Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: When looking at the interrelations of the local and the global levels created by communication within the framework of globalisation the topic of rights/human rights and here in particular indigenous and women's rights are well suited for investigation. The request for universal human rights has lead - at least in Latin America - to a specific dynamic in these fields. This paper argues that the interrelation amongst global discourses, global communication and local cultures has lead to a reconstruction of cultural norms and practices on local levels which becomes obvious in law debates. During the reconstruction of indigenous legal systems global communication has played a central role. Connections and exchange of experience strengthened 1) the indigenous organizations and influenced the reconstruction of indigenous law; 2) the indigenous women's claim for women's rights and changes in gender relations - as expressed for example in the Revolutionary Women's Law of the EZLN women in Chiapas.
At the same time as the development on a local scale there is also a differentiation of discourses and practices recognisable in national state reform-projects as well as in national and international - that is globally acting - institutions. The conflicting fields of culture versus universal human rights as well as individual rights versus collective rights and the issue of cultural concepts and cultural traditions respectively are the areas where the necessary dispute and controversy is taken place - locally as well as globally and at the state level. The global interrelationship and debate opens up possibilities - at least in the area of law and gender relations - which local cultures from the South and the Western cultures can use to consciously shape processes of change towards creating more equal gender relations and the recognition of human rights.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Predictions for ethnopolitical rebellion based on Gurr?s theoretical model will be compared with actual conflicts, testing the veracity of the model itself while exploring indigenous group behavior, which receives little attention in academia.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: I would like to analyse the emergence and production of international laws concerning Indigenous peoples and their effect on the exertion of State authority in Colombia.
I will show that the recognition of Indigenous governments and the production of international law about indigenous peoples constitute a process of complex social interactions involving different types of actors at different levels (State actors, NGOs, international organisations, indigenous organisations, lawyers, etc.).
My paper is divided into three parts.
The first part is an ethnographic study of the social practices of actors in an indigenous Law school of Tierradentro (in the region of Cauca) involved in the production of customary law (both at the national and at local level) following the 1991 Constitution.
The second part emphasizes the international process of writing a Draft Declaration of Indigenous Peoples’ Rights at the UN, focussing in particular on the participation of Colombian organizations at the Indigenous Caucus within the UN machinery. The last part deals with the complex interrelationships between international law and customary law at different levels. I will explore the ways in which Colombian Indigenous peoples have articulated strategic frames that engender support for their aspirations within international legal system and the specific formation and actualization of state rule, and use and appropriation of state resources and agencies.
My paper addresses the question of how the globalization of law (understood as the processes of importation and exportation of legal technologies, resources, and hierarchies) affects the position and importance of traditional authorities in law production. The research explores this general question in a variety of national settings, drawing on interviews with members of the legal profession but also members other groups (indigenous and non-indigenous activists, members of NGOs, bureaucrats, researchers, etc.) involved in the production of international and customary law in different arenas.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The organization of indigenous peoples as a transnational movement with a high profile at the United Nations (UN) raises two interrelated questions. First, how did indigenous peoples, often the most marginalized populations inside states, organize as a transnational movement and obtain access to the UN, commonly understood as a system created by states for states? Second, how did the indigenous movement within the UN influence the establishment of bodies and mechanisms dedicated to indigenous rights and issues? Drawing from the literature on transnational activism, this paper elaborates on the role of indigenous peoples as a particular type of non-state actors, and investigates the ways in which indigenous peoples as a movement have affected change within the UN, and the ways in which the interaction of the movement and the UN affected the development of the movement itself. This paper highlights the significance of the participation of indigenous peoples in the standard-setting process of indigenous rights and argues that this lengthy and contested process has been central to the shaping of the international indigenous movement. It also emphasizes the autonomous role played by certain part of the UN bureaucracy and expert bodies in assisting the goal achievement of indigenous peoples within the UN system. This research has the potential to further the dialogue between human rights scholars from the disciplines of international relations and international law and scholars of international organizations.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: My paper is divided into three parts.
The first part is an ethnographic study of the social practices of actors in an indigenous Law school of Tierradentro (in the region of Cauca) involved in the production of customary law (both at the national and at local level) following the 1991 Constitution.
The second part emphasizes the international process of writing a Draft Declaration of Indigenous Peoples’ Rights at the UN, focussing in particular on the participation of Colombian organizations at the Indigenous Caucus within the UN machinery. The last part deals with the complex interrelationships between international law and customary law at different levels. I will explore the ways in which Colombian Indigenous peoples have articulated strategic frames that engender support for their aspirations within international legal system and the specific formation and actualization of state rule, and use and appropriation of state resources and agencies.
My paper addresses the question of how the globalization of law (understood as the processes of importation and exportation of legal technologies, resources, and hierarchies) affects the position and importance of traditional authorities in law production. The research explores this general question in a variety of national settings, drawing on interviews with members of the legal profession but also members other groups (indigenous and non-indigenous activists, members of NGOs, bureaucrats, researchers, etc.) involved in the production of international and customary law in different arenas.