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DOI: 10.1177/030981680408400122
2004 28: 220 Capital & Class
Dina Abbott
The Political Economy of New Slavery

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by Pepe Portillo on July 30, 2014 cnc.sagepub.com Downloaded from by Pepe Portillo on July 30, 2014 cnc.sagepub.com Downloaded from
Capital & Class #84 220
reaching for a restorative halfway
through. Nonetheless, the book
provides a thought-provoking means of
understanding the broader social
implications, both positive and negative,
of urban villages, and as such it will be
of considerable interest to students,
community-based activists, academics
and policy-makers alike.
There is an ever-growing body of
literature on international migration, the
international division of labour within
the context of globalisation, and on the
consequences for the several millions of
vulnerable people caught up in these
processes.
These consequences are wide-
ranging, and human stories of exploited
household domestic migrants, illegal
factory workers, paid-sex workers, child
labour and human tracking abound.
These stories are often known to
national and international bodies, as well
as to the general public.
However, the uncomfortable
questions associated with them are
generally hidden away until some
horrendous, tragic incident, perhaps
involving fatalities, suddenly forces them
to the forefront of individual and
collective consciousness.
Such incidents often cause an outcry
for a whileat least for a day or two,
until the media focus has shifted onto
something else. One example is that of
Christien van den Anker (ed.)
The Political Economy of New Slavery
Palgrave Macmillan, New York and Basingstoke, Hampshire, 2004, 272 pp.
ISBN 1-4039-1523-7 (pbk) 16.99
ISBN 1-4039-1522-9 (hbk) 50
Dina Abbott
the twenty Chinese illegal migrants who
were drowned whilst picking cockles in
Morecambe Bay, north-west England,
on February . Arguably, both the
Chinese and British governments have
been aware of illegal migration and
human tracking from China for several
decadesafter all, there have been
previous incidents to suggest this.
However, at the time of this
particular tragedy, both the Chinese and
British ocials acknowledged that they
had been unaware of the existence of
those who drowned that day. And while
the story made newspaper headlines for
a number of days, shocking both the
public and the authorities, it was soon
yesterdays news.
The Political Economy of New Slavery
is therefore a timely book, and a useful
addition to existing literature, bringing
together views from both academics and
activists on what it calls new forms of
contemporary slavery. While recog-
nising that the term contemporary
slavery may conjure up sensationalist
by Pepe Portillo on July 30, 2014 cnc.sagepub.com Downloaded from
221 Book Reviews
imagery through its association with
older, transatlantic forms, the book
begins by arguing that there are parallels
between the older and newer forms of
slavery. These parallels can be found in
the violation of rights to freedom of
movement, when passports and identity
papers are withheld from many domestic
household workers in richer countries;
where millions of people today are forced
to work though debt bondage or other
forms of exploitative practices with little
or no pay; where people are subjected
to mental and physical violence, torture
or inhumane and degrading treatment;
and where they have little or no right to
own property, or to earn a fair wage.
Contemporary slavery thus comes in
many dierent forms, and there are
several crossovers. Nevertheless, the
book urges the recognition of parallels
between these older and newer forms
of slavery, because this will allow
contemporary practice to become more
visible, in turn making the task of raising
awareness of it, and campaigning
against it, more eective.
In fact, the need to raise awareness
and contribute eectively to ending
contemporary slavery is the central
purpose of the book. Thus, while it oers
academic insights and analysis of the
many forms of slavery within a current
context of globalisation, one of the
major strengths of this book is that most
of the chapters also reect on
international law, and on practical goals
towards international action and policy-
making. There are three parts to the
book. Part theorises on the intricacies
of globalisation and the resultant
complex and varied forms of
contemporary slavery. It also considers
the eect that globalisation has on
changing migration patterns, and the
eect of an increase in the smuggling
and tracking of human beings within
liberal democracies, which regard this
development as a security threat,
requiring them to protect their own
citizens. In turn, this acts to reinforce
racism, prejudice and social divisions
within these countries.
Part draws on current empirical
work, and on input from activists who
look more closely at what contemporary
forms of new slavery mean at a local
level. For instance, David Ould (deputy
director of Anti-Slavery International)
reects on tracking in both the richer
and poorer parts of the world, within
the context of the legislative and policy
constraints faced by s and states, and
the possible changes that can make
these more eective. This discussion is
followed through at a more specic
level: for example, in an examination of
the Belgian policy on combating
tracking and the work of the Belgian
Payoke in supporting victims of
tracking. Another case study draws
lessons from Bosnia-Herzegovina in
order to raise awareness and minimise
risk for girls and women in Afghanistan,
where post-conictual tracking is at its
height.
This section of the book also argues
for the need to dierentiate between the
variety and complexity of arrangements
within contemporar y slavery, if
challenges to existing international
legislation and the construction of a
more focused and directed policy and
rights agenda are to be successful. For
instance, empirical evidence challenges
the racist myth of the evil Arab
employer and suggests that such
employers exist in London and all over
Europe. Slavery conditions are spread
through debt-bondage practices in a
variety of countries, including India,
Pakistan and Nepal. These are also
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Capital & Class #84 222
evident in the use of child labour across
Latin America, Asia and Africa, where
poverty pushes children into seeking
work with callous and unscrupulous
employers, including internationally-
recognised companies and household
names.
Thus there is a huge diversity of
peoples, countries and situations associ-
ated with varied forms of contemporary
slavery, each of which needs to be
carefully considered within its local
context.
Because these chapters are derived
from current empirical work from both
academic and activist standpoints, they
are able to give up-to-date accounts of
the complexity and hidden issues of
contemporary slavery.
Each chapter also oers ways
forward, by suggesting practical goals
towards action through a critical
assessment of the policy and practice of
contemporary slavery.
The focus on action and change is
continued in Part , which is dedicated
to strategies and frameworks for change.
Each chapter in this part reects on
mechanisms for strategic intervention in
order to enable real change.
For instance, one argues for the need
to link development ethics, as a guiding
framework for the various agencies
involved in the struggle against
contemporary slavery, including states,
global institutions, and individuals as
global citizens.
Another draws attention to the need
to systematically address the root causes
of poverty, which is the major driving
force behind contemporary slavery.
It argues that neoliberal ideology,
decreasing state intervention, currency
speculation and volatile nancial markets
have generated immense global poverty
and dire social consequences all over
Russia, Latin America, Africa and Asia,
and calls for a reassessment of
arguments around the introduction of
the Tobin Tax.
Equally, the chapter on Fair Trade
highlights the need to remember the root
causes of historical inequality, if Fair
Trade strategies are to be made more
eective. There is also a radical call, in
the nal chapter, for an International
Charter for Reparations of Slavery.
The chapter argues that interna-
tional initiatives on reparation will act
to raise global awareness, and act as a
conscience- and awareness-raising
mechanism on issues of past slavery. By
throwing these issues to the forefront,
it is possible to reassess our values as
human beings and global citizens.
Overall then, the book is logically and
usefully structured in its attempts to
conceptualise and theorise on questions
of contemporary slavery, and to provide
varied case studies and examples of the
everyday workings of contemporary
slavery within the processes of
globalisation. The strength of the book,
however, lies in its attempt bring
together academic and activist
knowledge, and to reect on possible
ways forward for real change.
The strategies and changes in wider
policy directions that are suggested
throughout the book, and particularly in
the nal section, are by no means
comprehensive.
Nevertheless, the fact that the book
is asking relevant and important
questions, and giving hope that change
may be possible, is important in itself if
the debate and action on contemporary
slavery is to be explored. The book is,
therefore, a useful resource for both
academics and activists concerned
about pover ty, globalisation and
contemporary slavery.
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