Indigenous Peoples‘ Rights in a New Key: Local Perspectives on Global Norms in Bolivia’s Extractive Sectors

Debates on indigenous peoples’ rights in the context of neo-extractivism revolve around global political and economic developments, while their manifold local implications are often sidelined or not sufficiently appreciated. This project approaches such implications in their multiplicity, understanding exclusions, vulnerabilities, asymmetries and inequalities in the light of socio-anthropological, socio-political and legal components. Eichler’s interdisciplinary approach includes an extensive discussion of legal norms and their societal implications, reaching legal anthropological dimensions that position the concept of indigeneity within current human rights frameworks, thus disentangling internal dynamics from a global perspective.

This global–local nexus of macro developments and micro dynamics is further illuminated by means of three transversal themes that capture these components: 1) individual and collective indigenous rights in co-existing legal systems; 2) the role of different players in negotiation processes regarding extractive projects; and 3) the impact on knowledge creation and identities in these processes. While the author’s PhD dissertation forms the empirical basis of the project, its overall nature and approach is first and foremost comparative, building on case studies from different world regions, including progressive developments in Latin America. This ensures global coverage while maintaining a strong local focus informed by field studies and other local experiences.

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