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11. Challenges and Recommendations for the Amazon through the voices of women defenders of human rights and the environment: Colombia

Author:
Renata Avelar Giannini, Katherine Aguirre, and Caitlin Wiley
Publication Date:
05-2024
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Igarapé Institute
Abstract:
In the Colombian Amazon, women defenders play a crucial role in combating climate change by protecting their territories and communities. Given that Colombia ranks among the most dangerous countries for environmental and human rights activists, these women confront numerous risks. The conflicts mainly focus around access to, evaluation, distribution, management, and use of natural resources. This study shares their personal experiences, challenges, and achievements, and details their interactions with various actors — including government bodies, mining and fossil fuel companies, as well as the extractive and agribusiness sectors. Their mission is dedicated to safeguarding the Colombian Amazon biome, which is currently the site of 27 major environmental conflicts, as reported by the Sinchi Institute of Scientific Research of the Amazon. This report seeks to amplify the voices of Colombian defenders, whose efforts to protect the Amazon biome are often overlooked and receive limited social and economic support.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, Human Rights, Natural Resources, Women, Conflict, Activism, Extractive Industries, Biometrics, and Amazon Rainforest
Political Geography:
Colombia, South America, and Amazon Basin

12. The Congolese Fight for Their Own Wealth

Author:
Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research
Publication Date:
06-2024
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research
Abstract:
The DRC’s vast mineral wealth contrasts with its extreme poverty, caused by exploitation and conflict. The dossier emphasises sovereignty and dignity, echoing Congolese activists’ visions for freedom.
Topic:
Poverty, Sovereignty, Conflict, Minerals, Exploitation, and Activism
Political Geography:
Africa and Democratic Republic of the Congo

13. The War on Gaza and Middle East Political Science

Author:
Marc Lynch, Ibrahim S. I. Rabaia, Fiona B. Adamson, and Alexei Abrams
Publication Date:
04-2024
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS)
Abstract:
This special issue of POMEPS Studies offers a platform for scholars to think through what feels like a moment of rupture for the Middle East, for Middle East Studies, and for long-standing assumptions about the region’s politics. This POMEPS collection originated as an open call for papers for scholars affected by or invested in these urgent issues, in an initial effort to give a platform and a voice to those in our network who have grappled with these trends. We kept the call intentionally broad, asking potential authors to reflect on the effects of October 7 and the Gaza War on politics or scholarship. As it turned out, most of the contributors wanted to talk about academic freedoms and the conditions of public discourse in their countries – perhaps because of how profoundly they felt this crisis, perhaps because of the availability of other platforms to discuss the war itself. The issues confronting our field have never been more urgent and the need for academic networks and institutions to rise up to defend it has never been greater.
Topic:
Civil Society, Diplomacy, Education, Genocide, Political Science, Institutions, Academia, Houthis, Forced Migration, Activism, October 7, 2023 Gaza War, and Frantz Fanon
Political Geography:
Iraq, Europe, Iran, Middle East, Israel, Yemen, Palestine, Gaza, Germany, Jordan, Czech Republic, and Gulf Nations

14. Red Lines, Where to Find Them, and How to Work with Them: Civil Society, the State, and Political Change in Morocco

Author:
Francesco Colin
Publication Date:
11-2024
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
Abstract:
Who is included in “civil society” and which function it is supposed to perform – particularly in the realm of political action – remain largely debated (Edwards 2014).1 On one hand, achieving political change, and democratization in particular, has become an essential element of civil society in non-democratic regimes after the so-called “third wave of democratization” (Ibrahim 2015: 46–47). On the other, the state’s increasing control of civil society’s space for action has raised attention to the fact that states rely on these spaces to stabilize a given political order (Poppe and Wolff 2017). Even in established democracies, the increasing “politicization” of civil society action has been a key driver of the restrictions on its space for action (as Hummel 2022 showed in the case of Germany, for instance). In Morocco, the monarchy’s posture towards civil society has been ambiguous, to say the least.2 Beyond the analytical insights that stress the regime’s efforts to tame this sector, this paper acknowledges that civil society’s growing ability to intervene in the public sphere prompted a redefinition of the monarchy’s strategy towards this sector (Sater 2007). In this context, palace-led civil society development initiatives such as the “National Initiative for Human Development” (launched in 2005) not only testify to the importance that the state attributes to this sector of society, but also allow the state to reinforce its control over civil society at the local level (Bergh 2012). With more than 240,000 associations officially registered in Morocco, the government’s plan to develop a new official “strategy” for civil society further corroborates the state’s strong and continued interest in the structuring and control of civil society’s space for action (Wail El Karmouni 2023).3
Topic:
Civil Society, Politics, and Activism
Political Geography:
North Africa and Morocco

15. The Muhammasheen Mobilization Among Yemen’s Most Marginalized Community

Author:
Aisha Al-Warraq
Publication Date:
04-2024
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
Abstract:
The historical disenfranchisement Yemen’s Muhammasheen face would still be invisible today, to the rest of the country and wider the world, if not for the community’s own mobilization efforts in the past four decades. Muhammasheen, meaning “the marginalized”, is a contemporary term for a people whom the rest of Yemeni society had for generations untold referred to with names such as Al-Akhdam, “the servants” or Al-Abeed, “the slaves”. Despite centuries of recorded history in Yemen, this ethnic minority’s dark skin has traditionally been denigrated by the rest of society as not belonging to the country, causing them to face caste-like ostracization, stigmatization, and denial of basic human dignity. Muhammasheen communities are often found in shanty towns at the periphery of Yemen’s urban centers and in isolated rural areas. This exclusion from mainstream society, dispersion around the country, and the blurry definitions that define the group have made assessing their numbers difficult, with estimates ranging anywhere between 500,000 and 3.5 million.1 In the 1990s, Muhammasheen who sought to better their community’s situation began to be increasingly vocal and active in drawing attention to their plight and asserting their right to be regarded as full members of society. The powers that be have, by turns, attempted to oppress and coopt these initiatives, as well as exploit the Muhammasheen’s vulnerable status, which has only been exacerbated by Yemen’s ongoing civil war. The belligerent parties on all sides, for instance, have sought out Muhammasheen youth in their impoverished communities and lured them to fight on the frontlines with the promise of a paycheque. At the national level, Muhammasheen advocacy is today as fragmented as the country itself. However, the drive within the group to better the community at large continues to gain momentum, as evidenced by the ever-growing number of local initiatives around the country, even as the goal of full citizenhood remains a distant prospect. The following paper examines the history and development of Muhammasheen-led activism in Yemen, and this marginalized community’s struggle for self-empowerment.
Topic:
Marginalization, Racism, Activism, and Muhammasheen
Political Geography:
Middle East and Yemen

16. Emergence, Resilience, and Tensions: A Decade of LGBTQ Activism in Morocco

Author:
Sanae A.
Publication Date:
02-2024
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
Abstract:
Although Article 4891 of Morocco’s Penal Code criminalizes homosexual acts, LGBTQ organizing in Morocco has taken a new turn since 2011, with the emergence of multiple collectives that organize and employ a variety of strategies to claim their rights as a community. The emergence of LGBTQ collectives can be traced to a post-2011 wave of new forms of organizing.2 During the 2011 social uprisings that swept the MENA region, Morocco’s 20 February social movement mobilized large numbers of citizens around socio-economic and political demands. The movement marked a new era in Moroccan politics and political resistance in the public space. As a youth-led movement, it challenged previous modes of organizing and existing alliances and divisions within the political scene and expanded the public sphere by offering alternative spaces to express grievances and to organize around them. The movement symbolized “hope for Moroccan youth”3 and challenged classical ways of taking political action while bringing into the public debate taboo topics such as feminist body politics, reproductive rights, religious freedoms, and the rights of sexual and gender minorities. At the same time, activists who identified as LGBTQ brought forward discussions around sexual orientation and the rights of LGBTQ. These issues were not explicitly part of the political agenda of the 20 February movement, however, many activists within it who identified as LGBTQ brought queer slogans during official protests with signs reading “Oppression is here, I am here” or “Love is not a crime.” New forms of organizing that emphasized occupying the public space in addition to artistic expressions (such as the production of magazines and zines, graffiti, and music) and underground cultural expressions (such as teach-ins and social theater) came to the surface. This essay explores the evolution of LGBTQ organizing in Morocco since 2011, highlighting the impact of the 20 February social movement as a catalyst for activism. It discusses the emergence of LGBTQ collectives, their strategies for claiming rights, and the challenges they face, including surveillance, violence, and cooptation. The essay also examines new generations of LGBTQ activism, the role of social media, and the response to outing campaigns. It delves into the tensions within local LGBTQ politics, including the debate between culturalist and systemic approaches, and the effects of NGOization on the movement's goals and strategies. It underlines how the increasing visibility of the LGBTQ movement, and the queer critiques of the Moroccan women’s rights movement compels feminist groups to reflect on their politics and the very definition of what feminism is and who it is for.
Topic:
LGBT+, Resilience, and Activism
Political Geography:
North Africa and Morocco

17. Black Power and Palestine

Author:
Michael R. Fischbach
Publication Date:
06-2024
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS)
Abstract:
MAAS alum Dr. Michael R. Fischbach discusses his groundbreaking research on divisions within the 1960s Black Freedom Struggle in America over the Israel-Palestine conflict and how Black Power activists supported the Palestinian struggle for liberation—planting the seeds for transcontinental solidarity that continues today.
Topic:
History, Solidarity, Activism, and Black Power
Political Geography:
Middle East, Palestine, North America, and United States of America

18. Military Service and Serving the Community: How the Second World War Propelled Activism Forward for Indigenous and Native American Servicewomen

Author:
Isabella Sun
Publication Date:
02-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
The Native Canadian Centre of Toronto (NCCT), originally named the Native American Indian Club of Toronto, was founded in 1950 by community volunteers – the majority of whom were Indigenous women.1 The club was founded to build a network and create an inclusive social space through shared culture, art, and language in Toronto. Indigenous women-led organizations such as the NCCT were not uncommon to find after the Second World War, since the wartime era empowered many Indigenous women to find and create their place in society. Today, the NCCT continues to prioritize Indigenous community building through promoting traditional knowledge and culture through language courses, art classes, and other events. Although this centre is unrelated to the war effort, it can be considered a by-product of Indigenous empowerment after the Second World War. Whether Indigenous women voluntarily enlisted or not, the war changed the daily realities of these many women. This article will explore similar themes of Indigenous servicewomen’s experiences throughout the Second World War and afterwards in Canada, and compare it with those of Native American servicewomen in the United States. It will highlight how their service affected post-war actions and activism for Indigenous rights in the latter twentieth century.
Topic:
Women, Indigenous, Activism, and Military
Political Geography:
Canada and North America

19. Remembering Juan López: The Deadly Fight for Environmental Justice in Honduras

Author:
Giada Ferrucci
Publication Date:
10-2024
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
Abstract:
The assassination of Honduran water defender Juan López offers a chilling reminder of the threats local leaders face in the most dangerous region in the world for environmental activists.
Topic:
Water, Assassination, Activism, and Environmental Justice
Political Geography:
Central America and Honduras