Do Boycotts Work?

Boycotts are big at the moment. On a global scale, many countries are boycotting Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. There are campaigns to boycott products produced in Turkey, Israel or China. Sporting boycotts are used by countries across the world to express their displeasure with their international rivals. And there are plenty of boycotts going on against companies, over working practices, supply chains and political stances. But international boycotts can be easily circumvented, and we can choose alternative products if we don't like a particular manufacturer. So is this low risk activism, or is it an effective way for ordinary people to hold businesses and nations to account? Do boycotts ever lead to permanent change?Above all, do they work? Journalist and writer David Baker investigates. Presenter: David Baker
Producer: Ravi Naik
Editor: Clare Fordham
Sound Engineer: Nicky Edwards
Production Coordinator: Maria OgundeleContributors:
Caroline Heldman Associate Professor of politics at Occidental College, Los Angeles
Stephen Chan Professor of World Politics at SOAS, University of London
Mark Borkowski PR and Crisis Management agent
Rob Harrison Director of Ethical Consumer
Xinrong Zhu Assistant Professor in Marketing at Imperial College London Business School
Richard Wilson Director and co-founder, Stop Funding Hate
Professor Ellis Cashmore sociologist and cultural critic
Ben Jamal Director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Pinar Yildrim Associate Professor of Marketing at the Wharton (Business) School at the University of Pennsylvania