The moral mechanism of counter accounts: The case of industrial animal production

Abstract

Counter accounts are hoped to present a counterforce to hegemonic discourses and bring about emancipatory change in societies. While the political potential of counter accounts has, to an extent, been examined in prior accounting literature, there is a need to analyse the associated moral dimension. Our purpose in this paper is to advance theoretical understanding of the transformative potential of counter accounts by examining how they mediate the suffering of oppressed groups and how that mediation could lead to public action. Through a conceptual lens combining media studies and critical discourse analysis, we analyse counter accounts of animal production created by social movement activists in Finland. We find that, in general terms, the transformative potential of counter accounts is associated with their ability to act as a form of moral and political education, by repeatedly suggesting to their audiences how to feel about, and act publicly on, the suffering of an oppressed group. The moral engagement of the counter accounts' audiences takes place through a combination of semiotic cues that simultaneously present the suffering as an objective fact, evoke sympathy towards the oppressed group and present practical options on how to act on the suffering. We also note that counter accounts can give rise to different ethical discourses and practical engagement options depending on the media and semiotic cues employed in their construction. This leaves room for discourses that acknowledge some of the concerns presented in the counter accounts but point towards actions that do not threaten the status quo.

International advocacy NGOs, counter accounting, accountability and engagement

“…Similar to the arguments of Belal et al, 2015;Brennan and Merkl-Davies, 2014;Gray et al, 2014b;Spence, 2009;Tregidga, 2017;Vinnari and Laine, 2017 and the iaNGOs felt that the inability of these marginalised communities to engage, the absence of their voice to speak their truth or to hold the powerful stakeholders accountable perpetuated the conflicts within the region. Resolving these conflicts required interventions from iaNGOs (and others) to create a significant shift in the power dynamics in favour of the indigenous communities.…”

“…Individual counter accounts can be combined with other external accounts that collectively problematise and present alternative solutions increasing the knowledge set that can inform arena engagements, dialogue, coalition building, and conflict resolution. Prior research on counter accounts and other forms of external accounts (Apostol, 2015;Dey and Gibbon, 2014;Gallhofer et al, 2006;Thomson et al, 2015;Tregidga, 2013Tregidga, , 2017Vinnari and Laine, 2017) has observed that these accounts play many different roles in conflicts. Evaluating external accounts in practice is therefore a complex process.…”

“…Thomson et al, (2015) framework offers a way to understand how and why specific combinations of counter accounts and activist practices are deployed in different conflict arenas and how they could engage more effectively with prevailing governance regimes. Their application of this framework to the BAT/Action on Health and Smoking (ASH 4 ) conflicts identified the importance of aligning external accounts with changing frames of the issues being problematised depending on who was deemed responsible and who was deemed able to resolve the problem (see also Apostol, 2015;Cooper et al, 2005Cooper et al, , 2011Gallhofer et al, 2006;Tregidga, 2013Tregidga, , 2017Vinnari and Laine, 2017).…”

“…Apostol, 2015;Dey et al, 2011;Gallhofer et al, 2006;Gray et al, 2014b;Georgakopoulos and Thomson, 2008;Sikka, 2006;Spence, 2009;Tregidga, 2013Tregidga, , 2017Vinnari and Laine, 2017). The counter accounts studied were intended to improve the lives of the long-suffering, marginalised communities and the natural environment of the Niger Delta.…”

“…Partisan counter accounts produced by iaNGOs sought to fill the information gaps in the formal governance systems by providing alternative accounts of the realities of life in the Niger Delta thus allowing stakeholders to participate in the reforms of the system of governing and accountability (see also Cooper et al, 2005;Gray et al, 2014b;Spence, 2009;Thomson et al, 2015;Tregidga, 2017;Vinnari and Laine, 2017).…”