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Development economics has struggled to understand the conditions of Africa and Africans. However, the nature of this critique, the alternative to development economics, and the challenges of the existing revisionism of today have not, as yet, received the attention of political economists. As this body of work is relevant to the current debates on Africa's underdevelopment, and development economics more generally, the present article attempts to fill this gap. The article accepts the classic criticisms that mainstream development economics does not provide an effective approach to studying inequality, that it is Western-centric in both its concepts and vision of the good society, and that these analytical problems have contributed to worsening social conditions in Africa because they have shaped African development policy. However, it departs from the existing approaches of locating these problems in the realm of ideas and looks to the nexus between ideas, materialism, and history. So, the widespread view that it is the reliance on problematic concepts and on unreliable official statistics that constitute the sources of these problems is questioned. Instead, the article extends the premise to both the ontology and the central methodology of mainstream development economics. It cautions against the preference for an indigenous economics as panacea and questions the revisionism of today—that is, the push for a marriage between anthropology and economics. Although clearly much stronger on analyzing entire economic systems and, indeed, on addressing some of the classical problems in development economics, the alternatives do not succeed in probing intergroup inequalities. The development of the emergent field of stratification economics by black political economists is defended as a more fruitful alternative. ; Peer reviewed

This interview essay focuses on Daniel W. Bromley's contribution to African economics and political economy. Centred particularly on his work on inequality, equality, and the institutional foundations of economic systems; economic development; and natural resources, which are Professor Bromley's key research areas, this essay offers a distinctive perspective on a radical economist who has been challenging development and environmental heresies in and about Africa. The essay covers questions about how he became interested in Africa, his methodological and ontological orientations, and his struggle to develop alternative political economic analysis of Africa and its relationship with the global economic system. ; Peer reviewed

Previous studies have shown that climatic changes in the Peruvian Andes pose a threat to lowland communities, mainly through changes in hydrology. This study uses a case study approach and a mixed qualitative-quantitative method to examine the vulnerability of small-scale farmers in the Quillcay River basin to variations in precipitation and enhanced glacier retreat. The findings of the study show partly contradicting results. On one hand, interpretation of semi-structured interviews suggests a strong relation between climate proxies and increased vulnerability of the smallholders. On the other hand, in the quantitative analysis enhanced glacier retreat seemed to have augmented vulnerability solely to some extent whereas precipitation did not show significant impact. The assessment of the socioeconomic dimension revealed that larger market forces, weak political entitlement and lack of social and economic capital fundamentally increased smallholders' vulnerability. It is, therefore, suggested that a complex cluster of economic, political and social factors are the root causes of small-scale farmers' vulnerability in the case study region whereas climate-related changes merely act as multiplying factors. ; Previous studies have shown that climatic changes in the Peruvian Andes pose a threat to lowland communities, mainly through changes in hydrology. This study uses a case study approach and a mixed qualitative-quantitative method to examine the vulnerability of small-scale farmers in the Quillcay River basin to variations in precipitation and enhanced glacier retreat. The findings of the study show partly contradicting results. On one hand, interpretation of semi-structured interviews suggests a strong relation between climate proxies and increased vulnerability of the smallholders. On the other hand, in the quantitative analysis enhanced glacier retreat seemed to have augmented vulnerability solely to some extent whereas precipitation did not show significant impact. The assessment of the socioeconomic dimension revealed that larger market forces, weak political entitlement and lack of social and economic capital fundamentally increased smallholders' vulnerability. It is, therefore, suggested that a complex cluster of economic, political and social factors are the root causes of small-scale farmers' vulnerability in the case study region whereas climate-related changes merely act as multiplying factors. ; Peer reviewed

This article investigates how multiple and nuanced micropractices of power work through everyday bureaucratic actions in the course of major state transformations. It argues that it is not solely the grand ideological battles or global asymmetries of power that impede the implementation of revolutionary political alternatives. More attention should be paid to the internal functioning of state governance and its micropractices of power in processes of change. Empirically, it examines the process of decolonizing the state in Bolivia, where the notion of Vivir Bien (Living Well) has been introduced into policy-making processes since 2006. Initially, it was portrayed as a democratizing, decolonizing, and ecological policy alternative deriving - to an extent - from indigenous cultural heritage that provides locally grounded solutions to societal problems. While many of the outcomes of the shift in public policy have been critically assessed, there is still a lack of showing how difficulties in implementation emerge. By discussing the contested nature of everyday bureaucratic practices in Evo Morales' Bolivia, this article tries to fulfill the gap. It is demonstrated that multiple everyday techniques, procedures, and routines of the state continue to create and reproduce various forms of coloniality. The ethnographic evidence of the continuation of neoliberal rationalities suggests that it is these exact - and assumingly insignificant - bureaucratic routines that derogate Vivir Bien transformation agenda internally. Consequently, together with opposition and outright racism by public servants, it is shown that deep ruptures have emerged between political rhetoric of decolonization and concrete everyday actions amidst state bureaucracy. ; Peer reviewed

The neighbourhood forums in Ankara began to convene during the Gezi protests in 2013 and lasted about three years. The activities of Ankara Gezi forums are urban commoning practices in terms of a new set of demands and methods. This paper conceptualises urban commoning practices as method, content, and demand. This framework offers an understanding of urban commoning that is not based on monetary transaction, but focuses on seeing commoning as a social process. Commoning is not ahistorical, rather it is engaged with the historical political potential of urban spaces. Commoning as method discusses organising in commons, commoning as content focuses on the form and meaning of political action, and commoning as demand emphasises the discursive use of right to the city. The case selection of this research enables us to reflect on how urban commoning is experienced in a city under less financial investment pressure, but at the centre of national-level politics. ; Peer reviewed

The recent upsurge of deforestation inside conservation areas requires empirical investigation of the causes and consequences of this alarming process. Local relations between the agents of cattle capitalism, neodevelopmentalism and contemporary deforestation, from politicians and ranchers to the traditional extractive populations of multiple-use conservation areas, are assessed. Whether, when, and how state, market, and cultural institutions support the hegemony of cattle capitalism – and subvert the logic of traditional lived environments – are analyzed. Theoretically, the article shows how moral economic transformations, from rubber tapping to cowboy lifestyles, alongside neodevelopmentalist policies, enable regionally dominant political economies to expand through deforestation. ; Peer reviewed

Along the Salween River, water is governed at multiple—at times overlapping—scales with implications for authority and claims to access. In this chapter it is argued that the scales of water governance in Myanmar are currently being contested and how this constitutes a key battleground for future decision-making not only in terms of water governance, but also with implications for the peace negotiations and the federal structure of government that it is working towards. ; Peer reviewed

This article analyzes recent state-implemented resettlement schemes in Oromia, Ethiopia, by examining the experiences and outcomes of resettlement from the perspective of both the resettlers and hosts. Besides involving transformations in people's access to resources and the ability to earn their livelihoods, resettlement invites deep-seated questions of governance and justice. Drawing on theoretical approaches of political ecology and environmental justice, we analyze the processes and outcomes of resettlement in terms of four interlinked dimensions, including resource (re)distribution, cultural recognition, political representation, and social recovery. Special attention is paid to the questions of who decides for whom, and who lives the consequences. The analysis is based on a mixed-methods approach, involving a combination of qualitative interviews and a quantitative survey. We conclude that both the resettlers and the hosts experienced uneven redistribution of resources and unfair forms of recognition and political representation, which in tandem limited their possibilities for social recovery. ; Peer reviewed

In this essay, I examine the practice of ethnographic knowledge-production through my fieldwork encounter with Álvaro, a political leader of fishers in Mexico's oil-producing state, Tabasco. Exercising ethnographic reflexivity, I analyze how my relations with Álvaro and his family in a context of conflict between fishers and the oil industry shaped my analytical lens on the politics of resource access. The essay focuses on ambiguity as an overriding characteristic of the research encounter, and suggests that paralleling ambiguities in my analysing of Álvaro during fieldwork and in my own, gendered and racialized positionality within the family were formative for my perspective on fisher – oil industry politics. Furthermore, the analysis shows how my knowledge about the 'field' was made in the intersection of my and the family's mutual efforts to draw each other into our categories of thinking, Álvaro's reflection about his role in politics, and the wider historical and political economic context shaping the relations between the fishers and the oil industry in the Gulf of Mexico. This analysis draws attention to the importance of ethnography in showing the complexity and situatedness of politics of resource access. ; Peer reviewed

By examining diverse water-related tension and conflict situations from the Tonle Sap area of Cambodia, the article seeks to contest the view that water-related conflicts are always about water scarcity. Tackling different dimensions of water-related conflicts, the three cases studied here all point to the importance of social, political, and historical aspects in water-related resource management. They also indicate that the water and resource conflicts in Tonle Sap are strongly related to problems with existing property and access rights. Challenges of access to and control over resources, rather than changes in the abundance of water and related resources, have lead to increasing tensions in the area. ; Peer reviewed

This article considers the little studied role of local implementation staff and their institutional operational environment at the grassroots of a rural development intervention in Nepal. The study describes the challenges the implementing staff encounters in relation to the steering policies, project modalities, local communities, partners in government administration, and their personal motivations. It observes the ways in which the implementing individuals must collaborate with their partners and facilitate the planned changes in local institutions and individual behaviours. The findings indicate that much of the actual implementation process at the grassroots is determined by informal, improvised, and fuzzy institutional surroundings, quite different to designed or regulated governance environs. The ability to operate in these less-regulated environs determines many of the implementation outcomes at the grassroots. Researchers, managers and decision-makers would benefit from incorporating institutional bricolage to the analyses of development interventions. ; Peer reviewed

Unsustainable extraction of natural resources has come under increasing criticism since the 2000s, as global commodity prices have risen, and new waves of land grabbing and investing have put resource politics in the limelight of global development. The concept of extractivism has been gaining scholarly and policy relevance and is becoming more widely used as an organizing concept to explore a range of unsustainable practices. The study of extractivism and its impacts extends to the deeper historical and structural features that underlie unsustainable practices, including economic models and ideologies. The concept of extractivism is useful for highlighting the deeper and systemic roots of unsustainability. The phenomena surrounding resistance to extractivism are highly useful for understanding the often-overlooked struggles of local communities. It is through such local struggles that communities may pursue more sustainable land-use practices, and more just socio-ecological conditions. This resistance often involves a deep critique and rethinking of the ways of understanding and conceptualizing nature, through which alternatives to extractivism, as a basis for sustainability, can be developed. ; Peer reviewed

Small-scale fisheries (SSFs) have been playing a crucial role in meeting the basic needs of millions of people around the world. Despite this, the sustainability of global fisheries is a growing concern, and the factors enabling or constraining the sustainable management of small-scale fisheries remain poorly understood. Hilsa shad (Tenualosa ilisha) is the single most valuable species harvested in Bangladesh waters, serves nutrition, income, and employment to the large population. This study analyzed the state and challenges of hilsa fishery in the Gangetic River systems (Padma and Meghna Rivers) by using two frameworks, namely the social-ecological systems (SES) and drivers-pressure-state-impact-responses (DPSIR) frameworks. Primary data for this analysis were collected by in-depth interviews (n = 130) and focus group discussions (n = 8) with various stakeholders in the hilsa fisheries. The perspectives explored here have been both critical and constructive, including the identification of problems and suggestions for improving the management of this particular social-ecological system. Hilsa fisheries, however, have come under severe threat since 2003 because of population growth, overfishing, pollution, climate change, the disruption of migration routes due to siltation, etc. All these have caused reduced catches and less stable incomes for fishers. This, in turn, has led to poverty, malnutrition, social tensions, stakeholder conflicts, and debt cycles amongst more impoverished fishing communities. These problems have been compounded by improved fishing technology amongst larger-scale ventures, the use of illegal fishing gears, and the non-compliance of government fishery management programs. Recommendations include the promotion of community-supported fisheries, the enhancement of stakeholder's social resilience, the introduction of co-management approach, an increase in incentives and formal financial supports, and possible community-managed sustainable ecotourism including hilsa fishing-based tourism. ; Peer reviewed

Faced with the general period of political demobilisation since 2011, there is a need to look beyond the manifest forms of political participation and to better understand the dynamics of engagement among today's Arab Mediterranean youth. In this article, we inquire into the life experiences of young people and, especially, explore the agentic dimensions of their apparent disengagement. What societal processes shape their negative attitudes toward engaging in public political life? What prospects are there for further politicisation of youth in the post-2011 era? In order to address these questions, we adopt a processual view of engagement, indicating that young people's agencies are geared towards the goals of livelihood, employment, and attaining personal advancement and markers of social adulthood. These in turn represent spheres of life that may aggregate instances of felt injustices and thresholds of politicisation processes. ; Peer reviewed

The notion of vivir bien – a complex set of ideas, worldviews, and knowledge deriving from indigenous movements, activist groups, and scholars of indigeneity – has become an overarching principle for policy-making and state transformation processes in Andean countries. This article analyses the contradiction between the principle of vivir bien as an egalitarian utopian category and its bureaucratic application in Bolivia to state formation processes and power dynamics involving social movements. It argues that while discursively grounded on such egalitarian principles as reciprocity and rotating authority, its implementation entails bureaucratic propensities to centralise power and authority. Instead of decolonising the state, it is used to discipline the masses. ; Peer reviewed