The framing of problems and solutions by NGOs, corporations and States: the case of Oromia, Ethiopia

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Periodical article

Title:	The framing of problems and solutions by NGOs, corporations and States: the case of Oromia, Ethiopia
Author:	East, Elizabeth A.
Year:	2011
Periodical:	The journal of Oromo studies
Volume:	17
Issue:	2
Pages:	131-156
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Ethiopia
Subjects:	economic aid NGO international economic relations political economy political repression Oromo coffee
Abstract:	When considering nongovernmental work and campaigns highlighting poverty in the global South, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) pursue singular targets when framing solutions to complex issues. In the case of the Starbucks-Ethiopian coffee trade-marking agreement, Oxfam America, an international NGO, focused on economic disparities and market solutions in their campaign to support coffee farmers in Ethiopia. Oxfam did not, however, highlight political issues in Ethiopia, particularly the political oppression of the Oromo people who reside in the country's main coffee regions. Oxfam nevertheless describes its campaign, which culminated in an agreement that the Starbucks Corporation reached with the Ethiopian government, as a 'win-win' situation. This paper explores the interplay of NGOs, transnational corporations, and oppressive States, and expands upon the overarching issue of political oppression that is often ignored when highlighting economic disparities within markets in the peripheral part of the world. Bibliogr., notes, ref. [ASC Leiden abstract]