Contesting State Monologues
Indigenous Grassroots’ Struggles with Prior Consultation Norms in the Peruvian Amazon
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6274459 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Riccarda Flemmer (0000-0002-4234-2864, University of Tübingen, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 67 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Publication date | 2023-06-14 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Studies Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0020-8833 • E-ISSN: 1468-2478 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/isq/sqad068 |
| OpenAlex | W4386104510 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 36 |
Prior consultation (PC) has been an internationally enshrined norm for indigenous peoples’ rights since the 1980s. Indigenous peoples have called for PC for decades, but when governments finally begin implementation, a paradox results: previous advocates increasingly turn away from consultation processes. I argue that only with the perspective that norms are and should be contested “on the ground,” we are able to understand this contradiction. Therefore, the article presents a new conceptual and methodological interpretive framework for studying indigenous grassroots contestation. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in the Peruvian Amazon (2013–2016), I hone in on three layers of contestation—explicit contestation, attitudes and perceptions, and political implications—and demonstrate that (1) non-contestation confirms state monologues and is an alarming sign for silenced voices, not for norm support; (2) contested consultations reproduce asymmetries within indigenous groups replicating negotiations about extractive industry projects; and (3) opposition to consultation may be the most powerful tool for indigenous peoples to change narrow state interpretations and make use of veto rights. Scaling up these insights, the structure of PC accommodates two irreconcilable understandings: PC is either interpreted as an end in itself or as a means of indigenous self-determination
Amazon rainforest · Ethnography · Grassroots · Indigenous · Indigenous rights · Negotiation · Norm (philosophy · Opposition (politics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · State (computer science · Anthropology · International Development and Aid · Law · Mining and Resource Management · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies
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The weak institutionalisation of prior consultation in Peru
Unfulfilled promises of the consultation approach
Mobilising Free, Prior and Informed Consent (fpic) from Below
Endogenous Participation
Indigenous Protest in Peru
Participation on the Edge
Reflections on Ethnographic Work in Political Science
Agency of the governed in global international relations
Conflict Transformation through Prior Consultation? Lessons from Peru
Decolonizing Methodologies
Dark matter
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |