Coping with Crisis - Latin American Perspectives – serie

Discussing the civilizatory crisis and processes of refeudalization this volume brings into dialogue two of the most creative approaches, in Olaf Kaltmeier and Edgardo Lander, to rethink capitalism in the 21st century.In Part 1, Olaf Kaltmeier, takes issue with the state of social inequality in the region, highlighting the concentration of wealth within the upper 1% of society in Latin America. Comparing the current economic situation with the ancient regime, the discussion centers around the new phenomena like billionaires as president, increased luxury consumption, an emerging culture of distinction, and the intensification of land and spatial segregation. In Part 2, Lander urgently assesses the current state and political legacy of the "Pink Tide" governments in his essay "Crisis of Civilization." Reviewing the past two decades of the new millennium, Lander critiques the failure of these governments to provide alternatives to extractivism and economic dependencies. Finally, Hans-Jürgen Burchardt connects the arguments through interviews where both authors sum their efforts to open the issues to future dialogue.Refeudalization in Latin America provides an accessible and thought-provoking political diagnosis from the Global South which departs from the oft idiosyncratic and cyclical debates of the Global North to offer new vocabulary for social change. It will interest scholars and students of global studies, sociology, and political science.

Discussing the civilizatory crisis and processes of refeudalization this volume brings into dialogue two of the most creative approaches, in Olaf Kaltmeier and Edgardo Lander, to rethink capitalism in the 21st century.In Part 1, Olaf Kaltmeier, takes issue with the state of social inequality in the region, highlighting the concentration of wealth within the upper 1% of society in Latin America. Comparing the current economic situation with the ancient regime, the discussion centers around the new phenomena like billionaires as president, increased luxury consumption, an emerging culture of distinction, and the intensification of land and spatial segregation. In Part 2, Lander urgently assesses the current state and political legacy of the "Pink Tide" governments in his essay "Crisis of Civilization." Reviewing the past two decades of the new millennium, Lander critiques the failure of these governments to provide alternatives to extractivism and economic dependencies. Finally, Hans-Jürgen Burchardt connects the arguments through interviews where both authors sum their efforts to open the issues to future dialogue.Refeudalization in Latin America provides an accessible and thought-provoking political diagnosis from the Global South which departs from the oft idiosyncratic and cyclical debates of the Global North to offer new vocabulary for social change. It will interest scholars and students of global studies, sociology, and political science.

In this edifying volume Sarah Corona and Claudia Zapata extrapolate the causes for the divisions between groups in Latin American society, bringing their years of experience investigating the conditions and consequences of heterogeneity in the region.First, Corona approaches the problem of difference and heterogeneity epistemologically, asking about the possible benefits of horizontal modes of knowledge production between academics and the "social other." She demands reification for those without access to institutions who experience social ills and theorizes a trans-disciplinary dialogue to discover a horizontal construction of knowledge. Zapata evaluates and questions whether indigenous people throughout the continent have had their quality of life improved by the recognition of their collective rights as peoples. These two works provide overviews of a Latin American multiculturalism that connects to parallel movements in North America and Europe. Combined they offer a guide that could be vital to future activism and social work whether in the classroom or on the streets.Critical Interculturality and Horizontal Methodology in Latin America will appeal to scholars and students who are in need of new ways to comprehend the current strain of multiculturalism and plurality. It offers reflections on how social research can be not only sensitive to the epistemologies and interests of the "cultural other," but approach parity and horizontality in dialogue.

In this edifying volume Sarah Corona and Claudia Zapata extrapolate the causes for the divisions between groups in Latin American society, bringing their years of experience investigating the conditions and consequences of heterogeneity in the region.First, Corona approaches the problem of difference and heterogeneity epistemologically, asking about the possible benefits of horizontal modes of knowledge production between academics and the "social other." She demands reification for those without access to institutions who experience social ills and theorizes a trans-disciplinary dialogue to discover a horizontal construction of knowledge. Zapata evaluates and questions whether indigenous people throughout the continent have had their quality of life improved by the recognition of their collective rights as peoples. These two works provide overviews of a Latin American multiculturalism that connects to parallel movements in North America and Europe. Combined they offer a guide that could be vital to future activism and social work whether in the classroom or on the streets.Critical Interculturality and Horizontal Methodology in Latin America will appeal to scholars and students who are in need of new ways to comprehend the current strain of multiculturalism and plurality. It offers reflections on how social research can be not only sensitive to the epistemologies and interests of the "cultural other," but approach parity and horizontality in dialogue.

In this book, Hans-Jürgen Burchardt and Irene Lungo-Rodríguez lead a transdisciplinary team of experts to advance our understanding of wealth in Latin America.Combining conceptual discussions with empirical research, they analyze characteristics of wealth, and the implications for inequality. Three thematic sections provide a unique overarching structure to understand the economic, social, political, and cultural complexity of wealth. Questions examined include:What economic, institutional, and structural factors contribute to the excessive accumulation of wealth?What political dynamics promote the concentration of wealth and power?What type of social, political, and economic relations are generated in these contexts of extreme wealth concentration?What socio-cultural processes contribute to legitimizing and reproducing wealth?What are the local, regional, and national socio-ecological effects of these dynamics?Wealth, Development and Social Inequalities in Latin America provides thought-provoking reading for students and researchers alike who wish to look beyond the Global North for answers on the importance of studying wealth.

In this book, Hans-Jürgen Burchardt and Irene Lungo-Rodríguez lead a transdisciplinary team of experts to advance our understanding of wealth in Latin America.Combining conceptual discussions with empirical research, they analyze characteristics of wealth, and the implications for inequality. Three thematic sections provide a unique overarching structure to understand the economic, social, political, and cultural complexity of wealth. Questions examined include:What economic, institutional, and structural factors contribute to the excessive accumulation of wealth?What political dynamics promote the concentration of wealth and power?What type of social, political, and economic relations are generated in these contexts of extreme wealth concentration?What socio-cultural processes contribute to legitimizing and reproducing wealth?What are the local, regional, and national socio-ecological effects of these dynamics?Wealth, Development and Social Inequalities in Latin America provides thought-provoking reading for students and researchers alike who wish to look beyond the Global North for answers on the importance of studying wealth.

In this book, renowned Latin American intellectuals, Pablo Alabarces and Néstor García Canclini, bring us up to date on the changes in the status and role of the popular classes in Latin American democracies over the past two decades. Building on decades-long research and experience in the field of cultural studies, the authors ask how the digitalization and economization of society are changing the reality of political participation and social inequality in Latin America and beyond, leading to new forms of economic and cultural marginalization. García Canclini focuses on the rapid digitalization of our society and economies, ruminating over the future of political participation and democracy in the coming age of algorithms, transnationalization, and social precarity for growing swaths of the population. By contrast, Alabarces focuses on the disintegration and commodification of popular cultures throughout Latin America in the last two decades and discusses the consequences on democratic projects in the region. Both pieces approach the question of how democratic projects on a local, regional, national, and transnational level can deal with galloping social disintegration and accelerating political discontent as an increasing number of people within the course of this digital revolution gain voice: all this against the authoritarian or technocratic alternatives that have been gaining ground again. The introduction by Sarah Corona contextualizes the contributions and their authors in the academic and political debate. She connects their focus on popular cultures to broader questions regarding the future of nation-states and democracies facing multiple crises in the region and beyond. Post-Popular Cultures and Digital Capitalism in Latin America will be of interest to researchers and postgraduate students in political science, sociology, and cultural studies looking to freshen their views as well as develop an understanding of the Global South’s perspective on current global issues.

In this book, renowned Latin American intellectuals, Pablo Alabarces and Néstor García Canclini, bring us up to date on the changes in the status and role of the popular classes in Latin American democracies over the past two decades. Building on decades-long research and experience in the field of cultural studies, the authors ask how the digitalization and economization of society are changing the reality of political participation and social inequality in Latin America and beyond, leading to new forms of economic and cultural marginalization. García Canclini focuses on the rapid digitalization of our society and economies, ruminating over the future of political participation and democracy in the coming age of algorithms, transnationalization, and social precarity for growing swaths of the population. By contrast, Alabarces focuses on the disintegration and commodification of popular cultures throughout Latin America in the last two decades and discusses the consequences on democratic projects in the region. Both pieces approach the question of how democratic projects on a local, regional, national, and transnational level can deal with galloping social disintegration and accelerating political discontent as an increasing number of people within the course of this digital revolution gain voice: all this against the authoritarian or technocratic alternatives that have been gaining ground again. The introduction by Sarah Corona contextualizes the contributions and their authors in the academic and political debate. She connects their focus on popular cultures to broader questions regarding the future of nation-states and democracies facing multiple crises in the region and beyond. Post-Popular Cultures and Digital Capitalism in Latin America will be of interest to researchers and postgraduate students in political science, sociology, and cultural studies looking to freshen their views as well as develop an understanding of the Global South’s perspective on current global issues.

In Becoming a Plebeian Leader, José Antonio Villarreal Velásquez examines situations where ordinary women and men become plebeian leaders in urban-popular neighborhoods.Combining oral history, archival research, and ethnography, the book examines plebeian leaders’ moral careers through and within the meaningful and fluctuating connections among urban-popular neighborhoods in the city, and the nation-state from 1960 to the present time. Specifically, Villarreal Velásquez reconstructs, compares, and explains the historical, sociological, and political formation of two plebeian leaders’ moral career paths in Guayaquil (Ecuador); the skills, feelings, and knowledge they acquired to perform their tasks and operate within societal hegemonic frameworks and large-scale structural transformations.Becoming a Plebeian Leader will be of interest to researchers studying urban popular politics in the Global South.

This volume shifts the focus from violence to peace studies in Latin America and sheds light on how social groups and individuals resist to violence and strive to create peaceful or at least less violent conditions of conviviality. Drawing on social sciences, history, and anthropology, but also on cultural, literary, and film studies, the book examines the role of social mobilizations, civic activism, and cultural/artistic initiatives as responses to the crisis of violence, which the state is unable or unwilling to address. In this sense, it debates what a culture of peace could mean in Latin America.Divided into four chapters, Chapter 1 discusses peace from an epistemological and philosophical perspective. In Chapter 2, the authors discuss the contours of a culture of peace with a particular focus on literary and cinematic narratives. Chapter 3 analyses the public debate about the role of the state in peace processes in the case of Costa Rica/Central America. Chapter 4 examines the importance of civil society activities in peace processes.Peace in Latin America is written for a wide and diverse audience that includes researchers, professors, specialists, students, civil society activists, and political actors not only from Latin America but from all over the world.