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Project title

Thinking Global, Acting Local: Extractivism, Hybrid Citizenship and Community Governance in Rural Honduras

Primary Funding Agency

Irish Research Council

Co-Funding Organisation(s)

n/a

Lead Organisation

Maynooth University (NUIM)

Lead Applicant

n/a

Project Abstract

The increasing reach of globalisation around the world is calling into question established conceptions of citizenship, governance, and community belonging. The impacts of this phenomenon are vastly different for countries in the Global South versus the Global North. In Honduras, a country experiencing severe social conflict following the 2009 military coup, environmental justice movements offer a timely example of how those left furthest behind can assert their rights in a context of state abandonment, by building a hybrid citizenship based on local organisation while simultaneously appealing to a globalised system that has typically excluded them. Honduras is rich in mineral resources which are exploited by multinational corporations as part of the State�s development strategy. An emerging component of this strategy are the Zones for Employment and Economic Development (ZEDEs) - areas of Honduran territory that have been ceded to multinational corporations, in which investors control security, fiscal policy, and conflict resolution. Both projects have elicited strong opposition from civil society organisations, who point to the cession of national sovereignty, and impacts on citizenship rights, food security, clean water, biodiversity, and social cohesion in a context of inequality and climate shocks. Their response has been the construction of new forms of citizenship �from below�, which challenge the unilateral imposition of development projects. This research will analyse how these movements adapted regional practices to local needs, through comparison with examples from Colombia and the analysis of community-organised popular consultation processes (autoconsultas). It will also interrogate how the ZEDEs opposition has rapidly mobilised a broad coalition of community organisations, and examine learnings for anti-mining organisations. It will explore how such movements challenge traditional narratives surrounding citizenship and build linkages across issues of social concern. My research will have implications on community resilience, sustainable and inclusive development, conflict resolution, and democratic participation more generally.

Grant Approved

�110,000.00

Research Hub

n/a

Research Theme

Climate Solutions, Transition Management and Opportunities

Start Date

01/09/2022

Initial Projected Completion Date

31/08/2026