Semiotics of sustainability : analysis of the trade and sustainable development chapter of the EU–Vietnam trade and investment agreement

Abstract

This Master’s Thesis analyzes the concept of sustainable development in the so-called Trade and Sustainable Development Chapter (TSD) of the EU–Vietnam Trade and Investment agreement through the theory and methodology of semiotics. Semiotics is a research tradition situated between and within both linguistics and philosophy and it concerns itself with signs, meaning-making and communication. The essential principle of semiotics is that social life is immersed in and mediated by different material signs that contain information and facilitate communication between individuals and groups. The underlying assumption of the thesis is that the concept of sustainable development as communicated in the TSD is a sign with a unique meaning conditioned by the system of other signs that constitutes the contents of the Chapter. This meaning can have unexpected and subtle connotations and consequences in practical policy despite the rhetoric of the text itself.

The EU is a leader in environmental legislation and sustainability in the international stage both as a moral authority and a pioneer in policy, but the academic community has identified several shortcomings in its approach, most predominantly criticizing the importance of economic growth at the cost of focusing on truly sustainable well-being of the environment. My semiotic analysis of the TSD displays similar results: the measures for protecting different aspects of the environment (or even using them sustainably) are not profoundly explored, while they are largely attributed for economic use of no prescribed extent. The aspect of social development – often neglected even in sustainability studies – turns out to be under-developed as well, elaborated again only in its economic connotations. As a single-case study, the outcomes of thesis are not outright applicable to other similar documents, but they suggest that this novel application of semiotics to the study of sustainability and free trade documents can inspire future research using the same methodology.