Abstract
Centrality in the world-system allows countries to externalize their hazards or environmental harms on others. Core countries, for instance, dump heavy metals and greenhouse gases into the global sinks, and some of the core's hazardous products, production processes and wastes are displaced to the (semi) peripheral zones of the world-system. Since few (semi) peripheral countries have the ability to assess and manage the risks associated with such hazards, the transfer of core hazards to the (semi) periphery has adverse environmental and socio-economic consequences for many of these countries and it has spawned conflict and resistance, as well as a variety of other responses. Most discussions of this risk globalization problem have failed to situate it firmly in the world-system frame emphasizing the process of ecological unequal exchange. Using secondary sources, I begin such a discussion by examining the specific problem of ship breaking (recycling core-based ocean going vessels for steel and other materials) at the yards in Alang-Sosiya, India and Chittagong, Bangladesh. Attention centers on the nature and scope of ship breaking in these two locations, major drivers operating in the world-system, adverse consequences, the unequal mix of costs and benefits, and the failure of existing political responses at the domestic and international levels to reduce adequately the adverse consequences of ship breaking.
Highlights
The world-system is a global economic system in which goods and services are produced for profit and the process of capital accumulation must be continuous if the system is to survive. 1 The world-system can be conceptualized as a three-tiered open system that can be understood in "economic" terms and in
This paper examines one core-based hazardous export to the periphery to illustrate a dimension of the process of ecological unequal exchange: the transfer of the core's ocean-going ships to yards located in Alang-Sosiya, India and Chittagong, Bangladesh for breaking
Sixty to seventy percent of the ships scrapped each year go to the Alang-Sosiya yards in India and Chittagong, Bangladesh (Greenpeace International and International Federation for Human Rights 2005; Robindebois.org 2009, 2010, 2011; World Bank 2010:14), though China has become increasingly important in breaking ships and may become more important in the future (See an effort to reduce US government regulations (Freudenburg and Gramling 2011)
Summary
The global shipping industry, which facilitates the transport of wealth to the core and anti-wealth to the periphery, is one of the major components of the infrastructure underlying the worldsystem's social metabolism (Demaria 2010; Bunker and Ciccantell 2005). 8 Consider, for instance, the fact that a majority of the global trade in materials and goods is by sea: 80% of all raw materials and manufactured goods. Sixty to seventy percent of the ships scrapped each year go to the Alang-Sosiya yards in India (often described as the ship breaking capital of the world-system) and Chittagong, Bangladesh (Greenpeace International and International Federation for Human Rights 2005; Robindebois.org 2009, 2010, 2011; World Bank 2010:14), though China has become increasingly important in breaking ships and may become more important in the future (See an effort to reduce US government regulations (Freudenburg and Gramling 2011). This factor was undoubtedly partly responsible for the BP oil spill disaster. Hazardous materials and unsafe dismantling practices are pervasive in the yards (Basha et al 2007; Greenpeace International and International Federation for Human Rights 2005; International Federation for Human Rights and Young Power in Social Action 2008; Rousmaniere and Raj 2007; World Bank 2010)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
