Matthew Alford
Biographic Data
| ID | 332966 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Matthew Alford |
| GIVEN NAMES | Matthew |
| FAMILY NAME | Alford |
| SIGNATURE | ALFORD M |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Manchester |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-1614-7862 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 130 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 17 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2016 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
Deconstructing Propaganda: From Akkadian Kings to the Digital Age
One of the inherent problems with Propaganda Studies is that it is inherently totalizing and polarizing-and without either side necessarily having a technical specialism. One wing of it is pro-Western, pro-establishment, the other anti; and with this as a starting point we are all pushed and pulled into taking binary positions on various issues-wars, vaccines, climate, etc. Even where propaganda is taught, it is often historicized (Nazi Germany, …
Contestation and Compromise in Shaping the European Union's Corporate Sustainability due Diligence Directive: Implications for Global Value Chain Governance
This paper explores the European Union's Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D) in the context of ongoing debates on private and public governance of global value chains (GVCs). Conceptually, it draws on neo‐Gramscian perspectives to analyze how contestation and compromise between distinct stakeholders and dynamics of hegemony and counter‐hegemony shaped the CS3D. It draws on secondary lobbying databases and primary interviews wi…
Promise and pitfalls of mandatory due diligence for enhancing worker power in global value chains: The case of South African wine
Due diligence regulations (DDR) are emerging across the global North to govern social and environmental conditions in global value chains (GVCs). Despite DDR’s regulatory significance, we know little about whether it can enhance worker power in GVCs. Based on analysis of South African wine, we ask: To what extent does DDR enhance worker power in South African wine value chains? We reveal that labour organizations and civil society organizations a…
Private and public governance of decent work in regional and domestic value chains: The case of horticulture and garments in Sub-Saharan Africa
Governance and Power Across Intersecting Value Chains: The Case of South African Apples
A prevailing focus of global value chain (GVC) analysis has been on the dominance of highly consolidated Northern retailers over suppliers in the global South. The rise of regional and domestic value chains (RVCs/DVCs) within the Global South which intersect with GVCs, has been found to involve private governance by Southern lead firms. However, we have limited insight into the implications of this changing value chain context for the role of pub…
Inclusive informal-to-informal trade: The poverty alleviation potential of street vendors’ trade networks in Santiago de Chile
The economic inclusion benefits of trade integration between formal and informal markets constitute an increasingly important debate in development studies, especially regarding poverty reduction. Recent international development efforts focus on strengthening informal-to-formal (I2F) links as a win-win developmental strategy to eradicate poverty, while building upon informal-to-informal (I2I) trade relations are seen to preserve poverty. Neverth…
Multichain strategies and economic upgrading in global value chains: Evidence from Kenyan horticulture
An extensive body of research has examined the prospects for suppliers in the global South to upgrade within global value chains (GVCs) controlled by lead firms from, and oriented towards end-markets in, the global North. However, the expansion of South-South trade has altered the geography of GVCs. Previous studies highlight key differences between North-South value chains (NVCs) and South-South value chains (SVCs). Much less is known about the …
Southern actors and the governance of labour standards in global production networks: The case of South African fruit and wine
Recent studies highlight the emergence of standards, including multi-stakeholder initiatives developed and applied within the global South where supplier firms are usually based. This trend has created a complex ethical terrain whereby transnational standards flow through global production networks and intersect with domestic initiatives at places of production. The paper complements global production network analysis with the concepts of 'space …
Covid-19 and the case for global development
Antagonistic governance in South African fruit global production networks: A neo-Gramscian perspective
Governance is a core focus of the global value chain (GVC) and global production network (GPN) literatures. Recent research claims 'complementary' or 'synergistic' governance, achieved through the confluence of private, public and civil society actors, is required for sustainable social gains. While moving beyond a narrow focus on economic coordination, such analysis lacks a sufficiently nuanced examination of power relations. In this article, I …
Re-articulating labour in global production networks: The case of street traders in Barcelona
The global production network approach constitutes a relational theorising of production processes, incorporating firm and non-firm actors, including the state, civil society and labour. Despite renewed attention to labour, global production network analysis focuses predominantly on formal waged work, giving insufficient attention to growing numbers of precarious workers, including self-employed and own-account workers, who are often the most vul…
New Evidence for the Surprisingly Significant Propaganda Role of the Central Intelligence Agency and Department of Defense in the Screen Entertainment Industry
This article reassesses the relationships of the Central Intelligence Agency and Department of Defense with the American entertainment industry. Both governmental institutions present their relationships as modest in scale, benign in nature, passive, and concerned with historical and technical accuracy rather than politics. The limited extant commentary reflects this reassuring assessment. However, we build on a patchy reassessment begun at the t…
The political economy of state governance in global production networks: Change, crisis and contestation in the South African fruit sector
Within the global value chain (GVC) and global production network (GPN) literature, one of the most vibrant areas of debate focuses on dynamics of governance. However, the evolution of these debates has been underpinned by a persistent firm-centrism, with insufficient attention paid to states, public authority and politics. Building on a renewed interest in these themes in recent literature, we contribute to growing demand for a more robust polit…
A Propaganda Model for Hollywood
This article proposes a Hollywood Propaganda Model, based on Herman and Chomsky’s original theory for news media, to explain the ideological output of mainstream Hollywood. The five filters are: concentrated ownership; the importance of merchandising; dependence on establishment sources; the disproportionate ability of the powerful to create flak; and a dominant ideology of ‘us’ versus the ‘Other’. The article acknowledges the limits of such a mo…
Multi-scalar Labour Agency in Global Production Networks: Contestation and Crisis in the South African Fruit Sector
Integration into global production networks poses significant challenges, and also opens up opportunities, for labour agency. Governance by lead firms affects working conditions and can drive precarious employment; this interacts with and can constrain national labour legislation covering labour rights. The global production networks (GPN) approach facilitates examination of commercial value chains, their interaction with institutionally and soci…
Why are the Pentagon and the CIA in Hollywood
The CIA and the U.S. Department of Defense are both engaged in programs to influence the content of movies produced by Hollywood studios. Although they claim their only purpose in these ventures is to guarantee the accuracy of how military and intelligence activities are conducted, it is clear that their agenda goes beyond that goal. Their true aims include ensuring that movies project a positive image of the relevant government agencies. However…
Trans-scalar embeddedness and governance deficits in global production networks: Crisis in South African fruit
Covid-19 and the case for global development
The political economy of state governance in global production networks: Change, crisis and contestation in the South African fruit sector
Within the global value chain (GVC) and global production network (GPN) literature, one of the most vibrant areas of debate focuses on dynamics of governance. However, the evolution of these debates has been underpinned by a persistent firm-centrism, with insufficient attention paid to states, public authority and politics. Building on a renewed interest in these themes in recent literature, we contribute to growing demand for a more robust polit…
Trans-scalar embeddedness and governance deficits in global production networks: Crisis in South African fruit
Multi-scalar Labour Agency in Global Production Networks: Contestation and Crisis in the South African Fruit Sector
Integration into global production networks poses significant challenges, and also opens up opportunities, for labour agency. Governance by lead firms affects working conditions and can drive precarious employment; this interacts with and can constrain national labour legislation covering labour rights. The global production networks (GPN) approach facilitates examination of commercial value chains, their interaction with institutionally and soci…
Re-articulating labour in global production networks: The case of street traders in Barcelona
The global production network approach constitutes a relational theorising of production processes, incorporating firm and non-firm actors, including the state, civil society and labour. Despite renewed attention to labour, global production network analysis focuses predominantly on formal waged work, giving insufficient attention to growing numbers of precarious workers, including self-employed and own-account workers, who are often the most vul…
Multichain strategies and economic upgrading in global value chains: Evidence from Kenyan horticulture
An extensive body of research has examined the prospects for suppliers in the global South to upgrade within global value chains (GVCs) controlled by lead firms from, and oriented towards end-markets in, the global North. However, the expansion of South-South trade has altered the geography of GVCs. Previous studies highlight key differences between North-South value chains (NVCs) and South-South value chains (SVCs). Much less is known about the …
Antagonistic governance in South African fruit global production networks: A neo-Gramscian perspective
Governance is a core focus of the global value chain (GVC) and global production network (GPN) literatures. Recent research claims 'complementary' or 'synergistic' governance, achieved through the confluence of private, public and civil society actors, is required for sustainable social gains. While moving beyond a narrow focus on economic coordination, such analysis lacks a sufficiently nuanced examination of power relations. In this article, I …
A Propaganda Model for Hollywood
This article proposes a Hollywood Propaganda Model, based on Herman and Chomsky’s original theory for news media, to explain the ideological output of mainstream Hollywood. The five filters are: concentrated ownership; the importance of merchandising; dependence on establishment sources; the disproportionate ability of the powerful to create flak; and a dominant ideology of ‘us’ versus the ‘Other’. The article acknowledges the limits of such a mo…
Southern actors and the governance of labour standards in global production networks: The case of South African fruit and wine
Recent studies highlight the emergence of standards, including multi-stakeholder initiatives developed and applied within the global South where supplier firms are usually based. This trend has created a complex ethical terrain whereby transnational standards flow through global production networks and intersect with domestic initiatives at places of production. The paper complements global production network analysis with the concepts of 'space …
Private and public governance of decent work in regional and domestic value chains: The case of horticulture and garments in Sub-Saharan Africa
New Evidence for the Surprisingly Significant Propaganda Role of the Central Intelligence Agency and Department of Defense in the Screen Entertainment Industry
This article reassesses the relationships of the Central Intelligence Agency and Department of Defense with the American entertainment industry. Both governmental institutions present their relationships as modest in scale, benign in nature, passive, and concerned with historical and technical accuracy rather than politics. The limited extant commentary reflects this reassuring assessment. However, we build on a patchy reassessment begun at the t…
Trans-scalar embeddedness and governance deficits in global production networks: Crisis in South African fruit
A Propaganda Model for Hollywood
This article proposes a Hollywood Propaganda Model, based on Herman and Chomsky’s original theory for news media, to explain the ideological output of mainstream Hollywood. The five filters are: concentrated ownership; the importance of merchandising; dependence on establishment sources; the disproportionate ability of the powerful to create flak; and a dominant ideology of ‘us’ versus the ‘Other’. The article acknowledges the limits of such a mo…
Multi-scalar Labour Agency in Global Production Networks: Contestation and Crisis in the South African Fruit Sector
Integration into global production networks poses significant challenges, and also opens up opportunities, for labour agency. Governance by lead firms affects working conditions and can drive precarious employment; this interacts with and can constrain national labour legislation covering labour rights. The global production networks (GPN) approach facilitates examination of commercial value chains, their interaction with institutionally and soci…
Why are the Pentagon and the CIA in Hollywood
The CIA and the U.S. Department of Defense are both engaged in programs to influence the content of movies produced by Hollywood studios. Although they claim their only purpose in these ventures is to guarantee the accuracy of how military and intelligence activities are conducted, it is clear that their agenda goes beyond that goal. Their true aims include ensuring that movies project a positive image of the relevant government agencies. However…
The political economy of state governance in global production networks: Change, crisis and contestation in the South African fruit sector
Within the global value chain (GVC) and global production network (GPN) literature, one of the most vibrant areas of debate focuses on dynamics of governance. However, the evolution of these debates has been underpinned by a persistent firm-centrism, with insufficient attention paid to states, public authority and politics. Building on a renewed interest in these themes in recent literature, we contribute to growing demand for a more robust polit…
Re-articulating labour in global production networks: The case of street traders in Barcelona
The global production network approach constitutes a relational theorising of production processes, incorporating firm and non-firm actors, including the state, civil society and labour. Despite renewed attention to labour, global production network analysis focuses predominantly on formal waged work, giving insufficient attention to growing numbers of precarious workers, including self-employed and own-account workers, who are often the most vul…
New Evidence for the Surprisingly Significant Propaganda Role of the Central Intelligence Agency and Department of Defense in the Screen Entertainment Industry
This article reassesses the relationships of the Central Intelligence Agency and Department of Defense with the American entertainment industry. Both governmental institutions present their relationships as modest in scale, benign in nature, passive, and concerned with historical and technical accuracy rather than politics. The limited extant commentary reflects this reassuring assessment. However, we build on a patchy reassessment begun at the t…
Covid-19 and the case for global development
Antagonistic governance in South African fruit global production networks: A neo-Gramscian perspective
Governance is a core focus of the global value chain (GVC) and global production network (GPN) literatures. Recent research claims 'complementary' or 'synergistic' governance, achieved through the confluence of private, public and civil society actors, is required for sustainable social gains. While moving beyond a narrow focus on economic coordination, such analysis lacks a sufficiently nuanced examination of power relations. In this article, I …
Multichain strategies and economic upgrading in global value chains: Evidence from Kenyan horticulture
An extensive body of research has examined the prospects for suppliers in the global South to upgrade within global value chains (GVCs) controlled by lead firms from, and oriented towards end-markets in, the global North. However, the expansion of South-South trade has altered the geography of GVCs. Previous studies highlight key differences between North-South value chains (NVCs) and South-South value chains (SVCs). Much less is known about the …
Southern actors and the governance of labour standards in global production networks: The case of South African fruit and wine
Recent studies highlight the emergence of standards, including multi-stakeholder initiatives developed and applied within the global South where supplier firms are usually based. This trend has created a complex ethical terrain whereby transnational standards flow through global production networks and intersect with domestic initiatives at places of production. The paper complements global production network analysis with the concepts of 'space …
Inclusive informal-to-informal trade: The poverty alleviation potential of street vendors’ trade networks in Santiago de Chile
The economic inclusion benefits of trade integration between formal and informal markets constitute an increasingly important debate in development studies, especially regarding poverty reduction. Recent international development efforts focus on strengthening informal-to-formal (I2F) links as a win-win developmental strategy to eradicate poverty, while building upon informal-to-informal (I2I) trade relations are seen to preserve poverty. Neverth…
Governance and Power Across Intersecting Value Chains: The Case of South African Apples
A prevailing focus of global value chain (GVC) analysis has been on the dominance of highly consolidated Northern retailers over suppliers in the global South. The rise of regional and domestic value chains (RVCs/DVCs) within the Global South which intersect with GVCs, has been found to involve private governance by Southern lead firms. However, we have limited insight into the implications of this changing value chain context for the role of pub…
Promise and pitfalls of mandatory due diligence for enhancing worker power in global value chains: The case of South African wine
Due diligence regulations (DDR) are emerging across the global North to govern social and environmental conditions in global value chains (GVCs). Despite DDR’s regulatory significance, we know little about whether it can enhance worker power in GVCs. Based on analysis of South African wine, we ask: To what extent does DDR enhance worker power in South African wine value chains? We reveal that labour organizations and civil society organizations a…
Private and public governance of decent work in regional and domestic value chains: The case of horticulture and garments in Sub-Saharan Africa
Deconstructing Propaganda: From Akkadian Kings to the Digital Age
One of the inherent problems with Propaganda Studies is that it is inherently totalizing and polarizing-and without either side necessarily having a technical specialism. One wing of it is pro-Western, pro-establishment, the other anti; and with this as a starting point we are all pushed and pulled into taking binary positions on various issues-wars, vaccines, climate, etc. Even where propaganda is taught, it is often historicized (Nazi Germany, …
Contestation and Compromise in Shaping the European Union's Corporate Sustainability due Diligence Directive: Implications for Global Value Chain Governance
This paper explores the European Union's Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D) in the context of ongoing debates on private and public governance of global value chains (GVCs). Conceptually, it draws on neo‐Gramscian perspectives to analyze how contestation and compromise between distinct stakeholders and dynamics of hegemony and counter‐hegemony shaped the CS3D. It draws on secondary lobbying databases and primary interviews wi…
Economics (12 works) · Global trade, sustainability, and social impact (12 works) · Political science (10 works) · Business (8 works) · Corporate governance (8 works) · Law (7 works) · Innovation and Socioeconomic Development (6 works) · Management (6 works) · Sociology (6 works) · Politics (5 works)