MEASURING THE REACH OF ASIAN REGIONAL FOOD REGIMES IN THE WTO ERA

Abstract

abstract Although the food regime concept has become an important approach for addressing the global food trade, most of its applications have utilized qualitative methods. This article applies a quantitative social network analysis (SNA) and a more-than-qualitative relational approach, drawing from the geography literature to explore regional food regimes in Asia in the World Trade Organization (WTO) era. Employing data from the Food and Agriculture Organization Corporate Statistical Database (FAOSTAT) and the Design of Trade Agreements (DESTA) project database, this paper’s analysis of the governance of Asian regional vegetable trade networks reveals the multiplicity inherent in food regimes under the WTO. In this context, the topologies of food regimes—including degree centrality, betweenness centrality, and closeness centrality—reveal the emergence of a multi-polar food system in Asia.