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In the late colonial period, the rural area of Central Mexico was characterized by haciendas, by Spanish-mestic small towns and by indigenous communities, which were defined and composed ethnically according to Spanish law. This study uses microhistorical methods to study the city of Cholula and its rural environment. The focus is on economic processes within the municipalities and interethnic exchange relationships at the individual level. The focus of the study is on Indian households and their scope for economic action. The analysis of the distribution of land ownership in Cholula already shows a high proportion of land ownership in private property, a result that fundamentally contradicts the previous knowledge about the organization of indigenous communities. Their role as a reservoir of labour for the haciendas is well known. This study shows that individual households also produced and marketed significant quantities of different agricultural and industrial products. The proof of the manifold inter-ethnic exchange relationships calls into question the relevance of the traditional description categories "Indian" and "Spanish" for the rural areas of Central Mexico and points out numerous parallels to European agricultural societies of the 18th century.

'Die Demokratie in Bolivien und Ecuador befindet sich in der Krise. Diese politischen Destabilisierungsprozesse werden häufig als schlichte Folge der wirtschaftlichen Krisensituation interpretiert, die die Region seit Ende der 1990er Jahre erneut ergriffen hat. Die Krise der Politik, so argumentiert der Autor, geht allerdings deutlich tiefer: Sie spiegelt eine wesentliche Verschiebung gesellschaftlicher Kräfteverhältnisse, die eine labile Herrschaftsordnung treffen, deren relative Stabilität auf der Kombination einer begrenzten demokratischen Legitimation mit der faktischen Marginalisierung breiter Teile der Gesellschaft basierte. Bedeutendster Bestandteil dieser Veränderungen ist der Aufstieg indigener Bewegungen zu nicht mehr hintergehbaren politischen Akteuren. Die indigenen Bewegungen in Bolivien und Ecuador spielen eine widersprüchlich anmutende Doppelrolle: Gerade weil sie als Motor einer fortgesetzten Demokratisierung fungieren, werden sie zugleich zu einem Faktor der Destabilisierung. Denn es war gerade eine systematische Begrenzung ('Entsubstanzialisierung') der Demokratie, die in beiden Ländern die Transition zu überlebensfähigen Minimal-Demokratie möglich gemacht hatte. Diese Konstellation bringt die 'etablierten Demokratien' des Nordens in eine schwierige Situation. Zwar haben sie sich die weltweite Förderung der Demokratie auf die Fahnen geschrieben. Mit dieser verfolgen sie jedoch vielfältige Ziele, darunter vor allem Kontinuität, Stabilität sowie außen- und wirtschaftspolitische Kooperativität. Indem die indigenen Bewegungen im Namen und mit den Mitteln der Demokratie gegen die herrschende Ordnung auftreten, stellen sie nun aber auch genuine wirtschafts- und außenpolitische Interessen der Geber selbst in Frage. Hier wird sich erweisen, wie ernst es den Gebern mit den eigenen normativen Ansprüchen wirklich ist.' (Autorenreferat)

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

Tourist art (souvenir art, airport art) is produced particularly for the tourist market. Only certain types of traditional arts and crafts are acceptable to the buyer. As souvenirs have to be understandable, they must be adjusted to the cultural background of the tourist, to his cognitive system. Thus arts and crafts of indigenous peoples are subject to changes. Persons who are in contact with tourists' culture (e.g. traders) take influence on form and design of the items. As a result of these changes, souvenirs do contain cultural elements of the tourist's world as well as cultural elements of the foreign country. Hence souvenir art reflects tourists' ideas of the foreign culture. It is part of the tourist's culture perhaps more than part of the foreign culture.

Die vorliegende Studie thematisiert die Netzwerke "Allianz in den Alpen" und das "Klimabündnis Österreich", die nationale Organisation des europäischen Städtenetzwerks "Klima- Bündnis/Alianza del Clima e.V." Zunächst wird ein theoretischer Überblick über Definition, Entstehung, Stabilität, Funktionsweise und Problemlösungsfähigkeit von Netzwerken gegeben. Nach einer Darstellung von Entwicklungen nationalstaatlicher Nachhaltigkeitspolitiken in Österreich und der Schweiz werden die Netzwerke "Allianz in den Alpen" sowie das "Klimabündnis Österreich" näher beleuchtet (Entstehung, Ziele, Strukturen, Finanzierung und Entwicklung). Zusammenfassend lässt sich feststellen, dass die Entstehung beider Netzwerke primär als Reaktion auf spezifische Problemlagen gedeutet werden kann, die im Zusammenhang mit nachhaltiger Entwicklung gesehen werden. Beide Netzwerke können als problemorientierte Netzwerke bezeichnet werden: Während die "Allianz in den Alpen" sich dezidiert auf die besonderen Probleme des Alpenraums bezieht, konzentriert sich das "Klimabündnis Österreich" speziell auf die politischen Handlungsfelder, die mit der Problematik einer Klimaveränderung im Zusammenhang stehen, sowie auf die transnationale Zusammenarbeit mit den indigenen Völkern des Amazonasbeckens. ; This study will focus on two networks, namely, the "Alliance in the Alps" and the "Austrian Climate Alliance" (the Austrian national organization within the European network "Climate Alliance of European Cities with Indigenous Rainforest Peoples/Alianza del Clima"). The study begins with an overview of network development, stability, functioning, and policy performance. This is followed by an overview of the Swiss and the Austrian national sustainable development, policies respectively, and a description of the Alliance in the Alps Region and the Austrian Climate Alliance, in particular, focusing on those organizations' respective development, aims, structure, and financing. The development of both networks can be interpreted primarily as a reaction to a specific dilemma of sustainable development. Thus, these networks can be said to be problem-oriented. The Alliance in the Alps concerns itself with problems specific to Alpine areas; the Austrian Climate Alliance, on the other hand, concentrates on specific policy fields directly related to the problem of climate change.