Rural Politics Research Articles

“Out” on the Farm: Queer Farmers Maneuvering Heterosexism and Visibility*

AbstractIn agriculture, heterosexual and cisgender farmers benefit from merging the public and private spheres through the “family farm” model. In comparison, heterosexist expectations relegate queerness to the private sphere and burden queer farmers with the work of gaining acceptance among rural and agrarian communities. Based on interviews with 20 queer farmers in the northeastern United States, this article examines the role of queerness in shaping farmers' participation in agriculture. Findings show that queer farmers actively maneuver their identity based on presumptions of heterosexism, illustrating how queerness, as an aspect of identity, is widely overlooked as a critical vector that influences participation in farming. Through daily interactions with customers, other farmers, and community members, queer farmers develop strategies to mitigate heterosexism's negative implications. Queer farmers participated in alternative agriculture, leveraged the rural politics of recognition, and selectively outed themselves. As a structural issue, however, heterosexism remains an embodied hardship for queer farmers. Queer farmers' experiences offer new pathways for understanding rural community development in the agrarian transition. These results illustrate that agricultural organizations, farm policy, and rural community theorizing would benefit from viewing queerness as a critical axis of consideration in farming rather than a private matter not suitable for farming spaces.

Non-institutional Factors in Shaping Rural Elections and Governance in China: a Pragmatist Perspective

What type of micro individual factors may affect rural elections and governance in China? What may affect the dynamics of power politics in rural China? Based on intensive field interviews with rural residents, our research finds a gap between what good governance requires and what fair, competitive elections can provide in rural China. We argue that habits, social skills, and chaxu geju (差序格局) are causal factors that determine the roles and action orientation of elites in rural China, correspondingly shaping the dynamics of power politics in rural areas. Rural elections select the elites who are candidates to govern the countryside; however, the habits, skills, and chaxu geju of rural elites are crucial but neglected factors that can significantly affect the outcome of rural governance. This new theoretical framework which we call a pragmatist theory of agency and power politics is derived from Western pragmatist theory and Chinese indigenous theory. This approach of merging Western theories and Chinese indigenous theories has substantial potential to provide insights into rural politics in contemporary China.

Measuring the Rural Continuum in Political Science

AbstractRecent accounts of American politics focus heavily on urban–rural gaps in political behavior. Rural politics research is growing but may be stymied by difficulties defining and measuring which Americans qualify as “rural.” We discuss theoretical and empirical challenges to studying rurality. Much existing research has been inattentive to conceptualization and measurement of rural geography. We focus on improving estimation of different notions of rurality and provide a new dataset on urban–rural measurement of U.S. state legislative districts. We scrutinize construct validity and measurement in two studies of rural politics. First, we replicate Flavin and Franko (2020,Political Behavior, 845–864) to demonstrate empirical results may be sensitive to measurement of rural residents. Second, we use Mummolo and Nall’s (2017,The Journal of Politics, 45–59) survey data to show rural self-identification is not well-captured with objective, place-based classifications, suggesting a rethinking of theoretical and empirical accounts of rural identity. We conclude with strategies for operationalizing rurality using readily available tools.

Negotiating the Northwoods: Anti-establishment rural politics in the Northeastern United States

While recent scholarship on rural politics in the United States has focused almost exclusively on right-wing populism, capital's power over the land has also spurred nonpartisan resistance. Financialization of forestland ownership in the United States has diversified how companies profit from the land, whether through carbon sequestration, conservation easements, wind tower leases, or mechanized logging. These new sources of profit, though, create fewer jobs than the traditional woods products industries. Based on more than a year of ethnographic research in a forested region of northern New England, I describe an anti-establishment politics spurred by opposition to one of these development projects, an electrical transmission corridor proposed by an international energy company. I argue that the resistance to this project is a response to ‘behind closed doors’ negotiations and the accumulation of power in the hands of a small number of energy companies, timberland owners, politicians, government agencies and environmental NGOs. Scholarship on the resistance to neoliberalism's effects on the rural United States should thus not be limited to a left/right populism framework.

Emerging ‘agrarian climate justice’ struggles in Myanmar

ABSTRACT The intersection between land grabs and climate change mitigation politics in Myanmar has created new political opportunities for scaling up, expanding and deepening struggles toward ‘agrarian climate justice’. Building on the concepts of ‘political opportunities’ and ‘rural democratization’ to understand how rural politics is relevant to national regime changes in the process of deepening democracy, this paper argues that scaling up beyond the local level becomes necessary to counter the concentration of power at higher levels. At the same time, this vertical process is inextricable from building horizontal networks and rooting struggles in communities. By looking at national-level land policy advocacy for more just land laws, accountability politics in mining at a regional level in the southern Tanintharyi region, and the bottom-up establishment of local indigenous territories, this paper illustrates how expanding these struggles becomes necessary, but is also accompanied by potential fault-lines. These fault-lines include divergent political tendencies within the network and challenges to working in areas contested by the Burmese state and ethnic armed organizations.

Pork Belly Politics: The Moral and Instrumental Reasons Clients Donate to Patrons in a Rural Colombian Mayoral Election

Why, in the context of a rural Colombian mayoral election, do poor clients donate goods and services to political campaigns? The literature on clientelism describes it as a political order in which politicians exchange resources or favors for political support. In this article, I describe the clientelist relationships and exchanges in a 2019 rural Colombian mayoral election, including what I call pork belly politics, where poor clients also donate scarce resources—most notably crispy fried pork belly—to patrons. Based on eleven months of ethnographic and interview data from before, during, and after the campaign, I show that elections are a crucial time for the rural poor to position themselves vis-a-vis the future mayor. Further, I show that the practices I describe are simultaneously instrumental, calculated to guarantee their access to needed public resources for the four-year term, and moral, rooted in a broader political culture based on norms of reciprocity. I explain the three levels of clientelist relationships that emerge during campaigns, and the practices and expectations at play in each. These findings add new depth to our understanding of rural politics and poverty, client agency, and the moral and instrumental dimensions of clientelist exchanges.

Gender and generation in rural politics in Myanmar: a missed space for (re)negotiation?

ABSTRACT The changes that have swept rural Myanmar, transforming landscapes and affecting livelihoods, have ignited rural politics and civil society and grassroot organizations' strategies to counter, resist, negotiate and adapt to these changes. Rural politics have centred on broad calls for agrarian and environmental rights and social justice that do not address women's rights, gender and generational justice explicitly. Based on fieldwork carried out in Myanmar's Taninthary region, and engagement with grassroots organizations, I examine how gender and generational power dynamics play out, transform and are transformed in processes of agrarian and environmental change and rural politics.

Movimientos sociales rurales en tiempos neoliberales: antagonismos y subjetividades políticas en resistencias / Rural social movements in neoliberal times: antagonisms and political subjectivities in resistance

Este artículo realiza un análisis sobre la experiencia política del Movimiento Nacional Campesino Indígena- Somos Tierra, con la intención de caracterizar las modalidades de resistencias surgidas en los espacios rurales latinoamericanos, particularmente en Argentina. Se parte del supuesto de que en la praxis de los movimientos sociales/populares, en particular los movimientos campesinos-indígenas, se estructuran y re-configuran subjetividades políticas en procesos de resistencia, cuyas tramas de acción conforman otra episteme y una nueva cultura política que se evidencia entre otras cosas en los saberes que emergen de la labor política y los espacios colectivos construidos en el campo. A tal fin, se intenta reseñar los núcleos teórico-políticos que atraviesan la movilización popular latinoamericana desde el Movimiento Nacional Campesino Indígena- Somos Tierra, en tanto espacio de politicidades rurales que configuran una resistencia frontal a la fase neoliberal del capitalismo global.

Jerusalem Building: Lolly Willowes, Blake and Rural Politics

Sylvia Townsend Warner's work is richly allusive, yet the precise purpose of her myriad references to, and echoes of, earlier works of literature often remains opaque. This essay explores one particular intertext in her work from the 1920s: the poetry of William Blake. In her essays, poetry, and in particular Lolly Willowes (1926), Warner, I argue, attempts to liberate Blake from both jingoistic nationalism and from progressive improvement. It is in particular in the intertextual dialogue she opens up with rural preservationist J. W. Robertson Scott that we can see how Warner seeks to free Blake from those who believed that Jerusalem could be literally built, rather than it being the preserve of an unfettered imagination. As I demonstrate, Laura Willowes has a series of Blakean epiphanies that allow her to become a critic of the materialism of modernity.

Ethno-Nationality of Caste in Pakistan: Privileged Caste Morality in Sindhi Progressive Literature and Politics

This paper attempts the historiographical analysis of the caste as it reflects in Sindhi progressive literature and rural politics. In an attempt to reframe the harmonious image of Sindhi society, the Progressives popularised certain slogans, phrases and historical events as the metaphors of the nationalist and class struggle. Tracing from the early Partition phase (the 1940s), this paper interrogates the progressive’s orientalist literary trajectory that reframes caste metaphors and constructs the Sindhi nationalist narrative. It is contended that the reframing of some key historical events of Dalits and peasants seem uncritical and apologetic of caste friction, create an illusion of neutrality and at times even sanction casteism as a functional aspect of Sindhi society. The ‘progressive’ literature condones caste hierarchies and flattens the question of caste adding to the pre-existing hegemonic relations between the historically dominant and the subordinated caste groups. This diminishes the possibility of deploying the framework of caste-as-class for understanding caste, organising Dalits reckoning their agency as it may shape their immanent narratives and subverting caste hierarchies.

Village Leaders, Dual Brokerage and Political Order in Rural China

AbstractDrawing on an ethnographic study in two counties in Hunan province, this article explores how political brokerage has contributed to political order in China by facilitating contentious and non-contentious bargaining between the government and ordinary people. To account for the changing role of village leaders in rural politics, the article develops a concept of dual brokerage. This concept not only recognizes formal and informal linkages between village leaders and the two principals – the government and the community of villagers – but also underscores the interactivity between the linkages. We contend that despite the tensions between village leaders’ roles as state agents and as village representatives, these two roles in the reform era tend to be mutually beneficial. Under such an institutional configuration, village leaders in China in the reform era have strong incentives to act as dual agents and can make policy implementation more flexible and the use of state force more moderate. A comparison between the trilateral interactions before and after the tax reform in 2005 confirms that whether village leaders can effectively act as dual agents has a significant impact on the quality of rural governance in China.

Rural politics in transitional China: Urban–rural disparity, national integration, and grassroots democracy

This essay reviews three books by Xu Yong that examine three critical historical processes of political transformation in rural China: the politicization of society due to urban–rural disparity, the government’s efforts to encourage political integration in rural areas, and the development of rural grassroots democracy. Urban–rural disparity has been a structural characteristic of China’s politicized society since the establishment of the monarchy. The analysis of this inequality focuses on uncovering grassroots society (as opposed to Chinese society’s upper echelons) and examining its evolutionary logic. Since 1949, China has faced the historical task of building a modern state. The government aggressively entered the countryside through large-scale political mobilization and social integration with the Chinese Communist Party as the driving force. The goal was to create a strongly integrated communist nation. Since the 1980s, the Chinese countryside has not only experienced economic liberalization but also received an opportunity for political democratization through the creation and practice of village autonomy. Self-government in autonomous villages has provided Chinese peasants with a wide range of democratic rights. In addition, calls for transformation and promotion of the democratic paradigm have increased. Xu’s three books effectively present many critical aspects of China’s rural political transformations. However, questions remain concerning the consistency of the theory and the accuracy of the analysis, which leaves room for further research and discussion.

From ‘populist moment’ to authoritarian era: challenges, dangers, possibilities

ABSTRACT This essay, inspired by the huge outpouring of research generated in and around the Emancipatory Rural Politics Initiative, reflects on the challenges of analysing authoritarian populism and particularly its rural expressions. The paper first examines key features of authoritarian populism and early populist movements in the Americas and Russia. Then it turns to ‘illiberal’ neoliberalism and the origins of neoliberalism under brutal dictatorial regimes in Indonesia and Chile. The paper scrutinizes the scepticism about populism in the work of prominent liberal and neoliberal media pundits and scholars. The affinities and tensions between different authoritarian populist rulers, the worrisome transnational linkages of their support bases and the massive flows of right-wing donor money between white supremacist and nationalist movements in different countries suggest the emergence of a fractious axis, not as consolidated as the fascist axis of the 1930s and 1940s, but a rising threat to democracy nonetheless. The paper considers the degeneration of progressive populisms, such as Venezuelan chavismo, and the problem of resorting to ‘automatic’ or ‘unconditional’ solidarities as a factor in the delegitimizing of left alternative voices. The last sections discuss emancipatory politics, the recent phenomenon of pandemic authoritarianism and the rising protest movements that constitute a possible opportunity for progressive forces.

Contemporary Land Questions in Sweden, Far‐Right Populist Strategies and Challenges for Inclusionary Rural Development

AbstractThis article analyses the rural politics and discursive strategies of the Sweden Democrats political party and contrasts them with the politics of movements proposing inclusionary rural development in Sweden. The article examines political and media documents on rural issues produced by the Sweden Democrats, uses documents of and interviews with representatives of rural development initiatives in Sweden and analyses relevant forest owners’ magazines. The results show that the defence of property rights and exclusionary politics are a prominent part of the populist strategy of the Sweden Democrats in rural areas and that technological development and mechanisation of forestry and agriculture become crucial challenges in articulating political efforts for inclusionary rural development in Sweden. The article concludes by highlighting differences between the Sweden Democrats’ populist strategies and the political efforts to build inclusionary rural politics in the context of contemporary land questions in Sweden.

Political economy of agricultural electricity tariffs: Rural politics of Indian States

Although electricity is one of the most important determinants of successful industrialization, many countries do not provide sufficient amounts of electricity at reasonable prices for industrialization. In order to inquire into the causes behind this, we investigate the factors that influence electricity tariffs for agricultural consumers at the state level in India. We conduct a dynamic panel data analysis using data for seventeen major states in India for the period from 1992 to 2012. Our estimation results suggest that as the Gini coefficient of landowning rises, the agricultural electricity tariffs become lower. However, the rural population share does not significantly affect agricultural electricity tariffs. These results indicate that state governments are responsive to the demands of large farmers (rural elites) but not to the demands of farmers more generally (rural masses). Our results are consistent with elite politics but not mass politics. Low electricity tariffs for agricultural consumers have caused insufficient investment in the infrastructure necessary for the expansion of industries, as well as high electricity tariffs for industrial consumers, which may have adversely affected the industrialization of state economies in India.

Unpacking ‘authoritarian populism’ and rural politics: some comments on ERPI

ABSTRACT This paper provides an overview of work published under the auspices of ERPI, which remains somewhat elusive as a coherent intellectual and political project. I comment on several matters including lack of distinction between the ‘agrarian’ and the ‘rural’, issues of (spatial) scale and temporality and of identifying agrarian and rural classes, the costs as well as possible benefits of embracing the ambiguities of populism, and instances of ‘resistance’ to ‘authoritarian populism’ that are reported and proposed. The overall conclusion is that ERPI requires a more consistent, sharper and fuller class-based approach.

“No matter if you're a Democrat or a Republican or neither”: Pragmatic politics in opposition to industrial animal production

Scholars call for unusual, visionary pathways forward to counter authoritarian control in situations of helplessness and inequality. Popular strategies for change in such contexts often call for large-scale state interventions achieved through party-line politics. This paper examines two groups that stopped the construction of industrial hog facilities in the United States and finds that rural emancipation comes through direct action, with the state as a secondary, rather than primary, vehicle for change. Pragmatic rural politics predicated on immediate concerns and pathways for action underscore effective protest against corporate agribusinesses. Those involved pursue ends rooted in their shared commitment to a livable and prosperous rural future.

Emigrants vs. rural politics: Cosmopolitan outlooks and electoral opposition to agrarian parties

In many countries, agrarian political parties are important both to rural political representation and to government formation. Nevertheless, relatively little scholarly attention considers who votes for agrarian parties, or how institutional changes affect the relative electoral strength of such parties. This article postulates that cosmopolitan, globalized worldviews are particularly likely to lead voters to prefer alternatives to agrarian parties, and tests the argument with information about emigrant voters, a large bloc of identifiable voters tending to exemplify cosmopolitan perspectives. Analysis of elections across twenty-three European countries confirms that out-of-country voters are less likely to support agrarian parties than are their in-country counterparts, suggesting that forces leading to more cross-cultural, cosmopolitan identities may reduce the electoral weight of rural-focused parties. Evidence from Estonian elections shows that this reduced emigrant support for agrarian parties occurs whether migrants come from urban or from rural regions. • Agrarian political parties tend to reflect so-called ‘localist’ worldviews. • Localism may reduce agrarian parties’ appeal to more cosmopolitan voters. • Emigrants, archetypal cosmopolitans, vote against agrarian parties in Europe. • Estonian data shows even rural emigrants to be relatively agrarian-party averse.

“All we need is Food…” Rural Politics and Peasant Struggles Amidst Unresolved Land Question in Southern Malawi

Peasants in Thyolo and Mulanje [1] districts in Malawi have been at constant loggerheads with estate owners over the issue of land usage. With dwindling land-holdings among peasants chiefly due to high population growth and highly skewed land ownership (and usage) towards the tea estate owners, scores of peasants have managed to occupy idle tea estate lands to reproduce themselves. Livelihoods have relatively changed to this group of peasants, for the better. This study was done to understand the political processes surrounding access to tea plantation land and everyday peasant resistance initiatives. Using qualitative research design, results showed that a portion of peasants has managed to occupy idle estate land for over a decade now while majority still swim in land poverty. The number of new land occupants continues increasing with increased pressure from poverty. The peasants ‘sugar-coat’ their occupation by occupying only idle estate land, and forming local-level mechanisms to deter other peasants from vandalizing estate crops. The occupied lands have bred ‘village-rich’ group of people who have acquired much wealth (at village level) from the land while others barely survive. With widespread insecurity of tenure in the occupied lands, the study recommends formal restitution of idle land to locals as a poverty reduction initiative. DOI: 10.7176/DCS/10-5-05 Publication date: May 31 st 2020 [1] Thyolo and Mulanje are the two tea-growing districts in southern Malawi. Huge thatches of land are used to grow the same. The estates are largely foreign owned. In the article, Thyolo and Mulanje districts; and Southern Malawi will be used interchangeably.

Inside an enclave: the dynamics of capitalism and rural politics in a post-land reform context

ABSTRACT There is no doubt that Zimbabwe's Fast Track Land Reform Program resulted in repeasantization. As several studies point out, it also resulted in accumulation from below by a majority of the resettled peasantry. Our study focuses on an area where counter-agrarian reform is in motion and accumulation from below is constrained. In this location, we argue that repeasantization is severely being contested as indicated by the re-emergence of a dual-mode of production and the subsequent ‘virtual’ dispossession and proletarianization of the land reform beneficiaries. Our findings shed more light on the dynamics of capitalism and agrarian politics in a context where land reforms are implemented under neoliberalism. In this enclave, peasants after accessing land through the land reform collectivized their land and parceled it to the downsized and nearby capitalist farming system. The capitalist farming system engages in spatio-temporal fix by moving from one rural site to another as it follows the dictates of accumulation. While the possibility of full-scale land dispossession exists, the current state ownership of land and the peasantry's resistance provided some brakes to full-scale land dispossession. At the same time, the state's limited support to land reform beneficiaries fuels this localized land dispossession. The peasantry's exploitation in this enclave ranges from corvee labor to coercion into the mini-land enclosures; these are implemented by village heads, who are local state functionaries. This study also recasts the relevance of the Marxist framework in understanding rural dynamics more specifically; it revisits Karl Kautsky's arguments on the coexistence thesis of the peasantry and capitalist farming and illustrates the Zimbabwean state's ambivalence with regards to the conditions of peasant and capitalist farming.