Pushing for Peace : A case study on Fairphone as an exploration of conflict-sensitive consumerism
Keywords
Loading...
Authors
Issue Date
2014-02
Language
en
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
As citizens are seeking for new means to express their political values and concerns, do-ityourself
political activism by means of consumption in the global North against violent conflict
in the global South has so far remained understudied. This explorative research on conflictsensitive
consumerism bridges academic literature on conflict resources, the global
embeddedness of ‘local’ conflict, political consumerism and cosmopolitanism. Based on this
theoretical framework, this thesis explores how conflict-sensitive consumerism can be
understood and how it is linked to political consumption as an expression of cosmopolitanism.
For this, the case of Fairphone has been used to explore the meanings and values of consumers
and makers that can be linked to their purchase and production of what is considered the first
step towards a conflict-free phone. A phone produced with natural resources from mines outside
the reach of armed groups.
By means of a discourse analysis of 49 blogs, four videos and website information, an
online survey with 107 respondents and seven interviews with Fairphone and customers, the
conclusion can be drawn that the vast majority of Fairphone buyers can be seen as both political
consumers and cosmopolitans. They embody corresponding values and behavior in line with
global accountability and global solidarity beyond their national borders and a strong belief in the
political power of the consumer.
However, as can be learned from the case of Fairphone, conflict-sensitive consumerism
cannot, in contrary to the hypotheses of this research, be considered as an autonomous trend
within political consumption. The vast majority of the buyers of Fairphone have not based their
purchase on values and meanings primarily concerned with peace and violent conflict. Instead,
the conflict-free elements of Fairphone have been included in the more inclusive and holistic
concept of what is considered as ‘fair’. This shows that Fairphone buyers are mostly driven by a
broader socially conscious lifestyle. Even though consumers did not consider conflict as their
main motivation for their purchase, they did express to feel responsible as consumers for violent
conflict. They have expressed a desire for more transparency and information about the link
between conflict and consumption. This has implications for civil society organizations, business
and governmental institutions involved with and working in conflict regions in the global South.
They are the ones that ought to develop strategies towards the structural global approach of
‘local’ violent conflict.
Description
Citation
Supervisor
Faculty
Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen