Jan 16, 2012 | Human rights, Passage au crible (English)
By Armelle Le-bras-Chopard
Translation: Melissa Okabe
Passage au crible n°54
Flick
Sakineh Mohammadi Ashstiani death sentence for alleged adultery proves symbolic of the violation of human rights and the situation of the women under sharia law which rages in Iran. The affair mobilized international opinion since 2010, which allowed for the suspension of her stoning sentence. However at the end of December 2011, the announcement of the switching of punishment from stoning to hanging restarted the world protest campaign for the liberation of Sakineh.
> Historical background
> Theoretical framework
> Analysis
> References
Historical background
Sakineh was born in 1967, in Iranian Azerbaijan, in the northwest of the country. She was a teacher in the nursery school in her city but only speaks Azeri and does not understand Persian, the official language of Iran. In 2006, she was sentenced to death for complicity in the murder of her husband and for « illicit relations » with a man. Accusations for the first crime were not confirmed and were put in the background, whereas the attention focused on adultery, liable to the death penalty by stoning. Her imminent execution was announced in June 2010. She was already subjected to 99 statutory lashes, even when she was considered innocent, and Sakineh ended up signing a death sentence drawn up in a language which she did not understand. She was then forced to broadcast confessions, just before her son and her lawyer were stopped with both German journalists who had produced the interview. As for her first lawyer, he had to flee the country, the repression of the regime beating down on his wife.
A wave of indignation on an international scale immediately took shape with demonstrations, which were held in particular in more than 100 cities of the world. Petitions and condemnations of Iran by international authorities for non-compliance with Human Rights multiplied. Protests also emanated from the cultural universe and from political leaders (The president of Brazil, Lula, precisely suggested to grant asylum to Sakineh, the request being rejected by Teheran’s authorities). This set of interventions ended in the suspension of a judgment considered « barbarian ». But at the end of 2011, Malek Adjar Sharifi – head of justice in Oriental Azerbaijan where Sakineh was detained for seven years – suggested that death by hanging could be substituted for stoning. A new global mobilization immediately began. A few days later, the head of justice backtracked and declared that his comments had been truncated. The fate of Sakineh is not yet fixed, and as such, thus arouses constant international vigilance.
Theoretical framework
1- The respect for human rights. Iran refutes the international conception of Human Rights, as being a simple western invention. The current government displays cultural relativism by which it intends to deny the idea of universal values. Here it sees a weapon against Islam, the Koran containing, according to the Iranian leaders, all the fundamental rights for fourteen centuries, well before their deceptive development in West. According to the 20th principle of the Constitution « All members of the Nation, women and men, are under the protection of the Law and enjoy all human, political, economic, social and cultural rights » but with this precision: « in respect for the rules of Islam », that is, in a certain interpretation of sharia law. So stoning, like other violations of human rights in this country (censorship, torture, amputations…) is legalized in articles 102 and 104 of the Iranian penal code which describes execution in great detail: stones should not « be big to the point that the condemned person dies having received one or two thrown at them; they should not be too small that we cannot give them the name of being stones either ». They will have to be very sharp to make one bleed. Humiliation is added to the suffering imposed by this savage practice because killing has to take place in public just as with the whippings where, in the case of Sakineh, her then 16-year-old son, was forced to attend the lashing sessions.
2 – Inequality between the sexes. Under the guise of equality, inequality is in fact institutionalized. The 21th principle of the Constitution specifies that « The State has to guarantee women rights in all points of view » with the same limitation: « in respect for the Islamic rules » which, actually, place women under guardianship. For example, it is made obligatory for women to ask for the authorization of their husbands to go out of the home, travel or work. Moreover, clothing obligations are imposed on them and they undergo discriminations in civil and family rights (disparities in front of divorce or inheritance procedures, etc.), the law forbidding them the right of abortion.
However, the situation of women in Iran remains rather paradoxical. Indeed they enjoy more liberties than women in the other Persian Gulf countries (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain), in particular in higher education (60 % of girls are in universities), in employment or in sports…. On the other hand, they do not remain passive, and they group themselves in organizations. In this respect, the lawyer, Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2003, remains symbolic of this fight for human rights.
Analysis
Heroine despite herself, Sakineh appears as the symbol of these women who, in Iran, are victims of stoning. But, beyond this country, she shows the oppression of all those who suffer under the influence of sharia law. So, at the end of 2011, one woman was beheaded in Saudi Arabia for « witchcraft », in terms of an « Islamically correct » judgment. Moreover, the euphoria and the hopes aroused by the Arab Spring, henceforth leave a space filled with a certain anxiety after elections which granted the majority to Islamic parties, even if these call themselves « moderate » (Tunisia, Egypt or Morocco). Especially since, for its part, the National Transitional Council of Libya hurried to announce, after the liberation of the country, its will to restore sharia law.
However, sadly radical Islam has no monopoly on this organization of male ascendancy. We also find it in the other religious fundamentalisms. The ultra-orthodox Jews, « the black men », did they not recently demonstrate in Israel, among others, for the establishment of segregation of the sexes in public places? Certain Protestant communities or Catholic groups led, for their part, commando squads against private hospitals practicing the termination of pregnancy. Lastly, even non-religious, contemporary societies, even today, display a more or less pronounced disparity between the sexes. In other words, this « differential valency of the sexes » to the advantage of men, that anthropologist Françoise Héritier detected in all times and in all places, does not spare the West either.
As in the Arab revolutions and other recent situations, the role of media, in particular the internet, was fundamental in the Sakineh affair. The immediate and large-scale reaction of public opinion, put pressure on political leaders of numerous countries like in international instances – both finding themselves obliged to take a stand – and on Teheran’s authorities. Today, international solidarity does not weaken and what citizens of the world demand, is not only the ban on Sakineh’s death sentence but her release into freedom. Beyond her case, they demand purely and simply the abolition of stoning, of which there will always be other individual victims, and for which Iran had nevertheless announced a moratorium in 2002.
References
http://laregledujeu.org/2011/12/29/8385/sakineh%C2%A0-les-dernieres-et-tristes-nouvelles-de-l%E2%80%99iranienne/
Stengers Lauriane, Pierres non seulement – Conversations avec Sakineh Mohammadi Ashstiani, Editions BoD, 2010
Voir les sites d’Amnesty International et Human Rights Watch
Jan 11, 2012 | Global Public Health, Passage au crible (English)
By Armand Suicmez
Translation: Melissa Okabe
Passage au crible n°53
On January 4, 2012, the investigating judge of the city of Marseille led a search on the premises of the French PIP (Poly Implant Prosthesis) company located in the Var region, following the scandal over the breast implants manufactured by this company. Consisting of a non-compliant silicone gel, the PIP products would be responsible for several cases of cancer, even if the link between the implants and the pathology is not shown.
This affair extends beyond French borders because the firm exported throughout Europe, to the United States, and to South America. This incident also brings to light the absence of national and international rules concerning medical devices.
> Historical background
> Theoretical framework
> Analysis
> References
Historical background
Established by Jean-Claude Mas in 1991, the French SME (Small and Medium Enterprises) PIP exports to 65 countries and sold 400,000 prostheses on the world plan. Its prosperous activity degraded with Asian competition in the 2000’s and with the decline of the dollar. The CEO decided to maximize profits by turning to an industrial silicone gel, seven times cheaper than the medical version. Thanks to this subterfuge, PIP was able to become the leader in this sector, in both production and in distribution.
In addition to being dangerous for health, the PIP products obtained a certification from the private enterprise TÜV Rheinland. This laboratory indeed validated the PIP serum as a physiological technology devoid of risk; Jean-Claude Mas having deliberately supplied a compliant implant sample at the moment of scientific testing. At the time of instruction, he declared to investigators: « I knew that this gel was not approved, but I deliberately made it because the PIP gel was cheaper ». Besides that, he had hidden the real composition of its articles to his customers, his suppliers but also to his own employees, by stating forged invoices.
Over 500,000 people across the globe are affected by this situation. In 2005-2006, the first patient complaints entailed a condemnation of PIP in the United States before cases of breaking prostheses multiplied over the next year in the United Kingdom, in Spain, and in South America. For one year and a half, a commercial ban was implemented and struck the company with a 1.4 million dollar global fine. Finally, the much mediatized fate of a woman who died of lymphoma provoked a collective panic. In 2011, Marseille’s public prosecutor department received nearly 2,400 complaints and opened a judicial inquiry for « involuntary wounds and manslaughter ». Today around 30,000 planned removals are anticipated in order to reduce the danger. The main person accused of the affair, Jean-Claude Mas, risks four years of imprisonment.
Theoretical framework
Let’s keep two main elements in mind:
1. Outsource labeling. Now essential, labels henceforth represent a pledge of sanitary safety. This mechanism became widespread in order to better protect the vulnerable consumer against numerous and sometimes meekly reliable information. This public authentication of national, community and international standards is now confined to private enterprises.
2. Medical expertise in the service of private interests. Often worshiped by commentators, expertise is valid when it is a question of estimating the quality of a product. However, it is advisable to remember that the process of scientific validation very often remains dependent on political and economic logic. Therefore, the neutrality of medical expertise is subject to query and must be questioned.
Analysis
Nowadays, the value of expertise seems more and more important: it is almost made sacred, precisely when medical material is concerned, naturally in direct line with the questions of public health. Within this frame, the PIP implants – even before their ban – took on a double character: they remained the cheapest in the global market, all the while appearing to preserve medical qualities evaluated and confirmed by independent offices. Let us underline the fact that the AP-HP (Public Assistance- Paris Hospitals) furnished at that time three public cancer research centers in Paris with PIP devices.
A priori, the PIP scandal can appear as an isolated case of error due to the deceitful schemes of a single person: Jean-Claude Mas. However, in reality, the lack of international regulations has been underlined by the European governments as well as by non-state actors or individuals’ networks, groups of doctors or victim’s organizations such as the association for carriers of prosthesis PIP. Under the condition that silicone implants are considered as simple medical devices – that is low degree of risks and non-essential – they are regulated by the standard ISO 14607: 2007 « which specifies the requirements relative to the mammary implants intended for clinical purposes ». Now, this binding rule can allow the industrialist to label the performance evaluation of its own production.
In Europe, the sanitary materials vigilance subjects the manufacturer to a validation procedure by one of 70 certifying bodies, among which the independent laboratory TÜV Rheinland, plays an expert’s role symbolizing medical ethics. However, this does not in reality insure a detailed examination. Instead TÜV Rheinland is specialized in the installation of medical goods companies, with the objective of seeing their customers achieving maximum financial profits.
Governments made a commitment in favor of a preventive withdrawal of the product in the name of the precautionary principle. From then on, we indeed understand that their economic responsibility is implied by this scandal. If American justice demands a compensation from the French SME (Small and Medium Enterprises), on the other hand in France, financial participation from Social Security is expected. In return, health insurance lodged a complaint for « aggravated deceit and swindle » to be reimbursed for the likely 60 million euro in compensation granted to the victims. This transnationalized (prosthesis PIP) underlines, if need be, the heterogeneousness of governmental jurisdictions, which show themselves devoid in front of a health affair exceeding the strict frame of state sovereignties.
Xavier Bertrand, French Minister of Health, at the moment requires the implementation of a complete follow-up process for medical devices. However this normative watch, under public attentiveness, remains insured by private groups. Health therefore becomes « indissolubly bound to a system of market economy, based on the spontaneous strengths of the economic and political agents which intervene there ». In other words, the splendor of a non-falsified scientific objectivism hides an aggravated search for profit. Competition law (abuse of a dominant position) in the field of the health, already denounced in the plectrum affair, continues to constitute an endless risk ; especially when we know that more than 60% of the members of the AFSSAPS (French Agency of Sanitary Security of Health Products) hold interests within the pharmaceutical firms.
References
Behar-Touchais Martine, « Le Conseil de la concurrence et la santé », Les Tribunes de la santé, (15), fev.2007, pp. 63-77.
Demme Géraldine, « Le secteur de la santé face au droit de la concurrence », Regards sur l’économie allemande, (95), mars 2012, pp.27-32.
Paule Clément, « La Marchandisation mondiale de la santé publique, La stratégie entrepreneuriale des firmes pharmaceutiques », Passage au crible, Chaos International, (11), janv.2010, pp. 1-2.
Guelfi Marie-Claude, « Les dangers des lits médicalisés », Gérontologie et société, (116) jan.2006, pp. 77-83.
Kerouedan Dominique, Santé internationale. Paris, Presses de Sciences Po, 2011.
20min.fr, Santé ; « Prothèses mammaires PIP : Jean-Claude Mas admet la tromperie sans regrets »: http://www.20minutes.fr/sante/853770-protheses-mammaires-pip-jean-claude-mas-admet-tromperie-aucun-regret, dernière consultation : 8 janvier 2011
Jan 9, 2012 | China, International commerce, Passage au crible (English)
By Alexandre Bohas
Translation: Davina Durgana
Passage au crible n°52
Many observers are moved by the iconic movement of firms operated on the Old Continent by the Chinese, while at the same time, they regret the outsourcing and Foreign Direct Investment of European firms outside of Europe. In these two cases, these Cassandras were saddened by a decline. This leads us to further define the concept of power in order to better understand the multi-dimensional relations of power that have taken place on the world stage.
> Historical background
> Theoretical framework
> Analysis
> References
Historical background
In recent years, Chinese companies have invested heavily in Europe taking advantage of the weak economies. Making headlines, they have acquired leading companies such as Volvo (Sweden), the Chateau de Viaud (France), Club Med (France), and Rover (Great Britain), but also specialized and innovative entities such as Medion (Germany), Elkem (Norway) or BorsodChem (Hungary), as well as logistics and distribution companies, such as Marionnaud (France), the Port of Piraeus (Greece) and Priceminister (France).
In total, from 2007 to 20100, Foreign Direct Investment by China grew by 339% compared to 133% in North America and 115% in South America. Representing 64 Billion Euros for the single period of October 2010 to March 2011, they have pursued foreign exchange reserves in China amounting to public value of 3,620 Billion Euros. In other words, the opportunity to acquire the 80 largest firms in the Euro area has emerged. Note, however, that there are presently only 2% of invested funds from outside the European Union.
These acquisitions mean, without a doubt, a dependence on Chinese companies, technology transfers in their favor and up-market moves. Some relate this breakthrough to the policy of Beijing Zouchuqu (“Spirit of Conquest”), which supports the commercial ambitions of its companies thanks to Eximbank, a dedicated credit agency. All of these issues have not failed to cause many hostile reactions in Europe, a continent engaged in a financial crisis and anticipating economic recession.
Theoretical framework
1. An Irreducibility of Power to the Sum of Assets. Power must be seen structurally as the result of political, cultural, social and economic arrangements. It must not be understood in a substantive manner, as this does not hold. In other words, we could not in a strict sense, have power, but still remain powerful. So it is important to abandon the Neo-Realist ontology that evaluates power according to only a small number of divisions, such as military or economic strength.
2. A Competitiveness of Actors in Interdependence. Far from pervasive Neo-Realism, it must be seen that competition is based on complex interdependent relationships: these territorial collectivities benefit from direct and indirect foreign investment of non-state actors such as these most recent thanks to strategic locations in centers of excellence developed with private-public partnerships. If Neo-Classical economists – following the studies of Heckscher-Ohlin-Samuelson or Michael Porter – rightly use an abundance of production factors to explain international trade, and take into consideration contemporary globalization resulting in a triple transnationalization: such as in trade, firms and investments.
Analysis
As with Western firms, the Chinese seek to hold transnational corporations through their purchases of intangible assets mainly such as new technologies, notoriety and ingenuity as reflected in the icons and symbols of European luxury products. The value of these has increased in a configuration of a saturated market and characterized by a homogenization of production for demanding clientele. Now, the experience of consumption, rather than simply purchasing products, has created the value that Chinese covet and seek to acquire. Note how these narratives will always be inherently commercial creators and associated with high technology research centers of the Old World, all from its own place and particular culture. Additionally, they develop thanks to the institutional concentration and socio-industrial tissues that relocation would reduce to nothing.
Additionally, the innovation and business management taken over by the Chinese are the result of “symbolic manipulators” (R. Reich), whose functions are not easily interchangeable. In fact, the different steps of production require highly qualified and well-paid workers. One understands better, in this regard, the issues of information, knowledge, and the crucial place accorded to research. In other words, the non-replication of work accomplished has proven to be the main foundation of European power and its value worldwide. The direct investments of China represent the source of future locations in Asia and a surplus of activity for Europe. Well-aided by the Beijing government, they are based on firm strategies that have estimated the potential of more promising growth potential than other assets existing in the United States, Japan or even China.
Finally, these invested funds in the socio-cultural and symbolic domains and consecrate the dominance of the Western lifestyle and within which the Euro-American consumer functions as the principal client and Western societies are the reference. Such as one often sees in the Chinese consumer, a source of growth for the Middle Kingdom, it must be stated that this is not the case. These enterprises remain centered on the West, implicitly recognizing its global-economy despite the systemic crises and challenges to the system that the West is currently facing.
If care is taken to overcome a misconception of power, then it is impossible to jump to the conclusion today that these Chinese redemptions signify a systematic change in favor of the Asian continent.
References
Baldwin Robert, The Development and Testing of Heckscher-Ohlin Trade Models: A Review, Cambridge (Mass.), MIT Press, 2008.
Cerny Philip, Rethinking World Politics. A Theory of Transnational Neopluralism, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2010.
Fromm Erich, Avoir ou être ? Un choix dont dépend l’avenir de l’homme, trad., Paris, Editions R. Laffont, 1978.
Julian Sébastien, « La carte des investissements chinois en Europe », L’Expansion, 25 Nov. 2011, disponible sur le site web :
http://lexpansion.lexpress.fr/economie/la-carte-des-investissements-chinois-en-europe_272330.html
Juvin Hervé, « Union européenne – Ce libre-échange qui nous ruine », L’Expansion, 19 déc. 2011, disponible sur le site web : www.lexpansion.fr.
Nueno Pedro, Liu Gary, « How Geely Watched and Waited for Volvo », Financial Times, 19 Dec. 2011.
Porter Michael, L’Avantage concurrentiel des nations, Paris, Dunod, 1993.
Reich Robert, L’Economie mondialisée, Paris, Dunod,1993.
« Volvo Cars ne regrette pas son passage sous pavillons chinois », Les Echos, 21 Nov. 2011, p. 22.
Walt Vivienne, « Feasting On Europe », Time, 19 Dec. 2011, pp. 51-54.
Dec 20, 2011 | Diplomacy, Passage au crible (English), Security
By Josepha Laroche
Translation: Davina Durgana
Passage au crible n°51
Source: Wikipedia
On December 16th, 2011 American soldier Bradley Manning appeared before the military court in Fort Meade, Maryland. He was suspected of having provided Wikileaks between November 2009 and May 2010 American army documents concerning the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has also downloaded and transmitted 260,000 diplomatic cables from The State Department. These messages implicate many countries and also political and military figures. This mole is consequently accused of “collusion with the enemy”, “dissemination of military intelligence”, “Internet publication of intelligence knowingly made available to the enemy”, as well as “fraud and violation of military regulation”.
At 23 years of age, Bradley Manning, who has been in prison since July 2010, has extensive media coverage and enjoys the support among the American population, particularly among pacifists. His defense counsel immediately denounced the impartiality of the court. She demanded that the military prosecutor repose himself, but it has not been followed. The preliminary hearing will last five days. During this proceeding, it will not be determined whether the soldier is innocent or guilty, the juridical decision will only review the accusations against Manning. The investigators must simply say whether they will be pursuing a court martial before the trial can proceed. In any case, the trial will not take place before Spring 2012. In the meanwhile, the young culprit risks life imprisonment.
> Historical background
> Theoretical framework
> Analysis
> References
Historical background
The beneficiary of these leakages and thus directly a party to this case, the Wiki Leaks website was created in December 2006. He has since divulged, in an anonymous manner, secured and unidentifiable, confidential information relating to political, social, economic and military domains. He aims to work towards a transparency that he would like to become global. According to its founder, Julian Assange, the resources received by his network are submitted to analysis, commentary, and enhancement “to the consideration of a global community of well-informed editors, proofreaders, and wiki-editors”; its long-term goal was to become “the most powerful body of information in the world”. This project, dependent on the expertise of Bradley Manning – Iraqi intelligence analyst – was immediately perceived by the American administration as relevant purely and simply to conspiracy.
Theoretical framework
Consider two lines of thought:
1. Questioning the sacred/profane dichotomy of the foundation of States
State power is constructed on the law of monopoles such as has been well established by Norbert Elias, or in other words, on the principle of exclusion. Yet, Bradley Manning and the Wiki Leaks website have frontally challenged the diplomatic monopoly by violating all prohibitions attached to the domain of States. Unsurprisingly, under these conditions, Heads of States and governments have made multiple declarations of reproach, hostility, and they have even decided to criminalize these acts.
2. The Violation of the Law of Secrecy
Dialogue and negotiation between states cannot flourish without a certain element of secrecy. In fact, diplomacy hides more than it shows. For centuries, correspondence between public authority figures and the instructions they have received from its highest representatives have been disseminated. Also from simple letters to more confidential messages, documents are systematically encrypted according to sophisticated codes. In these cases, this law is a technique and form of political action, which accords value to information, which would not have necessarily have remained simply accessible. This is above all the forbidden element that makes this information precious; and it is this prohibition that protects and sanctifies the State. In doing so, secrets must be analyzed as an essential attribute of State power, which confers to its holders a privilege and distinction that places them in exceptional positions. In other words, Bradley Manning violated and desecrated this historical arrangement by revealing to the whole world constitutive data of State secrets.
Analysis
For over three centuries, global politics has been based on a system of sovereign States that do not recognize any authority as superior to States. Historically, these States have regulated their conflicts by war or by diplomacy. However, with the end of the Cold War, we have progressed towards a new distribution of power on a global scale and this inter-state hierarchal order finds itself hopelessly overwhelmed. States have thus ceased to be the dominant actors to the point of their systems of alliances, which have been characterized by today’s international order, which has been weakened. The Bradley Manning and Wiki Leaks case appears emblematic in this way because it demonstrates well that the world of States today is challenged by a polycentric and complex universe constituted of non-state actors. These “sovereignty-free actors” (Rosenau) are very diverse and autonomous and are often in conflict among each other. Essentially, these underlying forces demonstrate somewhat capable of benefitting from this redistribution of authority.
In this context, one can equally see that the globalization of information and the digital revolution has not only revolutionized the editorial and economic model of the global press, they have also profoundly subverted the State structure. In fact, the classic notions of territory, sovereignty, State authority and diplomatic monopoly presently cede power to the emergence of extra-state and transnational solidarity. From now on, State actors must deal with the whole, sometimes subversive, of non-state protagonists such as journalists, associations, informal groups of social networks, that is to say such skillful individuals such as Manning who, in the name of a certain concept of democracy, of cyber-citizenship, of liberty or even to test the digital prowess of a super geek to use the Internet to advance their cause and to attempt to preserve all of their rights with respect to States.
References
Elias Norbert, La Dynamique de l’Occident, trad., Paris, 1975.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2010/dec/03/julian-assange-wikileaks
http://www.wikileaks.ch/
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504803_162-20029950-10391709.html?tag=contentMain;contentBody
Rosenau James N., Turbulence in World Politics: a Theory of Change and Continuity, Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1990.
Simmel Georg, Secret et sociétés secrètes, [1908], trad., Paris, Circé, 1991.
Strayer Joseph, Les Origines médiévales de l’État moderne, trad., Paris, Payot, 1979.
Dec 5, 2011 | International commerce, North-South, Passage au crible (English)
By Alexandre Bohas
Translation: Davina Durgana
Passage au crible n°50
Announced with a bang by Western media, the Nano was hailed in March 2009 as the car of the emerging world, while others have condemned the pollution that its mass-market production would entail. However, all agreed that this would be the car of the newly industrialized countries, the Model T of the Roaring Twenties. However, it is clear that it has not achieved its expected success.
> Historical background
> Theoretical framework
> Analysis
> References
Historical background
Similar to the rest of the economy, the Indian auto industry is experiencing explosive growth with over 2 million vehicles produced and the objective to exceed 3 million by the end of 2016. The main player is Maruti-Suzuki, which owns 45% of the market share while Tata – still a giant heavyweight – only holds 12% of market shares. Potential clients are countless: 81 million households with over 75,000 rupees per year. Their purchasing power continues to grow steadily, and they aspire to join the consumer society. In addition, it sells 13 million bikes per year. This is often used as the means of family transport, but they must be gradually replaced.
In this context, the commercialization of Nano meets the expectations of rich Indians. Indeed, at the time by proposing 100,000 rupees (1,700 Euros) Tata computed this model at the lowest possible cost to conquer a preponderant position in this market, and thus dethrone Maruti-Suzuki. With an ambitious objective of 15,000 sales per month, they thus have a production capacity of 20,000 units monthly. They have also begun a strategy of systematic distribution because it wishes to distribute this vehicle in the most rural areas in which the bike is still the most commonly used form of transportation. However, when faced with a decline in orders – the lowest level was reached in November 2010 with only 509 sales – it has lowered its margin to support its points of sales. They then extended their warranty from 18 to 60 months and offered a more efficient engine and more customized options, without recovering a satisfactory level of sales. In fact, with the exception of April 2011, these stated objectives were never realized. Despite the underlying complications of 1) errors in communications and marketing, 2) industrial troubles caused by a poorly placed production site, and 3) shortages incurred in the first month of sales, the most fundamental cause appears to be poor sales.
Theoretical framework
Socio-cultural Structuring of Markets. Often naturalized by analysts, the markets have not resulted uniquely from an adjustment between supply and demand. In many ways this demand seems to be structured on a social and cultural field. First, it has emerged in a society and in a very specific context. Then, in determining ways, its functioning begins as strongly marked by symbols and cultural representations which determine the desire of procurers and its fixed value.
The Hegemonic Character of the Western Lifestyle. If hegemony is often assimilated to the military supremacy of a State, it is necessary to first remember the socio-cultural dominance of transnational groups.

Analysis
Too quickly addressed by specialized publications, the cultural dimension of the failure of the Nano seems incontrovertible. In fact, the Tata Group wanted to attract the middle classes of India who wished to acquire a car. In order to do this, they have presented an offer of a very competitive price. While this element has become the main selling point of the Nano, this assimilation of the vehicle to the poor has tarnished its image and discredited the Group’s reputation to potential buyers. Evidenced by the manufactured nicknames of, the people’s car in India and the car of taxis in Sri Lanka, where many drivers of this profession have acquired these cars. However, this vehicle still carries status, and serves as an outward sign of social success, values, “an extension of power… [and] a manufacturer of self ” in the words of Erich Fromm. In this regard, some have often compared the Nano with the Model T, while ignoring symbols of collective representations of freedom, leisure and the embodiment of the modern American sedan. In fact, Western manufacturers thrive in this symbolic aspect. They are based on the use of latent technology, branding a premium, luxury interior and innovative lines that design what Roland Barthes has already perceived, through the Citroën Goddess creations that are “consumed in their image, if not in use by a whole population which appropriates it as a perfectly magical object”. As analyzed by Peter Wells, the Nano has represented to the contrary a challenge to the industry by promoting a Western business model, which focuses on functionality.
However, customers wanted to withdraw from the basic model that accounted for only 20% of sales. They even preferred cars that were up to 38% more expensive. Consider in this regard that it often serves as the second vehicle of the home. In India, buying patterns show the identification of Indian middle classes with the American Way of Life. The latter desire to distinguish themselves from the bourgeoisie, implicitly acknowledging that the European-American companies hold the right to define what constitutes as a legitimate cultural reference. Finally, they are merely reproducing imported practices.
Lastly, this case is highlighting a North-South divide. In so-called North, the car is now considered harmful and polluting and is seen more as commonplace and as a simple means of transportation. To demonstrate this, the Dacia Logan destined for Eastern Europe has created a stir by selling well in Western countries like France where carpooling and self-service car systems are rapidly growing. Also, if the Nano comes to access European markets as it desires, it will succeed against all odds to achieve greater success, even in India.
References
Cox Robert, Sinclair Timothy, Approaches to World Order, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1996.
Almeida Jeewan, Jony Sandeep, Chandran Nikhil, Purushotham Keerthi, Gupta Ashish, « Auto-Economics: The Tata Nano », Deakin Papers on International Business Economics, July 2010, pp. 26-32.
Baggonkar Swaraj, « Big Sales Problem with Tata’s Small Car », Business Standard Monitoring, 15 Aug. 2011.
Barthes Roland, Mythologies, Paris, Seuil, 1957.
Becker-Ritterspach Florian, Becker-Ritterspach Jutta, « The Development of India’s Small Car Path », Management Online Review, April 2009, pp. 1-10.
Fromm Erich, Avoir ou être ? Un choix dont dépend l’avenir de l’homme, Paris, Editions R. Laffont, 1978.
Gramsci Antonio, Cahiers de prison, Paris, Gallimard, 1996.
« Stuck in Low Gear », The Economist, 20 Aug. 2010.
Pooshan Upadhyay, Keertiman Sharma, « A Study on Consumer Perceptions & Expectations for TataNano », Adhyayan : A Management Journal, 25 Feb 2011, pp. 21-25.
Thomas White International, « Automobile Sector in India: Fast Growth », BRIC Spotlight Report, Oct. 2010, pp. 1-11. Thottan Jyoti, « The Little Car That Couldn’t », Time, 14 Oct. 2011, pp. 39-41.
Wells Peter, « The Tata Nano, the Global ‘Value’ Segment and the Implications for the Traditional Automative Industry Regions », Cambridge Journal of Regions, 1st April 2010, pp. 1-15.
Zelizer Viviana, Pricing the Priceless Child: The Changing Social Value of Children, Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1985.
