Call for Papers Special Issue 'Indigenous Peoples in Global Politics'

In recent years, the role of indigenous peoples in matters related to the “international” and the “global” has been drawing the attention not only of the media, but also of International Relations (IR) scholars. Historically relegated to the margins of the discipline and political action, indigenous peoples have gained more visibility in the literature, contributing to redefining and destabilizing core concepts in IR, as well as giving vigor to the discussions undertaken in previous decades in that discipline. Indeed, the introduction of multiple indigenous perspectives has been expanding and diversifying the epistemological field of IR, breaking with hegemonic views. Initially, such theoretical production focused on the relationship between these subjects and themes such as sovereignty, diplomacy, and borders, pointing to indigeneity as a relevant analytical category for questioning the ontoepistemic limits of the area (Beier, 2009; Shaw, 2008).

In the more recent period, the emphasis on otherness and its potential to disrupt order has found new inputs and inspirations for analytical reflection in the experiences of these peoples, especially in Latin America. Other contributions to this effort are based on transdisciplinary discussions, more specifically those gathered under the decolonial umbrella and in Anthropology (Blaser, 2009; De la Cadena, 2010; Escobar, 2012; Mignolo, 2012; Quijano, 2014; Stengers, 2005). Thus, pluriverse, political ontology, relationality, and cosmopolitics stand out among some of the terms mobilized by academia, in some cases animated by the phenomenon of climate change, the Anthropocene, extractivism, and their implications (Picq, 2020; Rojas, 2016; Tickner and Blaney, 2017). Plurinationality, interculturality, good living (and their original counterparts), among others, also came to appear in the productions of IR, although sometimes incorporated more as concepts and analytical tools, rather than as political projects.

Thus, the multiplication of analyses about indigenous peoples seems to point both to understanding them as political subjects and to contradictions. On the one hand, those works have highlighted the propositions of indigenous peoples, which denounce the exclusionary and dominant nature of the daily practice of international relations and the discipline, to the point of considering their international and global action as a marginal form of diplomacy (Nachet, 2021). On the other hand, the tension previously observed has important implications for the politics of knowledge production: between the mobilization/fermentation of indigenous projects, and their framing by non-indigenous intellectuals in order to accentuate the singularity of the Other. Hence, the criticisms point to the dangers of essentialization and, consequently, depoliticization of discussions (Chandler and Reid, 2020; Gaussens et al., 2024).

Considering this scenario, this special issue aims to gather contributions from researchers studying indigenous peoples in international politics. We particularly – though not exclusively – encourage submissions on topics such as:

i) How does the political action of indigenous peoples (whether through transnational fora, pan-indigenous alliances, global articulations of struggles among dominated peoples, or resistance to megaprojects, for instance) yield pressure on traditional concepts such as politics, sovereignty, international cooperation, and global governance?

ii) To what extent and through what mechanisms do these practices subvert or are co-opted by the hegemonic structures of the international system?

iii) In what ways do indigenous philosophies and worldviews challenge the colonial logics of the Anthropocene, extractivism, and the geopolitics of knowledge?

iv) How are these resistances translated (or distorted) into discourses of sustainability and human rights?

v) What are the risks and contradictions of the incorporation or appropriation of indigenous concepts by academia and international institutions?

vi) How to prevent “indigenous identity” from being reduced to a marker of otherness without political implications, devoid of the resonance potential of its concrete demands for sovereignty, demarcation, and self-determination?

In addition to reflections arising from studies about indigenous peoples, we encourage contributions by and/or in partnership with indigenous authors, as well as the participation of voices from indigenous movements, organizations, and collectives themselves. These can engage with and against IR as a field of knowledge, but they can also propose something original about their actions and political, public, and global ties that are capable of challenging modern and colonial political practice. In such projects, we welcome contributions written in the first person, as well as those coming from collective subjects, and any innovative way of expressing thoughts and practices.

Finally, we also encourage contributions that challenge the modern separation between "local" and "global", as well as the hierarchies insisting on associating indigenous peoples with a passive, local and exotic existence, restricted to the cultural dimensions of social and political life. In times of climate crisis, the advance of extractivism, and the reconfiguration of borders, we seek to problematize both indigenous agency in transnational fora and the limits imposed by colonial structures of knowledge and power. In this sense, we hope that this special issue of Monções provides inputs for thinking about the multiple forms of critically analyzing the links between indigenous peoples and international politics.