Challenging Politics: Indigenous Peoples' Experiences with Political Parties and Elections

ISBN-13: 9788790730451 / Angielski / Miękka / 2001 / 291 str.

Kathrin Wessendorf

Opis

This book is a compilation of experiences with national political systems in Latin America, the Arctic, India, Southeast Asia, the Pacific, Canada, and East Africa. The introduction, summary, and recommendations frame the diverse and specific situations described in this book. Indigenous peoples throughout the world find themselves part of political systems that are not their own, but created by a larger national society. Although they have gained experience in dealing with these imposed systems of politics and with hitherto unknown social structures, in recent years there has been a growing interest in participating in electoral processes, providing access to varying levels of government positions by different indigenous organizations. The participation has sometimes taken place as an indigenous organization or, in other cases, organizations have allied themselves with traditional political parties. Different results have been achieved, with regard to influence on elections, as well as to the consequences for the indigenous movement itself.
This book is a compilation of papers presented at a series of seminars where indigenous activists discussed their experiences with national political systems in Latin America, the Arctic, India, Southeast Asia, the Pacific, Canada, and East Africa. The introduction, summary, and recommendations frame the diverse and specific situations described in this book.
Kathrin Wessendorf is an anthropologist who currently works at the Secretariat of the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) in Copenhagen.