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The aim of this article is to discuss the notion of "culture" frequently used in development-theoretical literature, which is the implicit mapping of the world as a series of coherent, distinct, & territorialized "cultures." In order to deconstruct this conception, one must understand how it operates to enforce separations. It is argued that the world should be viewed in terms of interconnected spaces, which are characterized by hierarchical relations & multiple power constellations. This makes it possible to examine critically the contexts within which constructions of "locality" & "community" takes place as well as the power constellations involved in these constructions. As an example, the texts of scientists are analyzed, whose main effort is to examine, categorize, & support "indigenous knowledge systems." Their practices of Othering consist in defining the people under study as "indigenous" & "local." They fix thereby elaborated criteria as essential to development cooperation. 32 References. Adapted from the source document.

This article presents a summary of surveys of success conditions of cooperative rural development projects, proving that sociocultural factors play an important role. Cultural variety is not a "development obstacle," but rather, a constitutive feature of human adjustment to biodiversity. Also considered are the practical requirements for a culture-compatible cooperation, eg, the sociopolitical framework, long-term planning, flexibility in declarations/agreements, continuity of dialogue, clarity of the distribution of roles, & the mutual duty to supply information. Examples from the life reality of indigenous peoples in the Amazon region illustrate these points. 17 References. Adapted from the source document.

Attempts to explain the complex relationship that connects indigenous populations with their territories. Beginning from the holistic point of view of indigenous peoples, attention is drawn to the special cultural significance of the geographical territory of these peoples, recognizing the importance of indigenous cosmogony in which the land is not only important for the whole community, but is also seen as a "sacred whole." These aspects form a framework for a civilization that is contrary to neoliberalism. Viewing this problem from the perspective of globalization leads to discussion of the relevance of a new schedule of development for the forthcoming new millenium based on the harmony between man & nature & leading to a balanced process to protect the natural environment. Also discussed is the possibility of social processes among indigenous populations leading to new forms of mobilization & social organization in those rural areas where they face the negative impacts of the activities of big international investors. 15 References. Adapted from the source document.

The 1998 claim of New York Times correspondent Larry Rohter that "key details" of Nobel Prize winning, Guatemalan Indian Rigoberta Menchu's story were untrue led to a growing controversy within North American academic society regarding subaltern studies that continues today & has spread to Europe. Third World research, once primarily in the hands of North American & European social scientists, has evolved into "subaltern studies" with input from those directly affected, leading to a discrepancy in views as illustrated in Menchu's case. Menchu's 1983 "autobiographical" book, edited & aided in publication by Elizabeth Burgos, a self-titled "professional revolutionary", detailed Menchu & her family's suffering under Guatemala repressive regimes, guerilla war, & genocide. The book won international acclaim & stimulated scientific research that revealed several inconsistencies in her story, entering also the ongoing North American "culture wars". Open questions & lingual or cultural differences in "testimonial" literature not withstanding, the suffering of indigenous people in Guatemala is undisputed, & the tenor of Menchu's book remains true. If the inclusion of such subaltern literature stimulates scientific dialogue & overcomes metropolitan academic arrogance, then everyone wins. L. Kehl

Case studies of indigenous agricultural development strategies and natural resources management; Senegal, Botswana, Mozambique, and Benin; 4 articles. Text in English, German, and French.

"Methodically researched study examines the activities of the state, which depended on highly labor-intensive coffee production and export, in the proletarianization of the indigenous population. Peasants practicing subsistence agriculture and minifundistas lost their land or access to land and moved from the traditional patronage system through a period of debt peonage to labor recruitment utilizing vagrancy laws. Concludes that the exploitative character of labor relations was a response to external market factors, internal ethnic segregation and monopoly of power during the covered period. Noting that the highland peasant population had developed an actual culture of resistance, at least on local levels, observes that the peasants never managed to organize politically. From colonialism and patronage to the modern liberal economic model and the freedom of the labor market, the Guatemalan peasants' lot did not improve"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 58