Collective Action and Indigenous Civil Society

Abstract

Abstract This chapter opens with an overview of the 2019 uprisings in Bolivia, Ecuador and Chile, and contrasts these with large scale protests of the 1990s and 2000s. It provides an historical overview of Indigenous social movements in the three countries but also reviews relevant theoretical literature. It covers theoretical frameworks related to citizenship and collective action (resource mobilization, political structure, framing), and it examines how Indigenous civil society has traditionally blended disruptive protest tactics with participation in state institutions. The chapter also engages with theory on how movements are using digital technologies in the 21st century, touching on networked movements and connective action, as well as the barriers Indigenous movements face using these tools. The chapter argues that while Indigenous civil society uses digital technologies they do not rely on them, and this can be a strength. Here, it introduces the author’s concept of multi-scalar positioning: political action that includes both confrontational (“uncivic”) and cooperative (“civic”) approaches, and takes place on multiple, overlapping scales (within and between communities, nationally and internationally, within state institutions and semi-autonomous participatory mechanisms, and increasingly in the virtual world).