Political Geography: South America

201. CTC Sentinel: January 2024 Issue

Author:: Haroun Rahimi, Andrew Watkins, Gabriel Weimann, Alexander T. Pack, and Rachel Sulciner
Publication Date:: 01-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: CTC Sentinel
Institution:: The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:: In the feature article, Haroun Rahimi and Andrew Watkins assess Taliban rule two and a half years into their renewed control of Afghanistan. They write: “Since their 2021 takeover, the Taliban have consolidated control over an impoverished and austere postwar Afghanistan. Since their victory, the Taliban’s emir has reasserted his status as a ‘supreme leader’ and oriented domestic policy in favor of highly conservative constituencies—which has revealed deep differences among their leadership of visions for the future of the Afghan state and society and how authority is divided among themselves. Yet, the Taliban have persistently prioritized the cohesion of their movement and governing apparatus. This trajectory has earned condemnation from Western states and prompted caution in the entire world’s engagement, which has in turn fueled Taliban motivations to reject foreign demands. After two and a half years of rule, the Taliban’s domestic agenda has become intertwined with their foreign relations impasse.” Gabriel Weimann, Alexander Pack, Rachel Sulciner, Joelle Scheinin, Gal Rapaport, and David Diaz write that “with the arrival and rapid adoption of sophisticated deep-learning models such as ChatGPT, there is growing concern that terrorists and violent extremists could use these tools to enhance their operations online and in the real world. Large language models have the potential to enable terrorists to learn, plan, and propagate their activities with greater efficiency, accuracy, and impact than ever before.” The authors offer “an early exploration of how these large language models could be exploited by terrorists or other violent extremists … to support their efforts in training, conducting operational planning, and developing propaganda.” Georgia Gilroy decodes al-Shabaab’s social media strategy, outlining the “controlled, adaptive, and coordinated approach the terrorist group takes to its online behavior.” She writes that the group’s “continued resilience, even in the face of mounting counterinsurgency efforts, is underpinned by its sophisticated communications architecture.” Christian Jokinen assesses whether left-wing terrorism is making a comeback in Germany in a case study of the violent left-wing Engel – Guntermann network. He writes that “the recent concerning trend among German left-wing extremists is toward greater violence and transnationalism.”
Topic:: Terrorism, Taliban, Violent Extremism, Artificial Intelligence, Leftist Politics, and Al-Shabaab
Political Geography:: Afghanistan, Europe, South America, Germany, and Global Focus

202. Key Takeaways for Enhancing Security Governance in the Amazon

Author:: Igarapé Institute
Publication Date:: 12-2024
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Igarapé Institute
Abstract:: The Amazon faces a variety of security challenges, ranging from historical issues such as high homicide rates, theft, drug trafficking, and violence against women to new threats to the region’s rich biodiversity, including deforestation, illegal logging, illegal mining, and land grabbing. Considering the complexity of these problems and the diversity of actors involved in seeking solutions, an effective governance agenda has become urgent. This publication seeks to address a gap in the discussion regarding initiatives that can enhance coordination among entities responsible for identifying, preventing, and combating environmental crimes in the Amazon region. It analyzes practical governance experiences and identifies key attributes that can improve the performance of national and subnational institutions in addressing crime and illegal activities. Additionally, it examines four governance cases that stand out in one or more of these key attributes, bringing relevant practices and lessons learned to strengthen security governance in the Amazon. In this context, where the Amazon region is subject to the alliances and conflicts that are inherent to organized crime dynamics and their intersections and exchanges with environmental crimes, we analyze alternatives for enhancing state (or institutional) capacities and provide recommendations for implementing security governance in the Amazon at three levels: local (municipalities), subnational (states), and regional. These measures aim to address the cross-border challenges of illicit activities and insecurity.
Topic:: Security, Governance, Biodiversity, and Environmental Crime
Political Geography:: South America and Amazon Basin

203. Dynamics of the Ecosystem of Environmental Crimes in the Brazilian Legal Amazon

Author:: Igarapé Institute
Publication Date:: 08-2024
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Igarapé Institute
Abstract:: The Brazilian Legal Amazon is the site of a complex ecosystem of environmental and related non-environmental crimes that impact both the environment and the people living there. Organized environmental crime contributes in many ways to the destruction and degradation of the forest, significantly accelerating land use changes in the world’s largest tropical forest. The loss of Amazon forest cover is causing irreversible damage to Brazil and the world by accelerating climate change. Despite growing recognition among actors inside and outside the Brazilian state, there is still a lack of systematic and in-depth understanding of the scope, scale, and dynamics of organized environmental crime in the Amazon region. While there has been significant progress in the development of georeferenced information systems to monitor deforestation in the Legal Amazon – an area spanning nine states in the northern region of the country – Brazil lacks data on organized crime to assist the government and society in addressing one of the most significant challenges of our time. In an effort to understand the phenomenon, the Igarapé Institute is launching the Strategic Article Dynamics of the Ecosystem of Environmental Crimes in the Legal Amazon. This article presents an overview of the different crime patterns in the states that make up the Brazilian Amazon based on updated data on Federal Police operations in the region covering 2016 to 2022. This analysis is essential not only to understand the Brazilian State’s efforts in combating organized environmental crime but also to reveal the transnational connections of environmental crime, links between environmental crimes and drug-related offenses, the presence of rural militias, and these crimes in Indigenous Lands.
Topic:: Climate Change, Police, Indigenous, Militias, Organized Crime, Deforestation, and Environmental Crime
Political Geography:: Brazil, South America, and Amazon Basin

204. Effects of Hiring Credits on the Argentine Labor Market

Author:: Octavio Bertín, Guillermo Cruces, Diego Chaves-González, Ignacio Lunghi, and Azul Menduiña
Publication Date:: 12-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS)
Abstract:: This study assesses the impact of a hiring credit policy introduced in Argentina in 2014 on various labor outcomes of firms. The reform established differentiated labor cost reductions in the employers contributions to be paid for their new employees, according to the size that firms had at a date prior to the announcement of the policy. Using a differences-in-differences approach and employer-employee administrative data, we analyze the intervention’s effects. Our results show a significant 4.1 percentage point increase in employment growth rates for small firms compared to medium-sized ones, persisting for several years post-reform. This paper also explores the relationship between the intervention’s effects and sector labor informality; we find a significant 6.2 percentage point increase in employment growth rates for firms in high-informality sector, whereas no significant effect is found for firms in lowinformality sectors.
Topic:: Employment, Labor Market, Wages, and Hiring Credits
Political Geography:: Argentina and South America

205. The European Union Deforestation Regulation: The Impact on Argentina

Author:: Pablo de la Vega
Publication Date:: 06-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS)
Abstract:: We analyze the potential economic impacts in Argentina of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which as of January 2025 will prohibit the export to the European Union of certain raw materials and related products if they involve the use of deforested land. A dynamic computable general equilibrium model is used to simulate the impact of such regulation on the Argentine economy. The results suggest that the potential macroeconomic impacts are limited. As a consequence of the EUDR, between 2025 and 2030, GDP would be reduced by an average of 0.46% with respect to the baseline scenario. However, of greater magnitude is the potential environmental impact. Deforested hectares would be reduced by 6.64% and polluting gas emissions by 0.39%.
Topic:: European Union, Regulation, Exports, Trade, and Deforestation
Political Geography:: Europe, Argentina, South America, and Latin America

206. ‘The Search for People’s Well-Being’: Mainstreaming a Psychosocial Approach to Transitional Justice

Author:: Virginie Ladisch and Shayna Lewis
Publication Date:: 09-2024
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
Abstract:: The field of transitional justice is increasingly recognizing the relevance of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in contexts of massive human rights violations. Despite growing advocacy and awareness at the global policy level, however, the field lacks a systematic approach to the issue, signified by the persistent conception of MHPSS solely as a form of service provision to victims and survivors. This study contributes to the development of such an approach, one that applies a psychosocial lens to analyze contexts, assess needs, and design and implement programming that has a positive, transformative impact on the well-being of victims and communities, as well as broader social systems. Drawing on experiences in contexts such as Australia, Canada, Colombia, The Gambia, Nepal, Uganda, and Syria, the report also offers guidance for supporting the mental health and well-being of transitional justice practitioners and addresses practical considerations as they operationalize MHPSS within their own work. At the level of formal transitional justice processes, a psychosocial approach can be integrated into reparative justice, truth-telling initiatives, and judicial processes seeking criminal accountability. Beyond formal processes, though, a psychosocial lens should be a foundational component of all aspects of transitional justice work. It requires a deep understanding of context and the psychosocial needs of a given society, community, or group. It also requires the development of responses that address those needs across different interventions. This study therefore offers guidance regarding key points of consideration for both civil society and government actors involved in transitional justice: embedding work in local communities, creating conditions for positive participation, overcoming stigma, identifying clear roles, building collaboration across silos, developing a long-term process, focusing on all stages of work, considering trauma among leaders and institutions, securing adequate funding, and measuring progress. The report argues that a psychosocial approach needs to be outward to inform analysis of the overall context, design of the intervention, and support for victims, as well as inward to consider how trauma affects organizational structures, team dynamics, and individuals’ ability to do their work.
Topic:: Sustainable Development Goals, Criminal Justice, Memory, Justice, Reparations, Gender, Violence Prevention, Youth Engagement, and Institutional Reform
Political Geography:: Uganda, Africa, Middle East, Canada, Asia, Colombia, South America, Nepal, Syria, North America, and Gambia

207. Transforming Social Relations: Restorative Responses to Massive Human Rights Violations

Author:: The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
Publication Date:: 04-2024
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
Abstract:: Restorative justice and transitional justice are closely and fundamentally related responses to crime. They emphasize shared values and promote similar frameworks that seek to clarify responsibilities, and they both address the inherent limitations of existing institutions: for restorative justice, the limitations of retributive systems in dealing with domestic crimes; for transitional justice, the additional limitations of conventional or compromised rule of law institutions in dealing with serious and massive international crimes. In many ways, restorative justice is at the center of transitional justice. While scholars and practitioners of transitional justice have consistently applied the concepts of restorative justice, in practical terms, there are few examples of restorative justice practices being explicitly integrated into transitional justice processes, specifically those aimed at criminal accountability. There is also a general lack of understanding within both fields about what such integration means or requires. This report offers reflection, clarity, and guidance on the application of a restorative justice framework in contexts of massive human rights violations, including the advantages, risks, opportunities, and challenges of such an approach. The analysis is based on the experiences of Colombia, Sierra Leone, Tunisia, and the Bangsamoro region of the Philippines, which represent a range of different processes that all either integrated or reflected the practices or principles of restorative justice. These principles include stakeholder participation and repair of harm, and the practices include the use of direct or indirect dialogue or engagement between victims and perpetrators to resolve crimes. The study's findings address the role of dialogue between victims and perpetrators; the importance of engagement with communities and society in establishing a link between the micro and macro levels; the contribution of alternative or restorative sanctions in facilitating participation and repair; the need for integrity, legitimacy, and efficacy of process; and the coherence of restorative justice with other justice, peacebuilding, and transitional processes.
Topic:: Human Rights, Reform, Transitional Justice, Criminal Justice, Institutions, Reparations, and Atrocity Prevention
Political Geography:: Africa, Middle East, Asia, Colombia, South America, Sierra Leone, and Tunisia

208. Repairing from the Bench: From Finding Responsibility to Fashioning Judicial Redress

Author:: Adriana Garcia Garcia, Fatima Yasmin Bokhari, and Masha Lisitsyna
Publication Date:: 01-2024
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
Abstract:: Violence perpetrated by the police and the military is dominating news around the world. Survivors, victims, activists, and lawyers on all continents have filed lawsuits against these violations in judicial processes. Among the key objectives for victims are to seek the truth and confirmation from authorities that a wrong was done to them and to obtain reparations. The premise that harm should be repaired is routine in domestic legal systems around the world. But what does the obligation to provide reparations mean, particularly when serious human rights violations are at issue? While reparations may be narrowly defined as the relief afforded to a successful claimant in a given proceeding, in practice they can take a range of forms. The right to reparation has expanded in recent decades through interpretations of international norms, in particular, the right of victims of human rights violations to an effective remedy. This report draws on that evolving interpretation of international law and jurisprudence, much of it developed by regional human rights institutions in Africa, the Americas, and Europe; UN treaty bodies; and some innovative domestic courts. It identifies a series of judicial decisions interpreting international human rights law that have affirmed the content of the right to reparation for serious human rights violations that have upheld the rights of victims as much as possible. More than an analysis of the state of the field of the recognition of the right to reparation, the report provides guidance to human rights defenders and courts that are trying to respond to victims of such violations in ways that affirm their dignity and rights. This guide also explores how domestic courts have provided judicial reparations at the national level. Two relevant questions are considered: Have they in fact complied with international decisions and relevant norms regarding reparations? Have they delivered by doing those things that we believe courts are better suited to do on behalf of victims? At the domestic level, very few analyses exist on how domestic judges grant reparations or the compliance of their decisions with international law, jurisprudence of international human rights courts, and decisions by international human rights bodies that govern reparations. This guide seeks to fill this gap through the analysis of decisions of domestic courts around the world with different specialties.
Topic:: Transitional Justice, Criminal Justice, Memory, Judiciary, and Reparations
Political Geography:: Africa, Middle East, Asia, South America, and North America

209. Fortalecer las veedurías ciudadanas sin debilitar el control social: recomendaciones de política para el proyecto de Ley Estatutaria número 120 de 2023 de Cámara

Author:: Samuel Nossa Agüero
Publication Date:: 09-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centro Interdisciplinario de Estudios sobre Desarrollo (CIDER), Universidad de los Andes
Abstract:: Las veedurías ciudadanas son una forma de participación ciudadana que ejerce el control social a través de la auditoría social. Desde la expedición de la ley 850 de 2003 que establece un marco institucional para la formalización de las veedurías, el registro formal de esta forma de participación viene en aumento en las últimas dos décadas, y su labor de vigilancia y advertencia sobre los riesgos de malversación, ineficiencia administrativa, recomendaciones de mejora y lucha anticorrupción las ha posicionado como un mecanismo privilegiado de democracia directa. Pero, mientras se popularizan las veedurías, su proliferación las ha puesto en frente de limitaciones importantes para desarrollar su quehacer de control social, llevando a que el Congreso de la República impulse una actualización de la legislación en esta materia. El proyecto de ley estatutaria 120 de Cámara de 2023 (en adelante PLE-C 120/23) busca ofrecer unas garantías institucionales a las veedurías para su ejercicio de control social, proteger a las y los veedores ciudadanos frente a las amenazas a su integridad, facilitar el acceso a la información, y brindar herramientas para que el ejercicio de control social aumente su arsenal en la lucha anticorrupción. Este proyecto de ley cursa su último debate en Senado en esta legislatura. Y a pesar de su noble propósito, incluye algunas medidas que pueden generar incentivos perversos para las veedurías incentivar actuaciones oportunistas y de acoso frente al sector público. A su vez ser inconvenientes para la promoción de otros mecanismos de participación social distintos de las veedurías. El texto también comporta una visión negativa y punitiva del control social, lo que puede debilitar la construcción de confianza con el Estado a la vez que reemplaza algunas funciones que son exclusivas del poder judicial o de los órganos de control. Algunas medidas propuestas por la ley se redundan con la legislación de transparencia y acceso a la información expedidas en la década pasada, tras la ley 850. Y finalmente, el proyecto tiene la gran oportunidad de fortalecer la asistencia técnica y jurídica para que las veedurías alcancen un impacto mayor. Este documento de política analiza estas medidas a la luz de las investigaciones recientes, y de los datos recolectados para la producción del artículo académico sobre auditoría social que publicamos que publicamos recientemente (Agüero & Montero). El artículo consiste en una reflexión sobre las perspectivas de control social vigentes hoy y de los debates de la literatura reciente. A continuación, analizo la trayectoria de la legislación de control social de las últimas tres décadas. Finalmente, discuto cinco aspectos del proyecto de ley 120 de cámara de 2023, y establezco recomendaciones de política para la discusión del proyecto en último debate. Con este documento de política quiero contribuir a la discusión legislativa para identificar esos puntos contradictorios que podrían debilitar el control social en lugar de fortalecerlo, y plantear alternativas que corrijan esa contradicción.
Topic:: Democracy, Citizenship, Oversight, and Social Control
Political Geography:: Colombia and South America

210. Policy Brief 17: Building bridges for nonviolent change: Women insider mediators in peaceful protest movements

Author:: Veronique Dudouet and Johanna-Maria Hulzer
Publication Date:: 09-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Berghof Foundation
Abstract:: This policy brief examines the critical roles of women as insider mediators in peaceful protest movements (PPMs) across Iraq, Thailand, and Venezuela. Based on qualitative interviews and case studies, this brief highlights how these women build bridges between diverse actors and offers recommendations for empowering them to deepen their mediation roles. The findings aim to inform international policy actors and enhance support for sustainable peacebuilding.
Topic:: Women, Protests, Sustainability, Mediation, Nonviolence, and Peacebuilding
Political Geography:: Iraq, Middle East, South America, Venezuela, Thailand, and Southeast Asia

211. La participación democrática en la justicia constitucional. Análisis y recomendaciones sobre el mecanismo de las intervenciones

Author:: Juliana Jaramillo
Publication Date:: 09-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centro Interdisciplinario de Estudios sobre Desarrollo (CIDER), Universidad de los Andes
Abstract:: La Constitución de 1991 introdujo cambios profundos en la justicia constitucional. Con la creación de la Corte Constitucional de Colombia, la nueva Carta política no solo buscó fortalecer los mecanismos de acceso a la justicia, sino también expandir las oportunidades para una mayor participación ciudadana y de actores estatales en los debates constitucionales. La implementación del mecanismo de las intervenciones, más conocidos internacionalmente como escritos de amicus curiae, sirvió a este último propósito al establecer una herramienta para que actores externos a la Corte pudieran involucrarse en el proceso de decisión judicial. Este documento examina el funcionamiento y la apropiación de este mecanismo en la Corte Constitucional y otros tribunales del mundo, analiza sus potencialidades y limitaciones, y propone un conjunto de recomendaciones para fortalecer su regulación y garantizar una particip
Topic:: Politics, Regulation, Constitution, Courts, and Participation
Political Geography:: Colombia and South America

212. Assessment of Water Footprint Profiles: Analysis of the Quinoa Life Cycle in Bolivia

Author:: Javier Aliaga Lordemann, Alejandro Capriles, and Nayra Antezana
Publication Date:: 10-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Institute for Advanced Development Studies (INESAD)
Abstract:: This study analyzes the water footprint profiles of quinoa production in Bolivia, an emblematic crop that faces significant challenges in terms of yield and sustainability. The Total Water Footprint (WH) of quinoa estimated for the Southern Altiplano region of Bolivia is approximately 1,728 liters per kilogram, with average yields of 1.15 tons per hectare. This result shows a worrying level of inefficiency in the relationship of HH and crop yield, especially in comparison with countries such as Peru and Ecuador. The results show high HH and low yields; therefore, quinoa production in Bolivia in the study area is not optimizing water use. This situation can be explained to a large extent by the low level of organic matter in the soil of the area (verified by soil studies). Thus, a soil with low organic matter content lacks essential nutrients, which impairs quinoa growth and negatively affects its root development due to soil compaction. In addition, the lack of organic matter decreases water retention capacity, which is critical in periods of drought as a result of the increased frequency and intensity of climatic events in the area. Likewise, the lack of organic matter makes plants more vulnerable to pests and diseases, but also reduces microbial biodiversity, which affects key processes such as decomposition and nutrient cycling, compromising soil fertility. In summary, this type of soil is less efficient in water use, which can increase the water footprint of the crop by requiring more frequent irrigation. Based on these conclusions, several recommendations are proposed. First, it is crucial to optimize yield and reduce WH by implementing efficient irrigation systems. This includes training farmers in these technologies. The use of vegetative covers that improve moisture retention is also suggested. In addition, advanced irrigation technologies -such as soil moisture sensors- should be adopted and rainwater harvesting systems should be promoted. Training in integrated water resources management is essential, as well as the development of climate adaptation strategies.
Topic:: Agriculture, Water, Sustainability, Econometrics, and Quinoa
Political Geography:: South America and Bolivia

213. Evaluating Quinoa Crop Yield in the Face of Agro-climatic Stressors Using the NL-CROP Model

Author:: Javier Aliaga Lordemann and Adriana Caballero Caballero
Publication Date:: 10-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Institute for Advanced Development Studies (INESAD)
Abstract:: Crop models are a key tool for developing adaptation strategies in the agriculture sector. With their evolution over time, they have gradually incorporated new approaches and tools. This document develops a non-linear model for simulating the performance of crops with an innovative approach that includes non-linear functions, thus allowing a more realistic representation of agricultural systems. Focusing on quinoa, we use experimental and field data of zones of the Bolivian Altiplano (high plateau) to evaluate different production outcomes under various climatic and agricultural management scenarios that include multiple agro-climatic stressors. The study reveals that the varieties of quinoa adapted to the local conditions of the study areas have better performance than conventional varieties. This underscores the importance of having material that is genetically adapted for facing the impacts of climate change. Additionally, the results show that the NL-CROP model has a satisfactory ability to both reproduce and predict observed quinoa patterns, considering water and thermal stress impacts. This makes the model a key tool for assessing the impact of climate change and also for anticipating the challenges and opportunities that will arise for quinoa in the future, providing valuable assistance in agricultural planning.
Topic:: Agriculture, Climate Change, Quinoa, and Crop Model
Political Geography:: South America and Bolivia

214. Retirement Planning for Certified Quinoa Farmers in the Southern Altiplano of Bolivia: Challenges and Opportunities

Author:: Alejandro Herrera and Beatriz Muriel
Publication Date:: 11-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Institute for Advanced Development Studies (INESAD)
Abstract:: This paper examines the social protection challenges faced by quinoa farmers in the southern Altiplano of Bolivia, with a focus on certified quinoa producers. Using a mixed- methods approach and insights from existing literature, the study examines the retirement planning and financial literacy of farmers affiliated with RED-QUINUA, a network of Fairtrade®-certified quinoa producer associations in the region. It highlights critical issues such as low participation in the national pension system, lack of retirement planning, and gaps in financial literacy, with particular attention to their disproportionate impact on women producers. To address these challenges, a pilot program was implemented to improve quinoa farmers’ financial literacy and retirement planning. The program provided participants with critical knowledge to formulate their retirement and long-term savings plans. Results from the pilot are encouraging, demonstrating improved financial literacy, increased awareness of retirement planning, and a better understanding of savings options, particularly among women. This study shows that, with appropriate financial and retirement education, quinoa certification premiums could contribute to farmers’ long-term financial security and well-being.
Topic:: Agriculture, Farming, Retirement, Savings, Quinoa, and Financial Literacy
Political Geography:: South America and Bolivia

215. Estimate of the Carbon Footprint in Organic Quinoa Plots in the South of Bolivia – Case Study

Author:: Liliana Roca
Publication Date:: 10-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Institute for Advanced Development Studies (INESAD)
Abstract:: This case study is part of the research project “Creating Indigenous Women’s Green Jobs under Low-Carbon COVID-19 Response and Recovery in the Bolivian Quinoa Sector”. I estimate the carbon footprint associated with the quinoa production in southern Bolivia based on primary information of 19 plots. Using a cradle-to-gate life cycle analysis approach, under the ISO 14067 standard, and analyzing various emission sources through the Cool Farm Tool, I determine that the carbon footprint generates an average of 741 .7 kg CO2e per plot; and an average of 267.4 kg CO2e per hectare. The main emission sources identified are the use of organic fertilizer (54%), the consumption of fossil fuels (35%) and the use of protection inputs (8%). Considering the declared unit of 1 kg of harvested quinoa, I obtain the carbon footprint results per product, with values ranging between 0.3 and 2.3 kg CO2e/kg of quinoa and an average of 0.98 kg CO2e/ kg of quinoa.
Topic:: Climate Change, Carbon Footprint, Green Jobs, and Quinoa
Political Geography:: South America and Bolivia

216. Making the Case for Women, Peace and Security

Author:: Our Secure Future
Publication Date:: 07-2024
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Our Secure Future
Abstract:: Mounting evidence confirms that women’s meaningful engagement in peace and security processes increases the likelihood and sustainability of peace. Our Secure Future’s latest publication, “Making the Case for Women, Peace and Security,” compiles the relevant statistics, figures, and key country examples demonstrating the positive impact of women’s participation in peacebuilding and conflict resolution. From Colombia to Myanmar to Rwanda, this guide illustrates the critical role that women have played and continue to play in peace and security efforts around the world.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Security, Women, Peace, Sustainability, and Participation
Political Geography:: Africa, Asia, Colombia, South America, Rwanda, and Myanmar

217. Atlantism Under Maintenance: A Review of the Brazil-Cape Verde Partnership During the Dilma Rousseff Administrations (2011-2016)

Author:: Tatiana Raquel Reis Silva and Leandro Chaves Batista
Publication Date:: 03-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Institution:: Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Abstract:: From a holistic perspective, Brazil’s foreign policy towards the African continent has historically been marked by moments of greater proximity and others of relative distance. Authors such as Barriviera (2016) and Costa (2015) claim that there’s been a downturn in Brazil-Africa relations since Dilma Rousseff became president. It is essential to situate the relations established between Brazil and the various African nations as a phenomenon integrated into the logic of South-South Cooperation (SSC), a segment of Internatio-nal Development Cooperation (IDC) that encompasses political, diplomatic and commercial ties between developing countries, guided by the principle of horizontality, with an emphasis on mutual benefits. With regard to the cooperation established with the archipelago of Cape Verde, it is important to note that it is supported by a basal document: the Basic Agreement on Scientific and Technical Cooperation, signed in 1977.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Bilateral Relations, Partnerships, and Dilma Rousseff
Political Geography:: Africa, Brazil, South America, and Cabo Verde

218. Why Do Community Members Support Clientelistic Deals? How Collective Voting Decisions are Taken in Uru Indigenous Communities, Bolivia

Author:: Aline-Sophia Hirseland
Publication Date:: 08-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA)
Abstract:: This article explores the practice of “instructed voting” prevalent among rural Indigenous communities in Bolivia, referring to the taking of collective electoral decisions. It adds to the debate on clientelistic bloc voting by revealing voters’ motives for participating in clientelistic deals, as based on interviews with Uru Indigenous community members and politicians. It shows the ambivalent significance of the practice for the Indigenous communities under study, being a protective mechanism against external threats on the one hand and a gateway to vote buying on the other. Social norms and trust in community authorities are found to be central drivers for achieving voters’ compliance. The article adds another piece to the puzzle on how clientelistic deals happen in democratic systems under a secret ballot yet without apparent infringements of the law, which is the case in the communities under study here.
Topic:: Indigenous, Decision-Making, Clientelism, Voting Behavior, and Bloc Voting
Political Geography:: South America and Bolivia

219. Brazilian Dystopian Futures: Worlding Brazil through SF Movies

Author:: Gilberto Carvalho de Oliveira
Publication Date:: 12-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Contexto Internacional
Institution:: Institute of International Relations, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
Abstract:: Relying on the so-called IR aesthetic turn and taking advantage of the critical and epistemic qualities of cinema, this article explores how some Brazilian science fiction (SF) films offer a sensitive and reflective interpretation of Brazil and its place in the world, which should be valued in the study of international politics. Within this proposal, the article analyses four emblematic movies from the scarce historiography of Brazilian SF cinema – O Quinto Poder (1962), Os Cosmonautas (1962), Brasil Ano 2000 (1969), and ‘Bacurau’ (2019) – in order to identify to what extent they resulted in the reproduction or reinforcement of more conventional understandings and consensual representations of international politics, or conversely exposed, questioned and/or criticised dominant representations of Brazil and its place in the world. The analytical category of ‘worlding’ is borrowed from post-colonial thinking to designate the process by which filmmakers construct or deconstruct the imaginaries that make Brazilian reality intelligible, locally and globally. As the article aims to show, the way Brazil is worlded in these SF films contributes to amplify important debates and encourage critical thinking on issues that inform the way Brazil and its place in the world is interpreted by its own cultural agents and artists. The article also shows that the epistemological move suggested by the IR aesthetic turn and the concept of worlding provide a more nuanced lens that provides interpretations of Brazil and to some extent of international politics that are more locally rooted and therefore richer than those that distant and western-centred orthodox IR theories can allow.
Topic:: Aesthetics, Science Fiction, International Politics, and Dystopia
Political Geography:: Brazil and South America

220. El Eternauta (1976): Science Fiction against Imperialism

Author:: Marcio José Melo Malta and Afonso de Albuquerque
Publication Date:: 12-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Contexto Internacional
Institution:: Institute of International Relations, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
Abstract:: The science fiction genre is frequently used to depict realistic scenarios. This research aims to present an Argentinean comic book that has been adapted to the historical events of the country since its creation in 1957. El Eternauta is a graphic novel that depicts an alien invasion on Earth. The story reflects the political changes that were taking place in Argentina at the time, as the country was becoming more politically radicalised. The paper specifically discusses the 1976 edition, which was written by Héctor Germán Oesterheld, an underground militant in the armed struggle, and illustrated by Solano López. The scriptwriter and his family actively resisted the repressive military government and were harshly persecuted. This led to the disappearance of family members, including the writer himself, during the year that the analysed version of El Eternauta was published. The methodology uses comics as a primary empirical source, combined with theoretical references from the fields of international relations, history, political science, and communication to interpret the context of the military dictatorships that ravaged Latin America in the second half of the 20th century.
Topic:: International Relations, Imperialism, Dictatorship, Science Fiction, and Comics
Political Geography:: Argentina and South America

221. La “Ceguera Marítima”: características, consecuencias y alternativas.Alemania, Brasil y la Organización Marítima Internacionalen comparación

Author:: Herminio Sánchez de la Barquera y Arroyo
Publication Date:: 06-2023
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
Institution:: International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
Abstract:: El presente texto parte de tres puntos importantes que darán paso al análisis de la ceguera marítima, sus características y consecuencias desde laperspectiva de las acciones emprendidas por Alemania, Brasil y laOrganización Marítima Internacional(OMI). El enfoque principal de esta investigación es conocer cómo estos tres actores, mediante distintos recursos, tratande contribuir a reducir la ceguera marítimapropia (en el caso de las dos naciones analizadas) y lade países en desarrollo(en el caso de laOMI). Posteriormente determinaremos sus características, medios y objetivos.
Topic:: Security, Maritime, Seapower, and Dependency
Political Geography:: Europe, Brazil, South America, and Germany

222. European Communities in South America and the Global Total Wars of the 20th Century: An Interview with Dr. María Inés Tato

Author:: María Inés Tato and Salvador Lima
Publication Date:: 05-2023
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: The Toynbee Prize Foundation
Abstract:: Total wars do not just affect the belligerent societies. The two global conflicts of the first half of the twentieth century had repercussions in neutral countries and colonial territories that could not escape of their economic and political impact. This was certainly most evident for the European diasporas in the South American region. How did overseas Europeans participate in the war effort? What were the tensions surrounding the mobilization? What were the effects on the relationship with the adoption countries? These are some of the questions that the authors of Transatlantic Battles. European Immigrant Communities in South America and the World Wars (Brill, 2022) address. The book was edited by María Inés Tato, researcher at the National Council of Science and Technic Research (CONICET), in Argentina, and director of the Group of Historical War Studies of the Institute of Latin American and Argentine History “Dr. Emilio Ravignani”, University of Buenos Aires. Under her coordination, this collective project gathered several historians from different backgrounds, including Juan Pablo Artinian, Norman Fraser Brown, Juan Luis Carrellán Ruiz, Hernán Díaz, Marcelo Huernos, Milagros Martínez-Flener, Germán Friedmann and Stefan Rinke. The main goal of the project was to explore how European communities in South America expressed the transnational nature of their national identities through enlistment in armies and the mobilisation of economic and cultural assets. As Tato says in the book’s introduction, these immigrants, and their families “had two homelands: they were attached to their countries of origin and, at the same time, exhibited strong connections with the societies they resided in, developing a complex identity that recognized their dual allegiance.” Transatlantic Battles should not be understood as an isolated piece of work, but as a contribution to a growing academic movement that, for the last twenty years, has attended to the global dimension of the twentieth-century total wars. Tato herself has published and directed several books on the subject, working closely with colleagues on both sides of the Atlantic.
Topic:: War, History, Diaspora, and Interview
Political Geography:: Europe and South America

223. El lugar de Venezuela en las restricciones chino-estadounidenses: una mirada desde la prensa española en el marco de la invasión rusa a Ucrania

Author:: Iván Luis Alonso Peláez
Publication Date:: 01-2023
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista UNISCI/UNISCI Journal
Institution:: Unidad de investigación sobre seguridad y cooperación (UNISCI)
Abstract:: El artículo hace un recorrido histórico para conocer cuál ha sido el papel de Venezuela en el marco de las relaciones chino-estadounidenses, especialmente los cambios ocurridos a partir de 1999 con los gobiernos de Hugo Chávez y Nicolás Maduro. Acorde con lo descrito por la abundante bibliografía sobre el tema, se constata que se ha producido un cambio de roles en el que China progresivamente ha ido ocupando en Venezuela el espacio comercial preferente que tradicionalmente había ostentado Estados Unidos desde el restablecimiento de la Democracia en 1958. A través de un análisis informativo utilizando como fuente un grupo de textos periodísticos publicados en los seis principales diarios de circulación nacional editados en España, se valora cómo la invasión rusa a Ucrania promueve un todavía incipiente deshielo en el curso de las sanciones impuestas por Washington a la industria petrolera venezolana.
Topic:: Oil, Sanctions, Energy Crisis, Newspapers, and Russia-Ukraine War
Political Geography:: Russia, China, Ukraine, South America, Venezuela, and United States of America

224. Perú entre Estados Unidos y China: Adaptación de la política exterior peruana de cara a las divergencias chino-estadounidenses

Author:: Bruno Macciotta Pulisci and Pablo Biderbost
Publication Date:: 01-2023
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista UNISCI/UNISCI Journal
Institution:: Unidad de investigación sobre seguridad y cooperación (UNISCI)
Abstract:: Desde hace un tiempo China viene compitiendo con Estados Unidos por una posición dominante en el mundo. La competencia es, sobre todo económica, aunque implica, por supuesto, aspectos también políticos, sociales y militares. Una de las regiones más disputadas es, sin duda, América Latina, en la que Estados Unidos pierde cada vez más terreno y China se posiciona como el mayor socio comercial. En este contexto, los países latinoamericanos han tenido que reconfigurar sus políticas exteriores para poder satisfacer sus expectativas de la mano de quien le ofrezca mejores posibilidades. Perú no ha sido una excepción y, de hecho, se ha acercado en los últimos años más a China como principal socio comercial, aunque no ha soltado la mano de Estados Unidos del todo. El presente artículo explora cómo se ha reconfigurado la política exterior peruana de cara a la competencia entre China y Estados Unidos.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Economics, Trade, and Strategic Competition
Political Geography:: China, South America, Peru, and United States of America

225. Factores endógenos y exógenos en el relacionamiento bilateral entre Paraguay y la República de China (Taiwán). Primacías en un contexto internacional tensionado por el enfrentamiento chino-estadounidense

Author:: Julieta H. Heduvan and Maria Antonella Cabral López
Publication Date:: 01-2023
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista UNISCI/UNISCI Journal
Institution:: Unidad de investigación sobre seguridad y cooperación (UNISCI)
Abstract:: En el marco de la creciente escalada en el estrecho de Taiwán y en medio de la tensión provocada por dinámicas que buscan desafiar el orden existente, Paraguay, como el único país sudamericano y uno de los pocos Estados a nivel global que reconoce en la actualidad a la República de China (Taiwán) y no a la República Popular China (RPC), percibe desde el otro lado del mundo un conflicto que no es ajeno a él. Este contexto hace oportuno el análisis del relacionamiento de Paraguay con Taiwán y los elementos que determinan su reconocimiento actual, identificando los factores exógenos y endógenos que rigen esta vinculación. Esto permite a su vez, dilucidar cuál es la situación que podría presentarse en un futuro.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Bilateral Relations, Endogenous Factors, and Exogenous Factors
Political Geography:: China, Taiwan, South America, and Paraguay

226. La política exterior argentina: Equilibrios y continuidades entre China y Estados Unidos

Author:: Florencia Rubiolo and Diego Telias
Publication Date:: 01-2023
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista UNISCI/UNISCI Journal
Institution:: Unidad de investigación sobre seguridad y cooperación (UNISCI)
Abstract:: La competencia entre Estados Unidos y China en el ámbito comercial, tecnológico y geopolítico tiene repercusiones globales. América Latina, a pesar de una creciente irrelevancia, también es una arena donde estas potencias están compitiendo. Argentina no ha quedado fuera de esta disyuntiva y, al igual que otros países de la región, ha intentado mantener un equilibrio entre ambas potencias, por la importancia que cada una reviste: Estados Unidos en lo financiero y China tanto en lo comercial como en materia de inversiones. En este artículo, a través de un repaso teórico, análisis de documentos oficiales y entrevistas, se analiza la política exterior de Alberto Fernández hacia China en el contexto de las divergencias entre ambos Estados. Concluimos que Argentina ha intentado de manera continua un equilibrio, aunque no implica equidistancia, ante una situación en donde los gobiernos aún no han sido presionados a optar.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Finance, Investment, Trade, Competition, and Equilibrium
Political Geography:: China, Argentina, South America, and United States of America

227. Brasil-Estados Unidos-China en el orden global a principios del siglo XXI: Un análisis desde la perspectiva de la política exterior brasileña

Author:: Maria da Luz Ramos, Carla Guapo da Costa, and Gabrieli Gaio
Publication Date:: 01-2023
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista UNISCI/UNISCI Journal
Institution:: Unidad de investigación sobre seguridad y cooperación (UNISCI)
Abstract:: Este artículo aborda las diversas orientaciones de la política exterior brasileña (PEB) en el siglo XXI teniendo en cuenta el contexto de las relaciones establecidas entre Brasil y dos importantes actores del orden geopolítico contemporáneo: Estados Unidos (EEUU) y China. Desde una lectura geopolítica Norte-Sur del orden global, se analiza la(s) forma(s) en que el PEB y sus actores construyen sus representaciones sobre dichos actores y estructuran, en consecuencia, su agenda externa en relación con ellos.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, History, Geopolitics, and International Order
Political Geography:: China, Brazil, South America, United States of America, Global South, and Global North

228. The Shell and the Seed: Lessons from the Negotiation with the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia

Author:: Marta Ruiz
Publication Date:: 10-2023
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
Abstract:: The achievement of total peace is not a new goal for Colombia. For the better part of the last 30 years, most government administrations have attempted to negotiate or subdue all existing armed groups either simultaneously or sequentially. However, the results so far have been partial and insufficient to address the structural causes and persistent factors behind a 60-year internal armed conflict. The product of a collaboration between ICTJ and the researcher, journalist, and former commissioner of the Colombian Truth Commission, Marta Ruiz, this study presents new points of view and reflections on the negotiations with the paramilitary forces in the first years of 2000. These reflections can be useful not only to inform public debate but also as input for decisionmakers and those who design strategies for negotiation and the pursuit of total peace underway today in Colombia. The first part explains the genesis of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) and describes their transition from drug traffickers to political and military actors. It presents evidence that since the 1980s the Colombian state has attempted to negotiate with drug traffickers using different narratives about their nature. The second part describes what happened at the Santafé Ralito negotiation table, the discussion’s agenda, and how the political context affected the process. It also shows how political timing, in particular President Uribe's reelection, affected the process’s outcome. The big question it asks, one with no single answer, is why, if negotiations were being held with drug traffickers, there was no real talk of dismantling drug trafficking. The third part assesses the consequences of the process, both in terms of justice and reintegration. It attempts to explain how the demobilized armed groups were reactivated in the territories.
Topic:: Conflict Prevention, Armed Forces, Negotiation, and Peace
Political Geography:: Colombia and South America

229. Advancing Victims’ Rights and Rebuilding Just Communities: Local Strategies for Achieving Reparation as a Part of Sustainable Development

Author:: The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
Publication Date:: 11-2023
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
Abstract:: This comparative study examines strategies used by local actors to facilitate the operationalization of reparations for victims of widespread human rights violations, while highlighting the synergies between these efforts and sustainable development. The study is based on the fieldwork of ICTJ and its partners in four contexts—Colombia, The Gambia, Tunisia, and Uganda. These countries represent a range of different situations, where the progress made, challenges faced, and overall political and institutional contexts vary significantly. Nonetheless, comparison of the approaches used across the cases offers valuable insights for those working in these and other contexts. In The Gambia, the truth commission and legislation for reparations have created expectations among victims, but a program has yet to be implemented. In Uganda, the legal and policy framework for reparations exists, but there is no enabling legislation or mechanism to provide them as a result of stalled political will. In Tunisia, the truth commission recommended reparations, but the political and economic situation make operationalization unlikely. In Colombia, challenges faced by reparations have informed the design of restorative sanctions that include reparative projects but are yet to be implemented. The major insights gained from this comparative study relate to the specific ways in which reparations can contribute to individual and community well-being and development; innovative and effective approaches to ensuring victims and communities receive reparations and support, including through collective action, engagement with government, and grassroots initiatives; the integration of victims’ needs and priorities into development policies and models; and the reparative elements of complementary accountability and reform measures that are participatory, address corruption and marginalization, and contribute to gender justice and equality. The report offers practical guidance and policy recommendations for advancing reparations as an integral element of broader societal efforts to facilitate inclusion, justice, peace, and development.
Topic:: Human Rights, Sustainable Development Goals, Accountability, Reparations, and Truth and Reconciliation
Political Geography:: Uganda, Africa, Colombia, South America, Tunisia, and Gambia

230. Cold War rivalry on Brazil’s and Argentina’snuclear programs: examining military and civilian intentions

Author:: André Luiz Cançado Motta and José Paulo Silva Ferreira
Publication Date:: 07-2023
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Conjuntura Austral: Journal of the Global South
Institution:: Conjuntura Austral: Journal of the Global South
Abstract:: The objective of this article is to investigate whether Cold War rivalry influenced the development of nuclear programs in Brazil and Argentina. The research employs a qualitative approach and bibliographic analysis of primary sources, including articles, books, and other relevant sources. The main hypothesis is to examine whether the culture of Cold War rivalry stimulated the development of nuclear programs in these countries, analysing the military and civilian intentions behind their nuclear technologies. While it is commonly reported that Latin America was under the influence of the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) during the Cold War, the cases of Brazil and Argentina show the opposite. Both countries adopted independent nuclear policies, seeking technological transfer through diversified and autonomous partnerships. Additionally, these divergent positions included arguments and actions regarding their respective nuclear policies. However, mutual distrust between Brazil and Argentina regarding the advancement and sophistication of their nuclear programs generated a dynamic similar to the Cold War in the Southern Cone region. This dynamic originated internally based on the logic of the two countries, despite the later creation of joint non-proliferation mechanisms.
Topic:: Cold War, Nuclear Weapons, Politics, History, Rivalry, Military, and Nuclearization
Political Geography:: Brazil, Argentina, and South America

231. Navigating through continuity and innovation: an analysis of Lula’s third term challenges involving migration policy

Author:: Matheus Felten Fröhlich and Veronica Korber Gonçalves
Publication Date:: 10-2023
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Conjuntura Austral: Journal of the Global South
Institution:: Conjuntura Austral: Journal of the Global South
Abstract:: This article addresses the first hundred days of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's third term as president of Brazil in the contextof international migration and refuge. The paper aims to analyse the “intermestic” characteristics of foreign policy and its relationship with the formulation of specific guidelines on migration. Using documentary sources and interviews, we examine the context in which Lula took charge, which was marked by the recognition of “prima facie” refugee status for Venezuelan citizens, the elaboration of a national migration policy, and the definition of the future of Operation Welcome. Our objective is to reflect on the main challenges faced by the new government concerning migration and refugee issues, considering the historical con-struction of the agenda in the last two decades. We conclude that the current focus is on revamping crucial policies to ensure the smooth operation of orderly migration within the country, as these practices have been gradually dismantled in recent years. Besides, we highlight that the future of Opera-tion Welcome remains uncertain at this stage.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Governance, Law, Refugees, Lula da Silva, and Migration Policy
Political Geography:: Brazil and South America

232. Inequality in Chile: Perceptions and Patterns

Author:: Ignacia Lecaros, Daniela Paz Cruzat, Ricardo Pommer Muñoz, Pablo Tillan, and Michael Walton
Publication Date:: 09-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:: Chile has pioneered many things: a market-oriented, “neoliberal” approach to development; an impressive transition from authoritarianism to democracy; innovations in social policy; and an extraordinary series of street protests between 2006 and 2019. While often lauded as a model of economic and social development, the protests reflect acute concerns over perceived failures in the Chilean political, economic and cultural system, concerns that were profoundly inflected with issues of inequality and lack of fairness. To inform this contrast, this paper undertakes a systematic assessment of the perceptions and perspectives of Chilean citizens, both in the context of the protests and in their broader expressed views in surveys. The core theme is that “the street was right”, in the specific sense that the protests reflected much wider sentiments across social classes over perceived inequities in economic advancement, social provisioning, and the undignified “treatment” by state actors and elites. The paper then compares these perceptions with some of the “objective” measures of inequality. While alternative measures indicate modest declines in some measures of inequality, Chile remains a very high inequality society, in relation to income, wealth, and education. These perceptions and patterns are central to Chile’s current development challenges, in ways that resonate with the position of many countries in today’s polarized environment. This is the first of two papers, with the sequel exploring the underlying drivers of inequality and implications for policy direction.
Topic:: Education, Health, Inequality, Protests, State, Perception, and Fairness
Political Geography:: South America and Chile

233. Seeing the Forest for More than the Trees: A Policy Strategy to Curb Deforestation and Advance Shared Prosperity in the Colombian Amazon

Author:: Timothy Cheston, Patricio Goldstein, Timothy Freeman, Alejandro Rueda-Sanz, and Ricardo Hausmann
Publication Date:: 02-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:: Does economic prosperity in the Colombian Amazon require sacrificing the forest? This research compendium of a series of studies on the Colombian Amazon finds the answer to this question is no: the perceived trade-off between economic growth and forest protection is a false dichotomy. The drivers of deforestation and prosperity are distinct – as they happen in different places. Deforestation occurs at the agricultural frontier, in destroying some of the world’s most complex biodiversity by some of the least economically complex activities, particularly cattle-ranching. By contrast, the economic drivers in the Amazon are its urban areas often located far from the forest edge, including in non-forested piedmont regions. These cities offer greater economic complexity by accessing a wider range of productive capabilities in higher-income activities with little presence of those activities driving deforestation. Perhaps the most underappreciated facet of life in each of the three Amazonian regions studied, Caquetá, Guaviare, and Putumayo, is that the majority of people live in urban areas. This is a telling fact of economic geography: that even in the remote parts of the Amazon, people want to come together to live in densely populated areas. This corroborates the findings of our global research over the past two decades that prosperity results from expanding the productive capabilities available locally to diversify production to do more, and more complex, activities.
Topic:: Economic Growth, Deforestation, and Green Economy
Political Geography:: Colombia, South America, Latin America, and Amazon Basin

234. Raise your voice! Activism and peer effects in online social networks

Author:: Alejandra Agustina Martínez
Publication Date:: 07-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Nottingham Interdisciplinary Centre for Economic and Political Research (NICEP)
Abstract:: Do peers influence individuals’ involvement in political activism? To provide a quantitative answer, I study Argentina’s abortion rights debate through Twitter - the social media platform. Pro-choice and pro-life activists coexisted online, and the evidence suggests peer groups were not too polarized. I develop a model of strategic interactions in a network - allowing for heterogeneous peer effects. Next, I estimate peer effects and test whether online activism exhibits strategic substitutability or complementarity. I create a novel panel dataset - where links and actions are observable - by combining tweets’ and users’ information. I provide a reduced-form analysis by proposing a network-based instrumental variable. The results indicate strategic complementarity in online activism, both from aligned and opposing peers. Notably, the evidence suggests homophily in the formation of Twitter’s network, but it does not support the hypothesis of an echo-chamber effect.
Topic:: Political Activism, Social Media, Abortion, and Peer Effects
Political Geography:: Argentina and South America

235. NERINT Strategic Analysis: The Brazilian Challenge of Reactivating UNASUR and Strengthening MERCOSUR

Author:: Leonardo Granato
Publication Date:: 06-2023
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:: Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:: In his third presidential term, President Lula has been devoting a large part of his government agenda to foreign policy, aimed at strengthening the country’s capacity to advance its interests and, within the aforementioned public policy, at rebuilding integration relations with neighboring countries. Faced with the spread of nationalism and protectionist postures in the midst of a complex international scene marked by the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and tensions between the United States and China, the Brazilian option is for the defense of peace, dialogue and cooperation, starting with its strategic environment represented by South America and Mercosur.With regard to the South American region, the Brazilian government’s ability to convene and unify perspectives was challenged by the heterogeneity of agendas and priorities of different countries, even among countries with progressive governments. In fact, the so-called “Consensus of Brasilia”, a joint declaration resulting from the presidential meeting of May 30, 2023, highlights the size of the aforementioned challenge, since there was no mention, in that declaration, of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) and its reactivation. Faced with its dismantling during the Bolsonaro government, carrying forward the Brazilian government’s priority objective of reactivating UNASUR will require, perhaps more than in the past, a broad effort to build consensus.With regard to Mercosur, also under a setback in recent years, Brazil will play, during the second half of 2023, the pro-tempore presidency of the bloc, which will represent the opportunity for the Brazilian state to project its foreign policy priorities, as well as the principles that guide its internal public policies. In President Lula’s own speech at the 62nd Mercosur Summit, which took place in Puerto Iguazú (Argentina) on July 4, 2023, the major issues to be privileged during his tenure at the head of the bloc were portrayed. Such matters refer, essentially, to the strengthening of Mercosur in its multiple dimensions, and to the conclusion of the bi-regional agreement with the European Union.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Markets, Treaties and Agreements, Trade, and Lula da Silva
Political Geography:: Europe, Brazil, and South America

236. Mercosur and Post-COVID 19 Exit Strategies in Terms of Sustainable Development: Renewable Energies and Climate Change

Author:: Amalia Margarita Stuhldreher and Virginia Morales Olmos
Publication Date:: 06-2023
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:: Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:: COVID 19 affected the projection of the SDGs, with debates on a post-pandemic "green" exit. With a multilevel perspective, this paper addresses the evolution of energy policies in MERCOSUR countries, focusing on renewable energies and climate change. Uruguay's case is discussed, in contrast with Argentina and Brazil. Points of convergence in divergent situations are considered, given the commercial exchanges of electric energy between Uruguay and its MERCOSUR partners. Investments in renewable energies in Uruguay, its current situation, and its prospects are analyzed, considering the position of the Block and an eventual scheme of regional climate governance in the future.
Topic:: Climate Change, Development, Sustainable Development Goals, Renewable Energy, Sustainability, COVID-19, and Mercosur
Political Geography:: Brazil, Argentina, and South America

237. The Crossroads Between Actors, Norms, Practices and Institutions

Author:: Sérgio Luiz Cruz Aguilar
Publication Date:: 06-2023
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:: Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:: Intergovernmental organisations and institutions are generally created to discuss and find collective solutions to problems that transcend national borders and individual states’ capacities. However, certain crises push for isolated, typically restrictive, actions from governments, making the role of such institutions somewhat murky. The South American Conference on Migration (SCM), the Specialized Migration Forum of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), and the Andean Committee of Migration Authorities of the Andean Community of Nations (CAN) are three intergovernmental forums that were created with the aim of negotiating agreements, creating and implementing community legislation, and achieving regional policy with regards to migration. However, from 2015, mass migration from Venezuela, which was considered a crisis by South American governments, led to restrictive policies in some countries. In this context, this paper discusses the linkages between institutions, actors, norms and practices by examining the interactions between SCM, Mercosur and CAN and the practices of Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru regarding the Venezuelan migration crisis. Through a qualitative approach, observations of practice and discourse, and the critical analysis thereof, this paper discusses debates and decisions within institutions; the emergence and non-compliance of collective norms; and the contradictory practices employed as responses to the migration crisis.
Topic:: International Organization, Institutions, and Norms
Political Geography:: South America

238. The Consolidation of the Brazilian Space Program: Changes and Challenges in the Third Space Age

Author:: Marco Aurélio Chaves Cepik, Jaíne Garcia de Souza, and Vanessa Redel Dal-Berto
Publication Date:: 06-2023
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:: Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:: The article aims to understand what stage the Brazilian Space Program (PEBR) is in in the Third Space Age. In this context, it illustrates the growing presence of States in the space region, resulting in the rise of emerging space powers, as is the case of Brazil. In addition, it addresses the achievements and challenges present in the PEBR since the 2000s to understand the reason for the stagnation of the national space program. The conclusion of this research points out that through the false retakes carried out in recent decades, the PEBR experienced minimal national advances in the space sector and accommodated itself to a position of space periphery, in which it depends on other space powers.
Topic:: Science and Technology, Space, and Emerging Powers
Political Geography:: Brazil and South America

239. The Governments of Mauricio Macri and Jair Bolsonaro: Ideology, Pragmatism and Foreign Policy

Author:: André Luiz Coelho, Mariano Ignacio Treacy, and Beatriz Bandeira de Mello
Publication Date:: 12-2023
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:: Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:: This article compares the foreign policy of the governments of Mauricio Macri in Argentina and Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, based on the positions of the presidents and their representatives on three issues: 1) relations with the United States, 2) with China and 3) regional integration. We suggest that the Macri government has had to adapt its positions and discursive practices throughout its administration to national and international pressures. We understand that Jair Bolsonaro has adopted a similar stance in his foreign agenda and that his discourses, although strongly ideological, are opposed to more pragmatic actions, especially in the Brazilian economic and trade agendas, as in Argentina. The methodology used in this study is content analysis of speeches and reports from the Brazilian and Argentine foreign ministries, and the theoretical contributions of foreign policy analysis.
Topic:: International Relations, Foreign Policy, Government, Ideology, Regional Integration, Jair Bolsonaro, and Mauricio Macri
Political Geography:: China, Brazil, South America, and United States of America

240. Oppression Beyond Plantations: How Emancipation Led to Incarceration in Urban Buenos Aires

Author:: Valentin Figueroa and Guadalupe Tuñón
Publication Date:: 08-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, Princeton University
Abstract:: We show that the emancipation of enslaved Black people led to their subsequent incarceration in a context of urban slavery —a context that lacked the economic incentives for incarceration present in plantation economies such as the U.S. South. To establish causality, we study a lottery of certificates of freedom in nineteenth-century Buenos Aires that randomly freed a small group of enslaved persons. Through archival research and digitization of the full count of the handwritten 1810 census, we link lottery winners and sets of eligible nonwinners to police records until 1830. We find that emancipation increased the probability of incarceration, on average, by 11.8 percentage points. Exploring mechanisms, we find no evidence that the effect was driven by rural labor shortages, but rather by the criminalization of petty offenses.
Topic:: History, Labor Issues, Slavery, and Incarceration
Political Geography:: South America and Buenos Aires

241. Rare macroeconomic disasters and lost decades in Latin America: The COVID-19 experience in a historical context

Author:: José F. Ursúa
Publication Date:: 09-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE)
Abstract:: COVID-19 led to the single largest year-over-year decline in Latin America’s GDP per capita in more than 100 years. Although the region has endured several macroeconomic shocks before, mostly related to financial dislocations, none has been so deep and synchronized. The authors' analysis of the COVID-19 experience for the region and eight economies with available historical data reveals the extent of the damage. Through 2020, four economies suffered “rare disasters” (cumulative contractions by 10 percent or more): Argentina, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela. Tragically, Venezuela’s macroeconomic collapse matches the largest contraction registered by any country in modern history. In addition, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Venezuela, together with the Latin America regional aggregate, are undergoing “lost decades” (prolonged periods of stagnation), which are unlikely to end soon. While Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Uruguay did relatively better with COVID-19, they still suffered significant recessions, and their economic performance has lost steam compared with prior decades. Overall, COVID-19 will cast a long shadow in Latin America even as economic growth rebounds. The shock also offers opportunities for a reset, with the appropriate set of macroeconomic policies, advances on microeconomic reforms, and the strengthening of institutions. Whether this set of policies will materialize in the midst of challenging political contexts remains an open question.
Topic:: History, Economic Growth, Macroeconomics, and COVID-19
Political Geography:: Brazil, South America, and Latin America

242. Climate Change and the Political Economy of Hydropower Disruption

Author:: Jonathan Guy, Ishana Ratan, and Anthony Calacino
Publication Date:: 12-2023
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC)
Abstract:: Hydropower is the predominant renewable energy source globally and will play a key role in transitioning countries away from fossil fuels. Yet hydropower production is threatened by the effects of climate change, with significant implications for both energy security and the energy transition. In this policy brief, UC Berkeley PhD candidates Johnny Guy and Ishana Ratan, together with co-author Anthony Calacino, explore preliminary evidence from Brazil, Colombia, and Nepal that shows the multifaceted challenges hydropower-dependent nations face, and divergent responses governments have taken in response. They demonstrate why, in the face of increasing uncertainty, hydropower-dependent countries—already vulnerable to the impacts of seasonal disruptions to power supply—must develop robust strategies for load balancing and project risk management.
Topic:: Security, Climate Change, Strategic Competition, Geoeconomics, and Hydropower
Political Geography:: South Asia, Brazil, Colombia, South America, Nepal, and Global Focus

243. Challenges and recommendations for the Amazon – Brazil

Author:: Renata Avelar Giannini and Camila Nadalini de Godoy
Publication Date:: 10-2023
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Igarapé Institute
Abstract:: In the Amazon, women face a dual challenge. On one side, there are social expectations regarding their role in society; on the other, the risks and vulnerabilities that the multiplicity of identities they belong to can create. These expectations significantly impact how they see and face the challenges that surround them. At the same time, these identities related to the regional context they live in and other social markers – such as age, social class, sexual orientation, gender identity,race, ethnicity, religion, among others – add unique experiences and specific risks. The collection of experiences of these women cannot, therefore, be generalized, placing them in a key position to propose solutions. This work aims to identify the vision of Amazonian women on their territory and its challenges, as well as highlight the solutions they propose, considering their peculiarities and diversity. This study, conducted by the Igarapé Institute in collaboration with Amazonian defenders, sought to understand the perspective of Amazonian women concerning their territory, challenges, and the solutions they propose, recognizing their unique experiences and diversity. The study shed light on the daily violence that has already victimized 765 women in conflicts in the Brazilian Amazon over the past decade. The report is divided into four parts. In the first part, we address the context of the Brazilian Amazon, where this research was conducted. In the second part, we explain the methodology used for this listening process. In the third part, we highlight the risks and challenges identified by the defenders who participated in the research. Finally, we describe the solutions suggested by these same women, along with recommendations on how the incorporation of a gender perspective into discussions about sustainable development in the region is essential for navigating the context of climate change and promoting peace and stability.
Topic:: Climate Change, Women, Sustainability, Vulnerability, and Activism
Political Geography:: Brazil, South America, and Amazon Basin

244. Global Futures Bulletin: The growing threat of disinformation and misinformation in Latin America and how to fight back

Author:: Igarapé Institute
Publication Date:: 11-2023
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Igarapé Institute
Abstract:: The rapid spread and borderless reach of disinformation and misinformation are amplified by our growing reliance on digital connections and devices and supercharged by artificial intelligence (AI). The proliferation of fake news, conspiracies, and malign content coincides with declining trust in mainstream media and waning support for democracy. While all countries are susceptible to an unchecked infodemic, some are more vulnerable than others. Concerns over digital harms are already afflicting the major democratic powers of North America and Western Europe. Yet the threat is also rising fast in emerging nations, such as Brazil, where social media is ubiquitous, and the consolidation of democratic institutions is still underway.As fake and malicious news grew in visibility and audience share across the media, Brazilian authorities moved forcefully to contain the threat, expunge egregious misinformation, and keep elections free and fair. Brazil’s judiciary, and especially the electoral court, spearheaded those efforts, while also enjoining political parties, civil society actors, and social media companies in the campaign. With societies everywhere puzzling over the challenge of how to contain the spread of online harms, Latin America’s largest nation offers lessons that can and should have broader relevance for democracies, globally.
Topic:: International Cooperation, Internet, Disinformation, and Misinformation
Political Geography:: Brazil, South America, and Latin America

245. Brazil’s critical and strategic minerals in a changing world

Author:: Nicholas Pope, Peter Smith, Rodrigo Werneck, Andreia Bonzo Araújo Azevedo, and Ilona Szabo de Carvalho
Publication Date:: 10-2023
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Igarapé Institute
Abstract:: Featuring a diversified supply of strategic minerals – raw materials in demand for the transition to green energy – Brazil is witnessing a growing demand for crucial minerals in a decarbonized world. The country holds 94% of the world’s niobium reserves, 22% of graphite, 16% of nickel, and, as well as accounting for 17% of rare earths, the third largest deposit on the planet. With 30% of these mineral reserves located in the Legal Amazon, Brazil has the potential to strategically position itself as a responsible and trusted partner in the global strategic minerals market, both to boost its portfolio and protect its biome and the communities living within it. This study suggests the country can leverage this potential to set global social and environmental standards in the market. However, it indicates that Brazil’s strategic minerals’ role in the energy transition remains unclear, with an undefined strategy for global market integration. Moreover, there is a pressing need for widespread social consensus on the importance of environmental and cultural protection in this context. The study aims to provide insights for discussions on the country’s natural resource management and establish commitments for a fair, coherent, and sustainable energy and environmental policy. To this end, the report offers a comprehensive overview of the scope, scale, and distribution of strategic minerals in Brazil and the rules and regulations governing access to these minerals. It examines the key players and companies involved in the country’s mineral extraction and discusses the implications for some of Brazil’s main biomes, especially the Amazon.
Topic:: Climate Change, Natural Resources, Minerals, Resource Management, Extractive Industries, Green Transition, and Raw Materials
Political Geography:: Brazil, South America, and Amazon Basin

246. Guide for the Protection of Human Rights and Environmental Defenders in the Amazon – Colombia

Author:: Camila Nadalini de Godoy, Katherine Aguirre, and Renata Giannini
Publication Date:: 08-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Igarapé Institute
Abstract:: In the Amazon Basin, women stand out as the main defenders of the forests, their biome, and their people. This makes them targets of various types of violence. The Guide to Protecting Human Rights and Environmental Defenders in the Amazon aims to help these women identify risks, and learn some strategies to protect themselves. and seek help. (The Brazilian guide is available only in Portuguese.)
Topic:: Environment, Women, Violence, Activism, Protection, Amazon Rainforest, and Biome
Political Geography:: Brazil, South America, and Amazon Basin

247. Money Alone Is Not Enough: The Future Of The China-Argentina Relationship

Author:: Román D. Ortiz
Publication Date:: 11-2023
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: China Brief
Institution:: The Jamestown Foundation
Abstract:: Observers assessed the outcome of the first round of Argentina’s presidential elections held on October 22 as good news for the Chinese government (VOA, October 26). Against the odds, Sergio Massa, the Peronist candidate and current minister of economy, emerged on top, despite his overseeing an annual inflation rate of almost 140 percent. Meanwhile, Javier Milei, the libertarian opposition candidate, took the second place (Yahoo Noticias, October 23). These two politicians will compete for the presidency in the second round of the election scheduled for November 19. At first glance, the victory of Massa should be an encouraging sign for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) since it keeps open the possibility that the China-friendly Peronist party remains in government. However, a more granular analysis suggests two alternative outcomes: First, Milei is likely to be the eventual winner after the second round of voting, which would make the new occupant of the Casa Rosada (the Argentinian presidential palace) a politician who has called the PRC an “assassin” and who plans to freeze relations with Beijing. Second, if Massa wins the presidency, his more moderate Peronism is far from the Third-World foreign policy promoted by the outgoing president, Alberto Fernandez, and his vice-president and former president, Cristina Fernandez. Thus, regardless of the outcome of the presidential election, Beijing’s desires to increase political influence over Buenos Aires, which have focused particularly on its defense policy, are likely to be curtailed. A decrease in political influence with Buenos Aires would deal a serious blow to the Chinese strategy in Latin America, in which Argentina plays a critical role. Argentina is the only large country in the region to join the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It also exports food, minerals, and oil needed by the Chinese industrial sector. Argentina’s expansive territory represents a natural platform to project power within South America and to the South Atlantic. Buenos Aires’s geopolitics makes it particularly attractive for Beijing, which is exploring opportunities to secure rights for a naval base on the west coast of Africa in order to gain access to the Atlantic. Argentina also forms a key part of PRC efforts to consolidate its hegemony over the Global South. Specifically, the PRC views Argentina as a counterbalance to Brazilian regional hegemony, which motivated China’s interest in Argentina joining the BRICS grouping of countries, against Brazilian opposition.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Bilateral Relations, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and Industry
Political Geography:: China, Asia, Argentina, and South America

248. Why El Salvador’s Anti-Crime Measures Cannot (and Should Not) Be Exported

Author:: Tiziano Breda
Publication Date:: 03-2023
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:: One year has passed since El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele launched a “war on gangs”, embedded in a state of exception that has since been renewed monthly. The government claims to have arrested 66,000 alleged gang members, projecting the image of an upfront battle against criminal organisations that has yielded results in bringing down murder rates. This has earned Bukele the approval not only of most Salvadorans, but millions of citizens throughout Latin America. His methods have become a foreign policy tool and a driver of electoral disputes in the region. But are they “exportable” to other countries? And should they?
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Crime, Human Rights, Law Enforcement, Democracy, and Organized Crime
Political Geography:: South America, North America, El Salvador, and United States of America

249. Political Participation Patterns of the Emerging Middle Classes in Peru and the Philippines

Author:: Babette Never and Chiara Anselmetti
Publication Date:: 01-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Abstract:: The growing middle classes in middle-income countries may play a key role in current trends of democratic backsliding, online activism and lifestyle politics. This contribution uncovers which modes of political participation are prevalent among the middle classes in Peru and the Philippines, including new forms of online participation and lifestyle politics for sustainability. Drawing on household surveys conducted in 2018, we use latent class analysis and logit regressions to analyse, first, the characteristics of online vs offline participation, and second, the role of political consumption and online activism for political participation dynamics. The latter analysis contributes to the gateway/getaway debate of lifestyle politics. In both countries, we find four comparable classes: a substantial disengaged class that is not engaging in any political participation, an all-round activist class, an online activist class and a class that mostly engages in civil society activities. Further classes with specific participation patterns and socio-demographic characteristics could be identified for each country. Although the online activists in both countries are unlikely to engage in any other form of political participation, a clear empirical case for lifestyle politics as a separate mode of participation only exists among young Peruvians with a steady job. In the Philippines, political consumption as a form of lifestyle politics blends in with other types of political participation.
Topic:: Development, Middle Class, Political Participation, and Activism
Political Geography:: Philippines, South America, Peru, and Asia-Pacific

250. Online Gender-Based Violence in Brazil: New Data Insights

Author:: Mariana Valente
Publication Date:: 06-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
Abstract:: This paper focuses on the Brazilian results from the Supporting a Safer Internet survey, undertaken by CIGI and the International Development Research Centre and carried out by Ipsos. The survey looked at the prevalence of online gender-based violence in 18 countries worldwide, with a special focus on the Global South. Other studies and literature referring to gender, sexuality and race are used to complement, contextualize and interpret the country-based data for Brazil. Brazilian respondents, particularly women and LGBTQ+ individuals, reported heightened negative effects on mental health, and low trust in or resort to law enforcement and other institutions. The experiences of high-profile individuals — 83 percent reported experiencing some type of online harm (connected to the very pressing issue of political violence in Brazil) — and the issue of image-based abuse are also discussed. The paper concludes with recommendations addressing some of the gaps concerning the public sector, the private sector, and the cultural or public debate in the response to tackling technology-facilitated gender-based violence in Brazil and globally.
Topic:: Governance, Internet, Gender Based Violence, Gender, and Safeguarding
Political Geography:: Brazil and South America

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COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS