The political ecology of genetically modified and organic cotton in India as agents of agrarian transformation

2021 ◽  
pp. 153-172
Author(s):  
Andrew Flachs
Keyword(s):  
Political Ecology ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
The Political ◽  
Organic Cotton ◽  
Agrarian Transformation

scholarly journals Redefining success: the political ecology of genetically modified and organic cotton as solutions to agrarian crisis

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Flachs
Keyword(s):  
Political Ecology ◽  
Organic Agriculture ◽  
Agricultural Development ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Green Revolution ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Significant Shift ◽  
Organic Cotton ◽  
Agrarian Crisis

The transnational spread of law and technology in Indian agricultural development has passed through three distinct phases since the mid-19th century. In each case, a narrative of agrarian crisis allowed for new state and corporate interventions, conceived by American and British agribusiness, within the existing logics of Indian smallholder agriculture. These begun with colonial British industrial cotton projects in the 1840s, continuing with Green Revolution agriculture, and on contemporary GM and organic cotton farms. In each case, farmers developed strategies through a frictive, contentious adoption of new technologies and built new avenues to success that worked for some farmers and failed for others. In this article I draw on ethnographic fieldwork and household surveys conducted in nine villages from 2012-2014 in Telangana, India. As with previous development initiatives, the US-born legal structures that defined high-tech GM and low-tech organic agriculture were adopted in India without major changes. I argue, however that their actual implementation by farmers has required a significant shift in the ways that people manage the agricultural economy.Keywords: Genetically Modified crops, organic agriculture, development, South India This paper was winner of the Eric Wolf Prize, Political Ecology Society, 2015.

Devbans, Caste, Gender and the State:Political Ecology of a Sacred Grove of Himachal Pradesh

2021 ◽  
pp. 239448112110203
Author(s):  
Supriya Rani ◽  
Neera Agnimitra
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Political Ecology ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Himachal Pradesh ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Sacred Grove ◽  
Probability Of Survival ◽  
The Social

Devbans are the parts of forest territory that have been traditionally conserved in reverence to the local deities in various parts of Himachal Pradesh. Today, they stand at the intersection of tradition and modernity. This paper endeavours to study the political ecology of a Devban in the contemporary times by looking at the power dynamics between various stakeholders with respect to their relative decision making power in the realm of managing the Devban of Parashar Rishi Devta. It further looks at howcertain political and administrative factors can contribute towards the growth or even decline of any Devban. The study argues that in the contemporary times when the capitalist doctrines have infiltrated every sphere of the social institutions including the religion, Devbans have a greater probability of survival when both the state and the community have shared conservatory idealsand powers to preserve them.

In pursuit of diverse energy futures: The political economy of electricity in Senegal

2021 ◽  
pp. 251484862110348
Author(s):  
Mara van den Bold
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Political Ecology ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Universal Access ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Electricity Sector ◽  
The Political ◽  
Oil Markets ◽  
Rural Access

In recent years, Senegal has proactively pursued the expansion of renewable energy generation, particularly from solar and wind. In addition to starting exploration of offshore liquefied natural gas, the expansion in renewable energy is posited as a way to help the country move toward low(er) carbon development, reduce dependence on volatile oil markets, and improve reliable (and especially rural) access to electricity. To achieve these objectives, the electricity sector has continuously undergone structural reforms to improve its financial viability and to achieve objectives around universal access to electricity, particularly by increasing private sector participation in electricity generation. Through the lens of “electricity capital,” this paper examines the implications of reforms in the electricity sector for processes of accumulation, in a context of efforts to improve environmentally sustainable development. It asks how capital in the electricity sector is constituted and operates in the Senegalese context, who has power in shaping how it operates, and how this has influenced the potential for achieving a fair and equitable transition to a low(er) carbon energy system. This paper draws on recent work in political ecology on energy transitions and emerging literature on the political economy of electricity, as well as on analysis of policy and technical documents and semi-structured interviews carried out with those involved in the energy sector between 2018 and 2020. Findings suggest that even though the Senegalese government has set clear objectives for the electricity sector that are based on principles of equity, environmental sustainability, and justice, the current power relations and financing arrangements taken on by the state and other actors active in the sector has, paradoxically, led to an approach that risks undermining these very principles.

scholarly journals The political ecology of hazard vulnerability: marginalization, facilitation and the production of differential risk to urban wildfires in Arizona's White Mountains

2008 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy W. Collins
Keyword(s):  
Political Ecology ◽  
The Political ◽  
Forest Landscape ◽  
Market Institutions ◽  
White Mountains ◽  
State And Market ◽  
Hazard Vulnerability ◽  
Differential Risk

The concept of marginalization, which is central to studies in political ecology, can be strengthened by incorporating a focus on the mutually constitutive concept of facilitation. Facilitation connotes how privileged groups are provided institutional forms of security in their pursuit of private gain, contributing to deleterious social and ecological outcomes. This paper builds on the concept of marginalization by outlining its application in previous studies. Next, it demonstrates how a dual focus on marginalization and facilitation can help strengthen understanding of the political ecology of risks, hazards and, disasters based on the case of urban wildfire hazards in Arizona's White Mountains. It concludes by discussing implications for understandings of differential risk and hazard vulnerability. In a world where privileged people are increasingly harnessing resources of state and market institutions to externalize risks and capitalize on environmental opportunities, facilitation offers a conceptual complement to marginalization and broadens the political ecology frame. Keywords: hazard, vulnerability, risk, marginalization, fire, forest, landscape, Arizona

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