy” and an associated suite of terms and concepts serve to undermine the sovereignty of
tropical nations, within a neoliberal framework. The historical roots of the issue and the rationale provided
by modernization theory are summarized and exemplified by pre-existing fisheries credit institutions, and
the myth of open access in small-scale fisheries. “Globalization” is examined as “global governmentality”,
or the purposeful manipulation of international institutions to maintain the global management role of
Western nations.
Keywords: development, globalization, governance, neoliberalism, modernization theory
Introduction Very little has changed in the transition from an era
of colonial administration to one of now mature
The terms “liberal” and “liberalism” are now post-colonial states. Polite discourse no longer
imbued with multiple and seemingly conflicted dares to mention the presumed incapacity of non-
meanings and principles. The principal usages Westerners to govern themselves as a condition
refer, first, to a governance relationship between that could be removed only after generations of
a state and its subjects, and second, to the sup- instruction by colonial administrators. It has been
port of individual liberty and private property. To replaced by politically correct blandishments of
some, the distinguishing characteristics of a lib- neoliberalism regarding the elimination of struc-
eral form of governance is the free selection and tural factors and the transformation of cultures
pursuit of economic activities, inculcation of hab- and values. Present-day imperial rule now oper-
its of self-regulation, and use of the market as a ates through international financial institutions,
key indicator of appropriate levels of governance the use of markets to regulate the behavior of only
(Foucault 1997). Further, the market is regarded nominally sovereign governments, and aid condi-
“…as a powerful instrument of civilization, tionalities. Particularly forceful is the near univer-
inculcating such virtues as prudence, diligence, sal promotion of “good governance”.
punctuality, self-control…” (Hindess 2001:26).
By extension, this line of reasoning that securing Good governance, together with the terms “empow-
market and property rules, while concomitantly erment”, “popular participation”, “responsibility”
reducing or eliminating non-market economic and “democracy” associated with it, is currently
activities, means that the rule of the market can among the concepts most promoted by international
be used as a powerful instrument of develop- development agencies. However, its objective is to
ment policy and management of natural resource constrain sovereign government freedom of action
extraction. This is amply demonstrated by the by subjecting it to the power of national and inter-
imperial history of Western nations. Perversely, it national markets that are highly manipulated by
follows that measures taken both now by authori- Western core economic interests (Gill 1995; Cooke
tarian regimes and historically by former colonial 2003). As Hindress (2001:35) comments succinctly:
administrations, to establish and legally secure
property rules and rights and to ensure that all “[w]hile modern democracy allows
transactions follow the rule of the market, are an citizens only a limited role in the gov-
integral part of liberal policy and reasoning. ernment of the state to which they
1
Research Center for Resources and Rural Development, Hanoi, Vietnam. Email: mb5k-rddl@asahi-net.or.jp14 SPC Traditional Marine Resource Management and Knowledge Information Bulletin #36 – April 2016
belong, it is often sought to secure a Lamentably, there is nothing new about such
degree of legitimacy for the activi- deception, since there are many examples from the
ties of the state which other regimes colonial era that had a major and lasting impact
are unable to match. It is this, rather on pre-existing systems for managing fisheries
than the expansion of popular control resources (Ruddle 1994a, b, c). Impacts were espe-
itself, that particularly appeals to the cially severe where large-scale and permanent
development agencies and financial European settlement occurred, and where indig-
institutions which promote democ- enous property concepts and rights were not recog-
racy as a fundamental component of nized, or if recognized initially, as in New Zealand,
good governance.” were gradually overwritten and forgotten. In New
Zealand, for example, despite a vital and well-doc-
Hindress (2001:37) appropriately concludes: “… umented fisheries tradition and a treaty intended
international neo-liberalism is the most powerful, to protect Maori property, the rights of indigenous
and consequently also the most dangerous, liberal- fisheries were gradually usurped. In the begin-
ism of our time.” ning, European settlers made little use of marine
resources, but as the Maori population declined,
The historical roots of problems their land rights diminished, and laws effectively
dispossessed them of their fishing rights, Euro-New
It has been widely argued that the antecedents Zealanders gradually came to dominate fishing. Fiji
of modern Western economic power and domi- provides an excellent example of a blatant attempt
neering attitudes are embedded as nascent forms by local colonial officials to destroy a pre-existing
in imperial and colonial behavior (Wallerstein fisheries management system in favor of expatriate
1974–1989; Giddens 1990; Kendall 2001). Stem- entrepreneurs, in defiance of the expressed wishes
ming from this, the underlying cause of problems of the British Crown and the unambiguous orders of
in tropical small-scale fisheries is the projection the metropolitan government. Although the Crown
of Western policies and programmes based on desired that Fijians not be deprived of their custom-
Western models and approaches into areas for ary reef rights, neither royal command nor official
which they are inherently unsuited (Ruddle and British government policy was ever implemented.
Hickey 2008). This stems from a continuing leg- Rather, in 1887 the Acting Governor of Fiji opened
acy of colonialism and cultural imperialism, as all reefs to beche-de-mer fishing by non-Fijians, in
demonstrated in donor and development agency the interests of the economy. Further, via the Rivers
behavior of a continued reliance on unproved and Streams Ordinance of 1882 it was interpreted
models and approaches designed largely by that private fishing rights of Fijians were abol-
Western fisheries biologists, social scientists and ished and that they belonged to the Crown (Ruddle
policy-makers. Whereas non-Western models 2007b).
of proven viability were formerly disparaged
openly, these days disparagement is more sub- In general, Western-trained lawyers believe that
tle; it often takes the form of labeling them as customary law is invalid for upholding legal claims
traditional or special cases, and dismisses them and inferior to the Western legal tradition. This has
with no further examination. been a major external factor that either deliberately
or by default undermined customary law and com-
More commonly, however, it is claimed that pre- munity resource rights (Ruddle 1994a, b, c, 1995
existing management systems either did not exist and 2007a,b). In general, national independence has
or never existed, a common deceit based either changed the situation but little, partly because the
on outright fabrication by those who cleave to devolution of authority conflicts with the basic task
the Western “developmentalist” line, or just plain of nation-building (Ruddle 1994a).
ignorance and/or unwillingness to conduct the
primary field research required to check the exist- Modernization theory, the neocolonialist
ence or not of pre-existing systems in a given local- rationale
ity (Baird 2010; Ruddle 2007a). More common is
the unquestioned parroting that pre-existing sys- In the second half of the twentieth century, the USA
tems have been eroded beyond all hope of recov- based its relationship with newly independent
ery, and so are useless for modern purposes. In the nations on a theory of modernization that guided
Asia-Pacific region, the colonial era had a major its foreign assistance and trade policies, as well as
and lasting impact on pre-existing systems for those toward nationalism and counterinsurgency.
managing nearshore fisheries. Its main impacts At its core was the notion that the economic and
include undermining or displacing traditional ten- political levels of Western industrialized nations
ure systems in conjunction with an added legal were the standard to which all other nations should
complexity, with the Western-based state law at be raised. Non-Western “backwardness” and solu-
odds with local customary law. tions to it were explained by social science theories.SPC Traditional Marine Resource Management and Knowledge Information Bulletin #36 – April
15
The USA perceived that it had a duty and respon- developing countries governments. Beginning with
sibility to instruct and uplift other nations, a sense infrastructural projects as straightforward but ad
of trusteeship integral to its concept of liberal hoc foreign aid, Point Four evolved via import sub-
developmentalism. stitution industrialization into structuralist theories
to overcome the colonial trade patterns that were
The term “development” has been used by the identified as a cause of underdevelopment.
United States (US) government from the beginning
of the twentieth century, at first to distinguish its In addition, Point Four drove some academic social
evangelical civilizing mission from European colo- sciences in the USA, which provided the theory to
nial policies. Under this approach, educational and support the strategy (Pletsch 1981), and so enjoyed
medical institutions were an extension of Christian enormous prestige within the national security
evangelical missions, and development was pre- establishment (Cooper and Randall 1997). Major
sented as a “spiritual” or “conversion experience”. players rode the merry-go-round from federal
This subterfuge is illustrated by the activities of appointments to foundation boards to university
the Rockefeller Institution for Medical Research in faculty positions. Supported by the Ford Founda-
China during the 1920s and 1930s, which focused tion and other institutions (Simpson 1998), uni-
on implanting and nurturing transferred institu- versities set up Area Studies Centers to conduct
tions and ways of thinking. applied research useful to government. The Ford
and Rockefeller foundations also funded the Center
In the 1930s and 1940s, the approach was supported for International Studies at MIT, the interdiscipli-
by US academic social scientists with techniques nary illuminati of which included W.W. Rostow, an
for research and analysis that lent the sociology of economist whose development model of a universal
modernization a statistical and pseudo-scientific five stages modernization process was grounded in
aura. International comparative studies became the the history and national interest of the USA (Ros-
vogue, as exemplified by the work of sociologist tow 1960). According to Rostow’s thinking, to pre-
Talcott Parsons, who employed national account- serve its momentum the USA must expand world
ing to measure changes in the relative economic trade and increase its exports. He also asserted that
efficiency of nations. By the mid-1940s it was essen- humanitarianism and selfishness go together, since,
tially agreed that modernization included five uni- regarding development, the US national interest
versally valid main precepts. These were: and that of the rest of humanity were inseparable
(Latham 2000).
1. tradition is everywhere basically uniform,
so problems of development would also be However, by the late 1960s Rostow’s theory had
uniform; been refuted by academics, who were themselves
ditched by international assistance institutions
2. there is a universal linear path to modernity,
and replaced by either tame in-house experts or
with the same stages of development culminat-
think tanks to create strategies and justifications
ing in Western levels of urban industrialism and
for aid. Academics replaced Rostow’s ideas with
consumerism;
dependency theory, focusing on the processes of
3. development can be accelerated, mainly by underdevelopment rather than the dynamics of
contact with developed societies and central development (Packenham 1992). But that too was
planning; attacked in the 1980s and early 1990s. The recent
and mostly academic approaches of post-colonial
4. development is a process of releasing restrained
and post-modernism relocated the study of power
energies and resources, therefore pre-existing
relations from economic development toward cul-
systems and thought must be destroyed to ena-
ture and knowledge creation. Because these were
ble progress to take its natural course; and
seen has having little applicability to development,
5. all states wish to modernize, and the USA could doctrine continued to evolve within the US Agency
the lead this global movement. for International Development, the World Bank,
and United Nations (UN) agencies.
Contrary to the widely held notion, the Marshall
Plan did not provide the model for later moderni- The rationale and methods of development were
zation schemes. Rather, Point Four (1949), which also seriously challenged by the environmental
was explicitly linked to the strategic and economic movement, and especially by the highly influential
objectives of the US, provided the example. It books of Carson (Silent Spring, 1962), Ehrlich (The
licensed an unprecedented scale of intervention by Population Bomb, 1968), Meadows et al. (The Limits
the US in other countries’ affairs, such that Western to Growth, 1972), and Schumacher (Small is Beautiful,
economists almost took over the management of 1973). That seemingly irreconcilable difference was
sovereign governments, and comprehensive devel- mitigated in 1987, when the Brundtland Report pop-
opment role virtually became the solemn duty of ularized “sustainable development”, an essentially16 SPC Traditional Marine Resource Management and Knowledge Information Bulletin #36 – April 2016
vapid term that at once is both scientifically unsat- The latest body of evidence emerged in the 1990s,
isfactory yet totally inoffensive, and therefore is when Adams (1992), Adams and Fitchett (1992),
perfectly suited to the requirements of international Bouman (1990), and Bouman and Hospes (1994)
conference reporting and UN agency documenta- showed the widespread importance of informal
tion. Notably, it provided a way for environmental- financial systems in poorer nations, and, contrary
ists and development specialists to collaborate, and to stereotypical thinking, that well-functioning pre-
was an approved way of channeling dissent. existing credit schemes are neither uncommon nor
necessarily exploitative. Subsequently, rural credit
Nevertheless, US government policy adhered to arrangements have been revealed as both heteroge-
the idealized vision of the North Atlantic nations neous and segmented, with the coexistence of “for-
as the norm to which all nations aspire. During mal” and “informal” credit markets being widely
the Reagan administration, it adopted structural reported for Asia (e.g. Bardhan and Udry 1999;
adjustment, with a withdrawal of the state from Barslund and Tarp 2003; Duong and Izumida 2002;
the economy and privatization, the lifting of import Yadav et al. 1992; Ruddle 2011), and other regions
and exchange controls, the dependence on legal (Ruddle 2011).
codes and standards to regulate trade, and the sub-
jection of all sectors of the economy and society to However, that work has been largely overlooked by
market discipline. the predominantly economist development practi-
tioners. Yamey (1964) attributed their failure to con-
Although, on paper at least, modernization theory sider local studies to a concern with entire national
undoubtedly mobilized global humanitarianism economic sectors, like foreign trade or public
and enabled the poor to a share in “progress”, it finance, and a preference for distilled reports rather
has much to answer for because it simultaneously than primary studies. Although to be expected half
hyped illusion and imbued it with an aura of pseu- a century ago, this explanation omits the underlying
doscience. But far worse is that it virtually issued culprit, “modernization” based on Western models
a carte blanche to avarice, self-interest and, some- (Ruddle and Hickey 2008; Ruddle and Satria 2010a,
times, ghastly intervention. As a consequence, b).
development aid has become a vast industry and
an integral part of international relations. (2) The myth of open access
Some deceits of modernization theory Another and much discussed deceit is the Myth of
Open Access. This was grounded in and popularized
(1) Informal credit in fisheries by Hardin’s (1968) generalized model of the tragedy
of the commons, and the collective action responses
One uncomplicated illustration of the stereotypi- to it. By definition, this is an abstract simplification
cal ideas promoted by the modernization theory of a wide range of realities, which accounts both for
to either dismiss or destroy pre-existing systems its appeal and the controversial nature of its postula-
is provided by informal credit, which, in the tion of the universal irreconcilability of the behavior
small-scale fisheries of developing countries, were of individual resource users with the sustainability of
invariably condemned as lacking transparency and the resources they exploit. But much of the criticism
accountability, with money-lenders characteristi- of Hardin’s model is best leveled at the dogmatic
cally demanding high interest rates under onerous interpretation of it by users. Despite its shortcom-
conditions that might include catch-sale bondage, ings, the straightforward assumptions of Hardin’s
obligatory boat rental, or tied purchase of sup- model have been of enormous importance in stimu-
plies (Ruddle 2011). Although several cases have lating great awareness of and research on the nature
described particularly onerous conditions within of the relationship between property regimes and
convoluted credit system in South Asian small- patterns of natural resource use. Regrettably, Har-
scale fisheries (e.g. Aghazadeh 1994; Khan et al., din’s thesis has been used widely to influence opin-
2005; Rahman et al. 2002), such situations are not ion and to justify the change of effective and efficient
the norm. Evidence to the contrary was demon- pre-existing common property management systems
strated in the 1940s by Raymond Firth in his clas- to those either controlled by the state or privately, on
sic study, Malay Fishermen (Firth 1966). Further, the false promise of better limiting access to resources
contrary widespread evidence was provided by (e.g. Ostrom 1990; Andelson 1991; Steins et al. 2000).
scholars examining client-patron relationships, and
another group that includes Merlijn (1989), Platteau Hardin’s (1968) tragedy‑of‑the‑commons model
and Abraham (1987), Stirrat (1974), and Yap (1978), is the principal Western theory held to account
who focused on the role of middlemen in fishing for problems in certain fisheries. But this model is
communities, and who challenged the established grounded in the erroneous notion that the misuse of
view by emphasizing the range of social and eco- fishery resources stems from the institution of com-
nomic functions they perform. mon property. Thus, fisheries must be managed toSPC Traditional Marine Resource Management and Knowledge Information Bulletin #36 – April
17
mitigate the selfish and myopic behavior of fisher- terms of inclusion and exclusion, use rights are con-
men consequent upon fisheries being a classic exam- fined to restricted groups, such as cooperatives, vil-
ple of a common property resource. This has been lagers, clans, and the like. That makes it imperative
widely viewed as the predominant pattern of indi- to understand in each local situation both the con-
viduals. The proposition asserts that inherent in the cepts of resources, property rights and regimes and
exploitation of common property resources is the ten- institutional arrangements, together with the inter-
dency to physical wastage of the resource, an incen- relationships among them. Resource use is managed
tive to overexploitation by users, leading inexorably by locally recognized and sanctioned rights and
to the now familiar “tragedy of the commons”, and a rules that clarify resource ownership and structure,
tendency toward economic wastage via overcapital and regulate the individual and group behavior of
ization of the industry, and eventual impoverishment resource users toward each other and their property.
of fishing communities and immobility of labor. To Such local institutional arrangements may differ
counteract these inherent tendencies, so the conven- widely (Nguyen and Ruddle 2010; Ruddle 1994b,
tional theory runs, management by authorities exter- 1996a, b, c, 2007a; Ruddle and Johannes 1990; Ruddle
nal to fishing communities is required. Generally, it and Satria 2010a, b). No resource is everywhere man-
is accepted that the replacement of common prop- aged by any single property regime: rather, in some
erty regimes by systems of controlled access could places or in certain periods a given resource may be
either eliminate or ameliorate excess effort. Although managed as common property, whereas elsewhere or
there is no unanimity of opinion concerning the opti- at another time it is managed under a private regime
mal design of such systems, they have been widely (Khumsri 2008, 2010; Khumsri et al. 2008). Prevail-
implemented, together with catch quotas, gear and/ ing management regimes are essentially a product
or seasonal limitations, licensing, or a combination of socio-political conditions, and, thus, the categories
of these and other elements. All share the common are often blurred. The complex variety of possible
characteristic of assigning fish harvesting rights to situations demands specific, local investigation in
selected individuals, who then receive all or part of every instance.
the economic rent created by the reduction in effort.
Further, those idealized property regimes of state,
As is well known, a fundamental criticism of the private, common or communal, and none (or open
model is that it fails to examine a commons in terms access) regimes might coexist in a single area, for
of its specific social and cultural contexts, and so does different types of resources, thus resources can be
not account for local customs and behavior that often exploited under several types of property regime,
greatly modify patterns of natural resource use. In whose nature will depend on their geographical and
short, it is wrong under many circumstances. Deple- temporal location (Khumsri et al. 2008). Alterna-
tion of common property resources is, thus, by no tively, depending on the composition of the rights, a
means inevitable, and, as is well documented, com- single resource or resource area might be embraced
mons-owners may collectively agree to implement by more than one category of right. In Japan, for
sound resource management practices. The nature of example, exclusive plots for aquaculture use are
human impact on such resources will vary, mainly leased within common fisheries rights areas (Ruddle
according to such factors as the strength and appro- 1987). And de facto and de jure rights coincide within
priateness of local rules governing usage, and the a single fishery. Further, property rights and regimes
opportunity costs of exploiting the commons while and associated rules change as physical, biological,
foregoing the use of other resources. The nature of technological, economic, political, social, and other
such community behavior, especially regarding deci- conditions in a locality or country change (Khumsri
sion‑making, reduces “free rider” behavior, such that 2008, 2010; Khumsri et al. 2008). Fisheries in particu-
it cannot be assumed that users of common property lar are often mixed systems with characteristics that
resources are always selfish, operate on the basis of change through time. Thus, it is critical to distinguish
perfect information about resources and the compe- between a resource and a property regime under
tition, and, unhampered by social sanctions, seek to which it is held (Bromley 1989; Ostrom 1986).
maximize private short‑term benefits while transfer-
ring maximum costs to the public sector. It has been Fishermens’ territoriality is widespread, in both
conclusively demonstrated that many fishers do not Western and non‑Western societies. Often it can
behave in this fashion. be regarded as a transformation of an open access
resource to a commons, by the de facto local creation
This flaw arose in many applications of the model internal boundaries within the larger space, thereby
because it was incorrectly assumed that a common creating a nested set boundaries used under state and
property resource is always synonymous with open customary laws, respectively. Such a situation also
access resource, as has long since been demonstrated. arises under state law when fishermen’s behavior is
It is not; common property is not accessible to all modified and local boundaries are created by gear,
people (Ciriacy‑Wantrup and Bishop 1975). Rather, size or other restrictions. Territoriality is a fundamen-
since a common property resource is defined by tally important concept, in that it facilitates restrictive18 SPC Traditional Marine Resource Management and Knowledge Information Bulletin #36 – April 2016
rules and regulations governing access to, the use of, the activity of governing performed by a govern-
and distribution of the fruits of resources. Territorial- ment. The term “global governance” pertains to the
ity is regarded as a critical component of institutions international system of relationships between inde-
required to ensure resource conservation. pendent states, and particularly trends within the
international system since the end of World War II
Also stemming from the failure to examine cases in that include an increased regulation of trans-border
context is the ascription of resource depletion and or global issues likesuch as the environment, and
economic impoverishment to the nature of property a greater role for non-state entities and global civil
rights. Although there can be no doubt that open society (Rosenau 1999).
access regimes are particularly deleterious, the real
problem lies in the response: generally either to the It is important to understand that governance is
imposition of alternative management regimes by scale-neutral because its range of operation extends
external authorities or to some form of privatiza- from a single person to all humans, and it is func-
tion, on the erroneous assumption that private prop- tionally neutral. If it is accepted that a moral or
erty is both resource conservative and economically natural purpose of governance is to assure, via a
beneficial, in contrast to common property. Other hierarchy of administrative elements and political
actual or potential alternative management regimes processes, a generally beneficial reconciliation of
are ignored. various opinions and divergent interests, the term
“governance” may be applied to any purposeful
The dogmatic interpretation of Hardin’s model activity engaged in by any number of people, and
can be faulted for contributing to the polarization include, nation-states, international organizations,
between local resource users and central or local corporations, non-governmental organizations, and
governments. This has been exacerbated by overly fishing villages.
enthusiastic researchers exaggerating the social wis-
dom and ecological perceptiveness of the former The term “governmentality” is more complex and
while belittling the latter. This again is a result of the implies purposeful manipulation of the governed
failure to place resource systems within their larger by the government. The concept was developed
social and cultural contexts, particularly by resource during the late 1970s and early 1980s by Michel
economists, some of who seem unable to distinguish Foucault, and elaborated in the 1990s in the social
cultural from social factors! In many cases, resource sciences (e.g. Burchell et al. 1991 and Rose 1996,
depletion is better seen as a result of the policies of 1999). For present purposes, the focal aspects of
past colonial or of the present governments of the governmentality are, first, the way governments
independent nations that replaced them. attempt to produce a citizenry to fulfill a govern-
ment’s policies, and, second, the organized prac-
Manipulation toward global governmentality tices (mentalities, rationalities and techniques) used
to govern subjects. In other words, governmentality
The term globalization is not used here “…to is the carefully calculated means of directing and
account for the processes, agents, policies and par- manipulating how people behave (Jeffreys and Sig-
ticular events which give rise to a world in which ley 2009).
global flows, mobilities and networks disrupt a pre-
ordained world of nation states” (Larner and Wal- Thus, for neoliberalism to function as designed,
ters 2001:16). Rather, the perspective taken is that individuals must be induced or educated to accept
of global governmentality, which focuses on the full responsibility for the conduct of their own
fundamental manipulative forces that have brought lives (Rose 1999) because it links reduced state
the world to its present situation, and form the welfare and security to a condition where citizens
broad context in which fisheries – and all renewable are free, enterprising, and autonomous individu-
natural resources – are ordained to be managed. als. In that way, intrusive state bureaucracies and
religion-based moral standards dwindle as subjects
Here it is necessary to digress briefly to clarify usage increasingly govern themselves. Through the trans-
in this essay of the terms “government”, “govern- formation of subjects with duties and obligations,
ance” and “governmentality”. For the term govern- into individuals, with rights and freedoms, mod-
ment, standard social science usage is followed to ern individuals are not merely free to choose but
mean both a defined administrative bureaucracy obliged to be free “to understand and enact their
that controls a nation-state, and the structure of the lives in terms of choice” (Rose 1999:87).
governing organization that enables the employ-
ment and deployment of state power, the enforce- Eco-governmentality is a sub-field of so-called polit-
ment of existing laws and legislation new ones, ical ecology that emerged in the mid-1990s with the
arbitration of conflicts, and the monopoly of legiti- work of Luke (1999), Darier (1999) and Rutherford
mized violence (Barclay 1990; Bealey 1999; Flint (1999). It examines specific social and environmen-
and Taylor 2007). “Governance” is used to signify tal relationships and links them with location-freeSPC Traditional Marine Resource Management and Knowledge Information Bulletin #36 – April
19
national and international systems of governance. it describes an increase the worldwide scale of the
The approach is useful for studies of trans-border interconnectedness of cultural, environmental and
environmental and other change, and in particular social phenomena. The term has been applied to
for tracking the cross-scales impacts and implica- commercial, ecological, economic, financial, organi-
tions of policy, from the individual, through the zational, religious, spiritual and trade activities,
fishing village and domestic region, to the state, among a great many of the processes and structures
and then to global organizations and corporations. (Ruddle 2007b). Although identified with various
The approach focuses on how government and trends that developed largely during the last half-
producers of expert or specialized knowledge con- century, it can be argued that the substance of glo-
struct the environment to design and implement balization does not connote anything particularly
management that facilitates a government’s goal new, since the integration of the modern global
of controlling subjects’ lives by inducing individu- economy started seriously with the beginning of
als and small groups first to internalize and then to European global rampages, 500 years ago.
disseminate the knowledge and power to eventu-
ally create a self-regulating network with goals that However, the process really accelerated and became
coincide with those of the state. The process appears integrated some three decades ago with the simul-
to be subtle and non-coercive because it structures taneous rapid advances in computer technology,
and rationalizes behavior and local participation in removal of barriers to free movement of goods and
defining problems, implementation, management, capital, and huge increases in global reach in the
and monitoring interventions. political and economic power of multinational cor-
porations. The speed and intensity of modern com-
The process is exemplified by the way in which munications is unique in history. It is this awesome
territory is brought under State control, and how speed of contemporary communication combined
human interaction of with it regulated (e.g. Braun with the portability, increasingly low cost, stand-
2000, 2003; Scott 1998), through measurement of ardization and integration of the required hardware
natural resources for the purposes of extraction and software that now enables the process of glo-
that “... allowed the state to impose that logic on balization to penetrate into the remotest corners of
the very reality that was observed” (Scott 1998:14), the world, and to tie hitherto isolated fishing com-
thereby simplifying complex ecosystems and munities, for example, into the mainstream of the
depicting them as straightforward sites for resource world fish trade (Quibria et al. 2002; Abraham 2007;
extraction. Management changes the ecosystem Jensen 2007; Donner and Escobari 2010). Such a
composition by selective planting, harvesting and thing could never have occurred at the apogee of
extraction, so eventually the once natural ecosys- the British Empire, for example. Then, at the colo-
tem resembles the way it is depicted in the simpli- nial policy level in London, it is possible to accept
fied bureaucratic systems used to measure them. the concept of colonial era globalization, based on a
Indeed Scott (1998:23) shows how in early modern standard policy.
Europe scientific forestry models made by state for-
esters formed part of a more comprehensive body “But at the local level implementa-
of statistical knowledge assembled to manage a tion diverged widely, and substantial
population and facilitate “taxation, political con- differences arose in each location. At
trol, and conscription”. Similarly Braun (2000:27) that level globalization disintegrated.
demonstrates how the Geological Survey of Can- Regardless of local differences in
ada measurement and representation of the mineral political and economic conditions,
composition of a territory enabled the government which were substantial, this must in
“... to manage individuals, goods and wealth so as large part be attributed to the inability
to improve the condition of the state’s population.” of central colonial officials in London
to confirm and repeatedly check that
Since the types of knowledge produced to make policies were being implemented as
nature intelligible to the state strongly influence the intended. Without a rapid means of
evolution of state rationality, Luke (1999) argues communication, that could never be
that the ecological domain is now the key area for attained.” (Ruddle 2007b:217)
the production of knowledge and power, which
began in the early 1970s with increased awareness The illusion of globalization
of ecological limits to human development. Produc-
tion, knowledge and power became “environmen- Nevertheless, despite its vintage and pedigree, the
talized” and known as eco-governmentality. actual meaning and full implications of the term
globalization, generally remain poorly understood.
In contrast, the term “globalization” is a recent con- However, the concept solidifies when it is made
coction that describes a very old process in inter- clear that globalization is thoroughly rooted in
national human relationships. As currently used, colonialism. Global trade was the supreme raison20 SPC Traditional Marine Resource Management and Knowledge Information Bulletin #36 – April 2016
d’être of the colonial era, which was based on the speculative investors suddenly pulling their money
straightforward concept that metropolitan power out of the region. The human and social costs of this
plundered colonial raw materials and dumped collapse devastated millions of families and small
European manufactured goods on the colonies in businesses. The International Monetary Fund (IMF)
return. Wealth enriched the metropolitan countries, was widely blamed as the source of this economic
and what was returned to the colonies was in the disaster because of its orthodox economic policies
form of investment in physical and administrative that undermine the market and the long-term sta-
infrastructures to facilitate the continuous plunder bility of economies and societies. From this devas-
of their natural resources. tating crisis doubts about the benefits corporate-led
globalization began to spread.
The concept underlying such a disarmingly sim-
ple model was, and remains, that everybody eve- A key in understanding contemporary globaliza-
rywhere eventually benefits from the increase in tion is the structural changes that have occurred in
trade. As a result, export led trade is the dominant the world economy since the early 1970s, when the
factor in the global economy, and expansion of fixed currency-exchange rules by which world trade
exports is now seemingly regarded as the sole way had been managed since 1944 became dysfunctional.
of growth. That is a cruel illusion, because most This has been manipulated by Western govern-
of the resultant wealth accrues to the already rich, ments, a process largely controlled by the USA. In
industrialized nations that already account for the July 1944, the Allied powers met at a UN monetary
bulk of world trade. and financial conference held in Bretton Woods, in
order to create a new framework for managing the
However, comparisons between globalization in the post-war global economy. Because the conference
colonial era and the present are simplistic, because was dominated by the USA, it adopted a system
they mask its vast impact on societies and ecosys- based on the free movement of goods, with the US
tems. Contemporary globalization is underlain by dollar (USD) becoming the main instrument of inter-
the negative values that drive the world economy. national exchange and linked to gold at a fixed price
Principal among them are the extreme faith placed of USD 35 an ounce. In this way, the Allied nations
in the particularly Anglo-American philosophy of who originally met at Bretton Woods in 1944 have
the “magic of the marketplace”, money as the prin- maintained their clout in the world economic sys-
cipal if not sole criterion of value, the “cult of suc- tem, to the detriment of poorer and less powerful
cess”, and the doctrine of laissez-faire capitalism that nations. They created and have carefully maintained
the common good is best served by uninhibited self- a playing field that is level only for them.
interest. The modern marketplace is dominated by
enormous transnational corporations, with neither At the same conference the IMF, the International
local nor national allegiances, and that are managed Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD,
by professionals. better known as the World Bank), and the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)/World
Around 1980, fundamentalist free-market govern- Trade Organization (WTO) were established to
ments in the United Kingdom and the US imple- govern and coordinate the global economy, based
mented policies based on deregulation, balanced on global competition and corporate enterprise.
budgets, low inflation, privatization, government The main function is to provide short-term, emer-
directed by the market, and corporate global free- gency loans to countries. Such loans are determined
dom. Deregulation of international financial markets by a quota system, and voting power in the IMF is
was the cornerstone to such policy, so as to enable based on member countries’ level of financial con-
financial institutions to expand international opera- tributions to the institution. As a result, the rich
tions, particularly providing their financial services nations dominated decision-making. The IBRD was
in poor countries. Since modern communications established to meet the reconstruction of nations
allow lightning-fast investment of surplus cash devastated by WWII, initially by providing loans
anywhere a swift profit could be made, the relaxed for physical infrastructure, agricultural develop-
rules regarding financial capital soon became a ment, and the development of education. It later
major destabilizing influence on the global econ- switched its focus from reconstruction to develop-
omy, particularly because of the speculative nature ment in the newly independent countries. Owing to
of most such investment, particularly in developing a lack of agreement at Bretton Woods, GATT/WTO
countries. International speculative investment was began in 1947 by establishing rules for the global
totally unconcerned with its impact on local socie- trade in industrial goods alone. This was done with
ties and national economies because its concern was the objective of reducing national trade barriers to
to make money from money, and not the produc- stop the vicious competition manifested in the trade
tion of real goods and services. A vivid example of policies that so damaged the global economy before
this occurred in July 1997, with the collapse of the World War II. In 1994 GATT was replaced by the
east Asian currencies caused by nervous short-term WTO, which functions as a forum for negotiationsSPC Traditional Marine Resource Management and Knowledge Information Bulletin #36 – April
21
and enforcement of resultant agreements. In addi- In 1973, the New International Economic Order was
tion to trade agreements, WTO also included a new endorsed by the summit of nonaligned nations, and
General Agreement on Trade in Services, which had shortly thereafter adopted by a Sixth Special Ses-
the objective of reducing variance to investment sion of the UN. In 1974 the UN General Assembly
in over 160 areas that would include, in addition approved the “Charter of Economic Rights and
to trade goods, basic needs in areas such as water, Duties of Nations”, which endorsed the sover-
health care, education, and in addition telecom- eignty of nations over their natural resources, the
munications, banking and investment, transport right of countries depending on a small number of
and the environment. In other words, the General primary resources to form cartels, and a statement
Agreement on Trade in Services provided enor- of principles for a new international economic order
mous business opportunities for the global expan- as a suppression (solidarity of the oppressed) was
sion of multilateral corporations. issued. The newly independent nations set out col-
lectively to challenge the power of Western nations.
From the very start these organizations were However, their efforts were an expression of poli-
perceived of as continuing Western domination ticians and intellectuals who realized that global
(Stiglitz 2003). They are also extremely opaque inequalities could never be reduced in the market-
organizations (Stiglitz 2003). There has been grow- place, and that terms of trade would be the mecha-
ing unease about the institutions’ agenda of globali- nism for creating an international economic system
zation, and in particular of the Dispute Resolution based on just relationships among nations.
Board (DRB), which enables the WTO to approve
tough trade sanctions against members who might Although the nonaligned movement started as
disagree with its interpretation of global trade a way to escape the polarization of the East-West
rules. Previously, all member states of GATT had struggle, it soon became a mechanism for ena-
to agree about disciplining a member. However, bling developing nations to come together. In the
now the DRB appoints a panel of experts who try meantime in the UN, these same countries form
a case in camera. It decides on sanctions, which the Group of 77, which promotes the development
can be overcome only if every member state of the of the UN Conference on Trade and Development,
WTO opposes them; an impossibility, because the within which Third World countries then push for
plaintiff state would not do so! Primacy is given to fairer terms of trade. The principle underlying idea
trade because national environmental laws, labor was to intervene in the marketplace to regulate the
policies, cultural protection, food self-sufficiency, or supply of primary commodities and ensure steady
any other policy held or formulated in the national prices that would benefit both producer and con-
interest is open to attack for being an unfair impedi- sumer. However, the new international economic
ment to free trade. The national treatment clause order was not supported by Western nations,
essentially prevents a country from discriminat- whose superior position it would undermine, and
ing against products of foreign origin, regardless of Third World nations were unable to achieve a focus,
the basis for such discrimination. In other words, owing to their lack of political power.
the WTO system is biased in favor of rich Western
nations, and essentially removes the power of sov- A boom in the primary commodity values, par-
ereign governments to formulate policy, even if it ticularly of petroleum in 1972–1977, gave OPEC
best serves its own people. For example, accord- nations huge budgetary surpluses, some of which
ing to WTO rules a nation wishing to prohibit an were used for infrastructural development. How-
import that it deems harmful to public health must ever, huge amounts were placed by Western
first prove its case scientifically, before it can ban investment institutions, or deposited in banks
such an import. that lent them to developing country govern-
ments to fund development and pay for expensive
In the 1960s and early 1970s, non-Western nations imported petroleum products. Universally, petro-
tried strenuously to escape from the legacy of colo- leum-based fuel prices skyrocketed, contributing
nialism and obtain economic justice. One success- to rampant inflation when economic growth was
ful direct effort was the creation of the Organization low. At that time US President Nixon unilater-
of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), a cartel ally both uncoupled the US dollar from gold and
to control the supply of petroleum to force price devalued the US dollar. This had meant develop-
increases and achieve greater national incomes for ing nations had suddenly to service or repay their
the benefit of their populations. Also, there was loans in devalued US dollars, and at higher inter-
increasingly vocal opposition to transnational cor- est rates, thereby enormously increasing the debts
porations, who were conceived of as reconstructing of non-oil-producing nations. To facilitate that,
the world for their own exclusive benefit. However, Western banks lent large amounts at very low rates
when the less powerful nations attempted to raise of interest. Although some of the money was used
the prices for their primary products, they were as intended, much was put to frivolous uses, and
thwarted by the corporations. much was simply stolen outright.22 SPC Traditional Marine Resource Management and Knowledge Information Bulletin #36 – April 2016
As it encountered financial difficulties, the IMF private transnational corporations now drive
entered the picture to enforce harsh conditionalities economic globalization, and many of them wield
when countries applied for assistance to overcome more power than do smaller nations. The values of
temporary balance of payments problems. Nations efficiency and competition that drive business now
were forced to follow the advice of IMF economists, also dominate debates on social policy, the public
who argued that problems arose from excessive interest, and the role of government. Corporations
demand in domestic economies because of excessive are driven and structured by monopoly and profit,
imports and too few exports. The IMF insisted that and have scant regard for social, environmental, or
structural adjustments would solve the problem. local level and family economic consequences of
This would slow the domestic demand for imports their business. Less commonly appreciated is the
and boost exports. Nations were forced to adopt role of transnational corporations in destroying
these austerity measures, or risk being shunned by cultural diversity, via the homogeneous commer-
the international economic community. In 1985 the cial culture and products sales strategies they have
conditionalities were formalized by the Baker Plan, introduced worldwide.
which called on the World Bank and IMF to impose
wider adjustments on national economic policies. This is nothing but a Western template for its percep-
As is well known, the conditionalities imposed tion of a “good life” spread worldwide. As an inevi-
by the World Bank and IMF included privatizing table and integral part of its inexorable spread, local
state-owned enterprises, reducing the size and cost cultures are devalued, and the social relationships
of governments through large-scale layoffs in the that formerly characterized families and commu-
public sector, cutting basic social services and sub- nities are weakened. Local systems of governance
sidies on essential foodstuffs, and reducing barriers and local institutions, like credit systems in rural
to trade. These further depleted economies and had communities, are swept aside as a global monocul-
a major impact on health and welfare of the poor, ture now characterizes societies worldwide, even in
and export commodities were given priority over the remotest areas (Norberg-Hodge 1999). This has
the production of basic foodstuffs and other domes- gone hand-in-hand with an almost manic mantra of
tic necessities. privatization, downsizing of government, acquisi-
tions and mergers that eliminate competition, and
As a consequence, the 1980s was essentially a lost the introduction of business practices to education,
decade for most developing countries, during welfare, and health systems, all of which have been
which growth stagnated and debt doubled. Worse, accompanied by massive job losses. In addition to
much of the credit obtained after structural adjust- selling off public assets, governments constantly
ment conditionalities were implemented went to seek to attract private foreign investment, itself is
servicing the interest payments on pre-existing no guarantee of economic progress since relatively
loans made from financial institutions and rich little goes into productive activities and foreign
Western countries. Little remained for productive exchange is siphoned off as corporations remit their
investment, such that the conditionalities of struc- profits overseas. Commonly too, multilateral corpo-
tural adjustment programmes took funds away rations produce for the local market, thereby elimi-
from education and health. In effect, poor nations nating domestic competition through their superior
sent capital to rich Western institutions. Further, as efficiency and business methods. Governments of
a consequence of those actions, the IMF and World poor sovereign nations cannot intervene, as they
Bank undoubtedly achieved a level of control over are bound by international agreements on free
sovereign states that was unheard of even during trade and investment. Thus, their very sovereignty
the colonial era. is undermined further.
The debt of developing nations has very little to do Deregulation of global finance combined with light-
with economics, but everything to do with Western ning-fast communication has led to an enormous
determination to continue dominating the world surge in international capital flows that enormously
politically and economically (Stiglitz 2003; George destabilize the global economy. Speculation now
2004). No Western power would voluntarily aban- far exceeds productive investment, and has caused
don such a lucrative set-up. Structural adjustment the recent financial crises. A minority of people has
is an integral part the Western capitalistic-hegem- experienced increases, the gap between the rich
onic machine that makes sense only when under- and poor has widened greatly, and impacts on the
stood as part of immoral philosophy that puts environment and overuse of natural resources have
“market fundamentalism” far ahead of the needs increased vastly. As a consequence of lower barriers
of people. Such market fundamentalism, the key- to foreign investment, the largest change that has
stone of Western neoliberalism, is based on an occurred in almost four decades has been in global
unswerving belief in the freedom of private corpo- finance. Foreign exchange transactions now are vir-
rations to trade, invest and move capital wherever tually unrelated to productive investment in real
they wish, with minimum interference. Massive goods or services. Rather, their objective is to profitSPC Traditional Marine Resource Management and Knowledge Information Bulletin #36 – April
23
just from money movements. Such unregulated conviction far and wide. Such solutions commonly
flows of international capital have taken power result in unanticipated consequences and less than
from the people’s representatives (i.e. elected politi- successful results, revealing an unwitting naiveté of
cians), and handed it to rich investors, whose only design based on the inapplicability of principles too
loyalty is to themselves. As a consequence, the commonly taken as universal. Underlying that are
world economy has now changed into a worldwide vague and unsubstantiated, and probably mostly
casino. And in this casino sovereign governments untenable, assumptions in the various approaches
are now hostage to unregulated speculative flows to fisheries management, especially the more recent
of capital. The enormous growth in the finance and ones. More profoundly disturbing is the lack of
investment industry has been intimately linked to appreciation of the deep and inherent contradic-
the technological revolution in computing and tele- tions between those approaches and the now pre-
communications. Now the billions of dollars can be dominant and worldwide force of neoliberalism.
invested around the world within seconds using
a personal computer. Making money in this way A fundamental set of related issues seems mostly to
depends on volatility, not stability, and certainly have been shied away from, and therefore not hith-
not on long-term investment. It is characterized erto examined comprehensively. As discussed in
by astoundingly fast turning of quick profits and this essay, in particular the underlying and largely
fast, herd-like exit from an investment in the mere hidden issues of general development philosophy
glimmer of financial difficulties, as in the Southeast and global economic directions and philosophy are
Asian financial crisis of mid-1997. not examined in the context of small-scale fisher-
ies. These are the major global issues forming the
Concluding comments context in which small-scale fisheries are perceived
by outsiders, and that shape local operational prob-
Regardless of one’s ideological standpoint, there is lems and solutions to them.
no escaping the fact that all economy depends on
the natural environment and the maintenance of The underlying cause of small-scale fisheries prob-
a healthy and productive functioning of ecologi- lems in tropical countries is the hegemonistic behav-
cal systems. The Western industrial model of pro- ior of the Western core. Hegemonism is manifestly
duction and constant growth has consumed vast at work when approaches to the administration and
quantities non-renewable natural resources since management of fisheries applied in Western coun-
the Industrial Revolution. Ecosystems and natural tries that have either failed to achieve anticipated
resources are being eradicated at an alarming rate, successes in the West, or are based on unvalidated
and the production of waste exceeds the world’s assumptions, are advocated for use in the vastly
ecosystems’ capacity to absorb it and regenerate different conditions of the tropical world, where, in
themselves. Although most concern focuses on the contrast, there exist many examples of pre-existing
supply of food, hydrocarbons, and industrial raw systems that have long worked well. Nevertheless,
materials, more alarming is the destruction of such either directly through development assistance or
fundamental life-support systems as fresh water, indirectly through international organizations or
atmospheric quality, and ecosystem functions. increasingly through commercial means, Western
Human economic activity has overstressed global nations continue to promote failed Western systems
ecosystems such that the well being of future gen- while denying the usefulness of proven non-West-
erations is threatened (MEA 2005). The wealthy eco- ern systems.
nomic and financial systems have had a major role
in causing this situation. IMF conditionalities have In short, tropical small-scale fisheries are handi-
contributed to this because their demands for help- capped by bias and the underlying reason for their
ing government expenditure often have resulted in mismanagement is the implementation of policies
spending cuts on environmental protection, and the and programmes based on Western models and
like (FOE 1999). Poverty is also no friend of environ- approaches, coupled with an inability and/or
mental protection because people have no option unwillingness to consider non-Western alterna-
but to exploit resources to sustain their own lives. tives of empirically proven value. This is based
on a continuing legacy of colonialism and associ-
Despite decades of effort, the practical problems ated attitudes that remain embedded in donor
that affect millions of small-scale fish harvesters and and development agency behavior. It is strongly
their dependents are not well understood, except by manifested in a relative lack of understanding of
the fishermen and their families, of course. Although tropical milieu and a persistence of various preju-
only relatively recently acknowledged by various dices, and is exacerbated by the Western struc-
types of advocates, activists and fisheries profes- ture of knowledge and the division of academic
sionals, nevertheless a variety of problems that are disciplines, together with the temperate bias in
presumed to afflict small-scale fisheries, and often conventional approaches to fisheries education
ill-considered solutions to them, are scattered with and management. Further, although known fromYou can also read
