Cluster C – Resilience of Legal and Illegal Global Value and Supply Chains
The Resilience of legal and illegal Global Value and Supply Chains in the Context of Security, Contestation, Accountability and the Rule of Law
Description of the Cluster
Cluster C explores the evolving dynamics of Global Supply and Value Chains (GSVCs) in the context of globalization, digitalization, and polycrisia—multiple, simultaneous crises. It highlights the shift from traditional security goals to the “security dispositif of resilience,” focusing on the capacity of societies and vital systems to withstand and adapt to threats. The research investigates both licit and illicit GSVCs, addressing issues such as accountability, security, and resilience against various risks and stressors including terrorism, armed conflicts, protests and economic disruptions. The project is structured around five key research questions, (1) examining changes in GSVCs, (2) the meaning of security within these chains, (3) the challenges of managing GSVCs under polycrisia, (4) the determinants of GSVC resilience, and (5) the conditions and impacts of social movements on these chains. Through four work packages, the research aims to deconstruct traditional notions of security and resilience, understand the social practices of supply chain risk management, and generate new insights into the institutional and political economy aspects of GSVC resilience. This comprehensive approach will contribute to the Competence Centre’s scientific objectives by providing a nuanced understanding of GSVCs’ resilience amid contemporary global challenges.
Project Lead:
- Prof. Dr. Hartmut Aden
- Prof. Dr. Daniela Hunold
- Prof. Dr. Matthias Kötter
- Prof. Dr. Vincenz Leuschner
- Prof. Dr. Markus Schultze Kraft
Research Associates:
Work Packages
WP1: Antagonistic Threats to Global Supply and Value Chains
WP1 will conduct discourse analyses in different industry sectors to examine how antagonistic threats are constructed and addressed within GSVCs. In addition to focusing on antagonistic threats (including terrorism, piracy, cybercrime), the WP is interested in the diffusion and transformation of concepts (sustainability, risk, viability, resilience) within GSVC discourses and their practical implementation. This means investigating how different actors (managers, consultants, workers, etc.) understand these concepts and act upon them professionally.
WP1 will use discourse analysis supported by quantitative content analysis methods on various text documents produced by companies, consultants, researchers and the media. Interviews with various participants in the GSVCs will provide additional insights into the underlying understanding of threat and security.
WP2: Resilience of illegal GSVC
Building on research on trafficking, illicit global flows and the political economy of illicit industries, this package explores illicitness in GSVCs and develops the concept of global shadow supply and value chains (GSSVCs). It aims to shed light on the governance and resilience mechanisms within GSSVCs and how these adapt amid global instability and polycrisis.
WP2 combines literature review and in-depth interviews to investigate comparatively governance structures and resilience mechanisms within GSSVCs, with case studies on both illicit and licit goods, such as cocaine, gold and timber.
WP3: Resilience of GSVC within Constellations of Accountability and the Rule of Law
This WP focuses on how institutional frameworks, including accountability structures and rule-of-law requirements, impact GSVC resilience. It asks whether specific institutional setups enhance resilience and explores how deficiencies in these structures might weaken GSVCs’ ability to withstand challenges.
WP3 employs literature review, interviews, and case studies to map institutional frameworks and analyze the impact of accountability and regulatory standards on GSVC resilience.
WP4: Protest against GSVC and Protest Policing
Examining the impact of social movements like climate protests on GSVCs, this WP looks at protests as indicators of social crisis and potential disruptors of supply chains. It investigates the conditions, governmental responses, and effects of such movements on supply chains through a critical sociological lens on resilience.
WP 4 utilizes ethnography, participant observations, and guided interviews in India, Brazil, and Germany to study the framing of climate protests and responses from police and companies.