Modern Monoculture and Periphery Processes: a World Systems Analysis of the Brazilian soy expansion from 2000-2012

Abstract: The article treats the broader socio-environmental and economic implications of the expansion in Brazilian soy production, during the period from 2000-2012. The World Systems Analysis (WSA) perspective of Terence Hopkins and Immanuel Wallerstein (1982) is applied in order to assess whether this development may be understood as characteristic of the economic processes of periphery formation. This theoretical framework is combined with contemporary contributions to the World Systems Analysis literature that emphasize environmental issues and the particular nature of modern agribusiness, in order to grasp the complexities of today´s Brazilian soy sector. The dynamics of production expansion and its different societal impacts are approached through a commodity chain analysis of the Brazilian soy production. A data triangulation strategy is applied within the analysis, through scrutiny of official documents, research papers, interviews and statistical material. The article concludes that while some circumstances diverge from the interpretations of the WSA perspective, other findings suggest a convergence between the recent Brazilian soy expansion and this theoretical body’s conceptualizations of global periphery. The analysis also points to the need to reconsider the structural determinism of the WSA perspective, particularly with regards to the possible potential of political agency to confront the challenges associated with commodity-based development.

摘要：本文探讨了2000年至2012年间巴西大豆产能扩张所带来的广泛社会、环境与经济影响。本文采用特伦斯·霍普金斯（Terence Hopkins）与伊曼纽尔·沃勒斯坦（Immanuel Wallerstein）于1982年提出的世界体系分析（World Systems Analysis，WSA）框架，以评估该发展进程是否可被视为边缘地区形成的经济过程的典型特征。为精准把握当前巴西大豆产业的复杂面貌，本文将该理论框架与世界体系分析学界近年的相关研究相结合——后者着重关注环境议题与现代农业综合企业（agribusiness）的特殊属性。本文通过对巴西大豆生产的商品链分析，探讨产能扩张的动态机制及其多元社会影响。本次分析采用数据三角验证策略，通过细致梳理官方文件、学术论文、访谈记录与统计资料开展研究。本文研究结论显示：尽管部分情形与世界体系分析框架的解读存在偏差，但另有研究结果表明，近期巴西大豆产能扩张与该理论体系对全球边缘地区的概念化阐释存在契合之处。本次分析同时指出，有必要重新审视世界体系分析框架的结构决定论，尤其是在政治能动性对抗商品依赖型发展所带来的挑战这一议题上，重新考量政治主体可能具备的行动潜力。