Power in the Field. Explaining the Legitimisation of Large‐Scale Farming in Romania

Abstract

International audienceExamining the development of Romanian agriculture, one may wonder how a few large-scale agribusinesses have managed to legitimise their position and to deflect open criticism even as they control a disproportionate share of arable land. Clarification may be provided by Pierre Bourdieu's concept of field, which involves the simultaneous characterisation of sets of objective positions and symbolic struggles over the definition of hierarchical principles. This analytical framework allows us to shed light on the economic field and its relationships with other fields, which each have their own structure and are each influenced by specific struggles. Large-scale agricultural holdings in Romania find support within the political and the scientific fields, each of which provides supports within the bureaucratic field. The coincidence of different fields prevents any questioning of the economic model on which the development of large-scale farming is based

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