Date of Completion
5-1-2017
Embargo Period
10-26-2017
Keywords
East Timor, Fair Trade, Historical Institutionalism, Nicaragua, Social Welfare
Major Advisor
Shareen Hertel
Associate Advisor
Oksan Bayulgen
Associate Advisor
Lyle Scruggs
Associate Advisor
Bradley Simpson
Associate Advisor
Debanuj Dasgupta
Field of Study
Political science
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Open Access
Campus Access
Abstract
This dissertation provides a comparative analysis of the historical development of transnational fair trade networks in Nicaragua and East Timor. By examining the formation of certified fair trade coffee organizations, this project aims to better explain why there is variation in the outcomes of this seemingly standardized global development strategy. Drawing on the social welfare literature, particularly of Gough and Wood's informal security regime framework (2006), local organizations are classified by political economy characteristics into four distinct development types. I then trace the processes of the historical development of these organizations using a variety of qualitative methods including participatory observation, in-depth interviews, and a field survey of members of fair trade cooperatives. The argument is that fair trade organizations embody semi-rigid, identifiable institutional configurations or pathways. These fair trade pathways, in turn, provide a conceptual tool for explaining variation and comparing impacts across social contexts.
Recommended Citation
Dzurilla, Timothy P., "Fair Trade Pathways: Historical Institutionalism, Transnational Welfare Networks, and Fair Trade Impact on Coffee Producers in Nicaragua and East Timor" (2017). Doctoral Dissertations. 1486.
https://digitalcommons.lib.uconn.edu/dissertations/1486