Peasant Federations and Rural Development Policies in the Andes

In: Policy sciences: integrating knowledge and practice to advance human dignity ; the journal of the Society of Policy Scientists, Band 33, Heft 3-4, S. 435-457

Abstract

This chapter focuses on a special type of structural social capital embedded in second-tier indigenous peasant federations in the Andean countries. It first examines the manifestations of this social capital & then goes on to analyze the strategies of the various social actors for its use, mainly to further the interests of poor & oppressed members, but often in the service of broader societal or narrower partisan purposes. Cases are presented to illustrate how such a social capital resource, once created, can be used or transformed for other than the original purposes. Sometimes these spillovers are socially beneficial, confirming the mutability thesis of Hirschman (1984); but in other cases the diversions can be harmful & disempowering. The authors conclude that even considering these varied uses, mesolevel peasant federations, when incorporated into rural development policies, can help to achieve equity & sustainability. 1 Figure, 30 References. Adapted from the source document.