Papers by Carlo Inverardi-Ferri
The full-scale invasion and partial occupation of Ukraine by Russian forces in February 2022 onwa... more The full-scale invasion and partial occupation of Ukraine by Russian forces in February 2022 onwards is a tragedy first and foremost for the people of Ukraine. The invasion illustrates the importance of intersecting and diverse interdisciplinary perspectives on territory, politics and governance within and beyond Ukraine and Russia. Our editorial initially addresses some of the more localised and nationalised consequences of the invasion. Thereafter, the focus shifts towards the realignment of extraterritorial flows of people, money and objects, including grain and oil. The territorialised of agency of states and non-state actors alike continues to vary revealing in turn opportunities for competitive or geopolitical advantage. Longer term, the mixed reactions to the Ukrainian crisis reveal both the potential for solidarity but also the difficulties in store for those seeking forms of climate and food justice.
Economic Geography, 2022
This article investigates the relationship between overtime and corporate codes of conduct in the... more This article investigates the relationship between overtime and corporate codes of conduct in the global electronics industry through a cultural political economy perspective. First, drawing on examples from China, it considers how the changing political economy of global production has contributed to the emergence of illicit overtime in the electronics industry. The article examines the endemic use of excessive working hours at the first-tier supplier level and explains it as a systemic method to sustain competitive accumulation in a sector characterized by tight production cycles. Second, the article analyzes the economic imaginary that supports the use of overtime and the accompanying mechanisms that institutionalize it as a material practice. It shows that the Responsible Business Alliance Code of Conduct plays a crucial role in reproducing illicit conditions. Conclusions explore the potential of reorienting geographic understandings of illicit practices within the mainstream economy.
As a major public health and socio-ecological crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic has raised significan... more As a major public health and socio-ecological crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic has raised significant challenges, arguably affecting the everyday life of most individuals on the planet. The pandemic has transformed social relationships within families, communities and nations, awakening a spirit of care and reciprocity as well as engendering new mechanisms of control and surveillance to confront the dialectic of life and death. This editorial introduces the special issue composed of nine articles that engage with themes related to the responses to the pandemic and reflects on the implications of Covid-19 for scholarly questions on the politics and governance of territorial processes.
Progress in Human Geography, 2021
This paper intervenes in debates on the illicit in economic geography, notably in the tensions be... more This paper intervenes in debates on the illicit in economic geography, notably in the tensions between cultural and political economic approaches. First, it assesses critiques of political economic evaluations of the illicit. It then offers a 'trading zone', drawing upon both cultural and political economy and argues that the two economic epistemologies are complementary, not mutually exclusive. The paper instates political and ecological missing links in cultural political economy to foster multidimensional analyses of illicit practices in discursive, material and ecological registers. It concludes by discussing the broader implications of a cultural political economy of the illicit for economic geography.
International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, 2020
Enclosure is a concept developed in Marxian political economy referring to the private appropriat... more Enclosure is a concept developed in Marxian political economy referring to the private appropriation of common resources under capitalism. Originally, the term defined the practice of fencing common lands into individual holdings that occurred in the Late Middle Ages in Europe. This process brought about the dispossession of peasants from their means of subsistence and contributed to the transition from feudalism to capitalism. Today, increasing numbers of scholars consider the enclosure of the commons as an ongoing process. Human geographers and other social scientists have analyzed different forms of enclosure that engender conflicting value practices and pertain to both human and nonhuman life. Examples include the privatization of public utilities and services (e.g., waste, water, and transportation systems), the appropriation of tangible and intangible resources (e.g., technologies and knowledge), the control of the human body, and the rendering for sale of living beings. This entry traces the history and different dimensions of the concept through the examination of iconic contributions in the field.
This paper investigates everyday mobilities through an account of the waste industry in Beijing. ... more This paper investigates everyday mobilities through an account of the waste industry in Beijing. It suggests the analysis of livelihood strategies of waste traders as a productive domain of enquiry to foster our understanding of the connection between labour and mobility. Existing literature on China pays little attention to the everyday mobilities of marginal urban actors. Yet these practices tell an insightful story about the political , economic, and ecological transformations of the country. Through their analysis, this paper develops the idea of 'urban nomadism' as a tool to analyse practices that rework oppressive circumstances dictated by capital and produce new dimensions of living.
Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 2017
The paper contributes to the recent geographical debates on the connection between dispossession ... more The paper contributes to the recent geographical debates on the connection between dispossession and informality. Existing scholarship recognises that informality is an integral part of capitalism. Arguments reinforcing the formal-informal dichotomy dominate research on processes of dispossession. Drawing on analyses of the struggle of waste recyclers in Beijing, this paper conceptualises informal activities in relation to circuits of capital. It contends that theories of dispossession need to be extended in order to analyse processes of enclosure in the informal economy. The conclusion discusses the potential of reconceptualising dispossession as a variegated process operating both outside and within the capitalist space.
Made in China: a Quarterly on Chinese Labour, Civil Society and Rights, 2017
In June 2017, the government of the United States announced its intention to withdraw from the Pa... more In June 2017, the government of the United States announced its intention to withdraw from the Paris Accords, severely undermining the global effort to contain climate change. Since then, China has entered the fray, attempting to portray itself as a world leader on environmental issues. While global attention has focussed on China’s top-down environmental efforts, this issue considers the engagement of Chinese citizens with state policies on the environment, and looks into their potential for articulating workable grassroots alternatives. In particular, we consider the management of public resources—the so-called ‘commons’
A source of political conflicts, recurrent scandals and considerable geopolitical problems, elect... more A source of political conflicts, recurrent scandals and considerable geopolitical problems, electronic waste (e-waste) is a central challenge for contemporary societies. Drawing on Polanyian economic geography, this article provides a comparative reading of the extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme in China and France and shows that e-waste policy in China is not a replication of global north models, but rather a new hybrid outcome, where neoliberal tendencies are negotiated within the characteristics of a resilient state. In this way, it extends the variegated capitalism framework to the sphere of post-consumption.
文章编号 ：1673-9493(2014)05-0008-07 中图分类号 ：TU984.11 + 3 文献标识码 ：A 引言 城乡结合部是城市化和城市实体建设的前沿，是 "一面反映错综复杂的城... more 文章编号 ：1673-9493(2014)05-0008-07 中图分类号 ：TU984.11 + 3 文献标识码 ：A 引言 城乡结合部是城市化和城市实体建设的前沿，是 "一面反映错综复杂的城市化过程的特殊镜子" [1] 。 在中国城市化的进程中，城乡结合部呈现出发展路径 的多样性，反映了城市化过程带来的社会结构转型的 强烈冲击，它是城乡二元结构在城市边缘形成的一种 充满矛盾和冲突的景观呈现。已有研究从空间组织和 社会变迁的不同角度，对城乡结合部的独特发展机制 和状态进行了大量深入的研究 [2-6] 。其中，项飚等人从 社会网络的角度对 20 世纪 80 至 90 年代京郊形成的 "浙江村"的研究，抓住了城乡结合部作为外来人口 进入城市的桥梁所具有的沟通城乡的社会-经济属性， 对理解城乡二元结构下城市边缘所形成的具有专业化 产业特征和紧密同乡网络的空间，具有启发性 [7] 。城 乡结合部为外来人口提供了相对廉价的生产和居住空 间，而紧密的同乡社会网络为之提供了进入城市的社 会支持。相比受到研究者和城市管理者关注的浙江村， 从事废品回收的"河南村"则显得更为边缘，所反映 的城乡结合部的矛盾和冲突也更为尖锐和持续。究其 原因，主要是因为废物管理作为一种高度外部性的城 市公共产品，在市场经济环境下无法通过简单的管制 而实现权力和责任的有效对价，由此产生的空间在形 形色色的城乡结合部发展形态中，具有其独特形式和 内涵，它承载了城乡二元发展、人地环境冲突，以及 可持续发展转型的多重矛盾，成为我们观察城乡结合 部的一个良好切入点。 改革开放以来，我国城市生活方式出现巨变，并 带来城市垃圾管理模式的改变 ：一方面，市场经济发 展使物质极大丰裕，大规模生产-消费模式逐渐兴起， 摘要 ：城乡结合部往往是非正式就业的集聚地带，提供了底层外来人口进入城 市的社会经济桥梁。本研究通过对北京城乡结合部两个不同时期形成的"废品 村"--八家和东小口--的实地考察和对比，力图从空间生产的角度揭示这 种城市灰色空间的形成与演化机制。 在描述和记录实体空间变迁过程的基础上， 阐释资本运动下不同主体对"废品村"的空间表征产生的影响，以及为空间改 善所做的努力，从而构建这一灰色空间的多层次空间意义以及社会-空间相互 塑造的机制。结论指出， "垃圾村"是城乡二元割裂的发展方式在城市边缘的 一种景观呈现，重塑空间需要重视真正的空间使用者的需要，并从公共服务市 场建构入手，改变城市废物管理的资本逻辑。
Certificazione scientifica delle Opere I contributi pubblicati in questo volume sono stati oggett... more Certificazione scientifica delle Opere I contributi pubblicati in questo volume sono stati oggetto di un processo di referaggio a cura del Comitato scientifico e degli organizzatori delle sessioni della Giornata di studio della Società di Studi Geografici Hanno contribuito alla realizzazione di questo volume: Creative Commons Attribuzione -Condividi allo stesso modo 4.0 Internazionale L'immagine di copertina è tratta dal volume di Emma Davidson Omnia sunt communia, 2015, p. 9 (shopgirlphilosophy.com) © 2016 Società di Studi Geografici Via San Gallo, 10 50129 -Firenze Aa.Vv. (2016), Commons/Comune, Società di studi geografici. Memorie geografiche NS 14, pp. 333-338 Quest'opera è soggetta alla licenza Creative Commons Attribuzione -Condividi allo stesso modo 4.0 Internazionale CARLO INVERARDI FERRI* RIFIUTI COMUNI, RECINZIONE DELLE TERRE E DOMINAZIONE ECOLOGICA: ACCUMULAZIONE DA SPOLIAZIONE E RICICLO INFORMALE A PECHINO Dove portino ogni giorno il loro carico gli spazzaturai nessuno se lo chiede: fuori dalla città, certo; ma ogni anno la città s'espande, e gli immondezzai devono arretrare più lontano (Calvino, 1972, p. 55)
Book Chapters by Carlo Inverardi-Ferri
Made in China Journal by Carlo Inverardi-Ferri
According to the Chinese zodiac, 2017 was the year of the ‘fire rooster’, an animal often associa... more According to the Chinese zodiac, 2017 was the year of the ‘fire rooster’, an animal often associated with the mythical fenghuang, a magnificently beautiful bird whose appearance is believed to mark the beginning of a new era of peaceful flourishing. Considering the auspicious symbolism surrounding the fenghuang, it is fitting that on 18 October 2017, President Xi Jinping took to the stage of the Nineteenth Party Congress to proclaim the beginning of a ‘new era’ for Chinese socialism. However, in spite of such ecumenical proclamations, it became immediately evident that not all in China would be welcome to reap the rewards promised by the authorities. Migrant workers, for one, remain disposable. Lawyers, activists and even ordinary citizens who dare to express critical views also hardly find a place in Xi’s brave new world. This Yearbook traces the stark new ‘gilded age’ inaugurated by the Chinese Communist Party. It does so through a collection of more than 40 original essays on labour, civil society and human rights in China and beyond, penned by leading scholars and practitioners from around the world.
In June 2017, the government of the United States announced its intention to withdraw from the Pa... more In June 2017, the government of the United States announced its intention to withdraw from the Paris Accords, severely undermining the global effort to contain climate change. Since then, China has entered the fray, attempting to portray itself as a world leader on environmental issues. While global attention has focussed on China’s top-down environmental efforts, this issue considers the engagement of Chinese citizens with state policies on the environment, and looks into their potential for articulating workable grassroots alternatives. In particular, we consider the management of public resources—the so-called ‘commons’.
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Papers by Carlo Inverardi-Ferri
Book Chapters by Carlo Inverardi-Ferri
Made in China Journal by Carlo Inverardi-Ferri