Stirring Up The Hive NGO Discourse and Indigenous Subalternity The Case of Las Abejas Chiapas, Mexico
Date of Award
2010
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Social Sciences
First Advisor
Hernandez, Sarah
Keywords
NGOs, NGO Accountability, Indigenous, Social Movements, Las Abejas, Chiapas
Area of Concentration
Sociology
Abstract
There exists a large body of scholarly literature on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in development and democratization, the relations between NGOs in the global North and South, and the methods of accountability of NGOs to their funding agencies and clients. Much of this literature assumes that NGOs� presence and support of democratization, grassroots activism, and social transformation is positive. However, there is a growing body of literature that critiques this assumption. This thesis adds to this body by exploring the relationship between a group of human rights NGOs in Chiapas and the Las Abejas indigenous social movement organization. I analyze this relationship on the level of discourse and find that the dominant NGO discourse bounds indigenous resistance through the practice of NGOing (the everyday practices of NGOs). NGO discourse limits NGO workers� ability to read as resistance actions that fall outside of these bounds, while also limiting NGOs� possibilities for action. Using Subaltern Studies and Peasant Studies, I re-read the actions of Las Abejas that NGOs found �transgressive.� I discovered that although these actions did not fit within NGOs� discursive parameters for resistance, they did make sense within the history of Las Abejas and, perhaps, within larger frameworks of indigenous resistance.
Recommended Citation
Stavig, Lucia Isabel, "Stirring Up The Hive NGO Discourse and Indigenous Subalternity The Case of Las Abejas Chiapas, Mexico" (2010). Theses & ETDs. 4338.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/4338
Rights
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