The Andean Exception: An Interdisciplinary Approach to the Absence of Large-Scale Indigenous Social Mobilization in Peru

The study of “new” social movements in Latin America has inspired the work of many scholars from numerous disciplines over the past two decades. In particular, Peru is known among scholars of Latin American indigenous peoples as an exception in the Andes, due to the country’s historical lack of large-scale indigenous movements. It is strange that Peru, the heart of the Inca Empire and a country with similar demographics and ethnic composition as Bolivia and Ecuador, does not exhibit any examples of national-scale indigenous social mobilization. Scholars put forth three frequent arguments to explain this absence: 1) Peruvian ethnic fluidity and fragmentation, 2) historical consequences of the violence associated with Sendero Luminoso, and 3) internal and external organizational dynamics of social movements in Peru. I argue that inter-organizational governance structures and the relationship between local and regional level participatory schemes account for why Peru’s indigenous movements have not ascended to the national scale. The ascendance of participation from the local to regional levels of government is more difficult in Peru due to the peculiar ways in which governmental consolidation was implemented historically. This thesis makes an important contribution to the burgeoning literature on indigenous social mobilization in the Andes by looking specifically at the links between local and regional levels of political institutions, and the way these processes inhibit movements from ascending from the local level to higher level participatory spaces. Academic literature is most valuable when it can be interpreted by scholars and practitioners alike.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Latin American Studies

Grantor dc:publisher

The Ohio State University

Year dc:date

2013

Author dc:creator

• Uhrig, Megan Nicole

Contributors dc:contributor

• Trigo, Abril

• Latin American History
• Latin American Studies
• Native Studies
• Native Americans
• Public Administration
• Comparative
• indigenous
• social movements
• Peru
• governance
• ethnicity
• mobilization
• subnational government
• native populations
• Latin American
• collective action
• organizations

Statement dc:rights

• unrestricted
• This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1365603733

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:osu1365603733