Global Production Network (GPN) Theory in the Analysis of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)

How can the Global Production Network (GPN) theory be utilized in research of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), especially in the context of competitiveness? GPN theory provides a multilayered framework of analysis on globalized production and consumption, by considering the interplay of actors and power dynamics within the global network. This paper will apply this approach to examine how the CAP shapes the EU’s agricultural competitiveness, affecting its participation into the agri-food global production network. This paper would start by description of the EU’s key activities in agri-food global production network (forward or backward participation) as well as value-adding processes in agricultural production within the EU, and identification of the role of specific CAP fundings in shaping production patterns and market integration across different member states. As the GPN recognized the agency of global economic actors, there are strategies that certain actors would take in facing the reality of globalization. These strategies can be in the form of participation into the network (coupling) or avoiding the network (decoupling). Within the agri-food GPN discussions, upgrading local producers to participate in the global production network might be a desirable outcome. However, analysis of CAP using the GPN framework may present a different set of discourse. This paper intends to reveal how CAP shapes both the European agri-food production network and the global one, influencing not only intra-EU production but also the positioning of EU producers in global markets. Aside from exploring the connection between the CAP funding into the region and the EU’s participation in the agri-food GPN, this paper would like to investigate the existence of “lead firms” within the EU. The concept of lead firm in GPN implies that there are a few key players that actively participate in GPN, which can act as hubs between locally operating firms into the global network. A common policy within the region in the form of CAP does not negate the existence of heterogeneity among European agri-food producers. Thus, this paper hopes to explore the possibility of CAP’s role in creating lead firms within the EU’s agri-food sector and the types of CAP funding that would encourage their participation into the GPN. The analysis of CAP and GPN has been explored in a relatively small proportion, partially due to the novelty of GPN theory. Through this GPN approach, the paper contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of agricultural policy's global reach and its transformative effects on international agricultural systems.