Doctoral Dissertation Research: Globalization Grounded: Land disputes and agrarian reform in Guatemala

New York University, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

Guatemala currently faces a critical juncture. After a civil war that left 200,000 civilians dead-ended, there was guarded optimism that the peace accords reached between the military and the guerrillas would address this country's legacy of poverty and violence. But old problems soon re-emerged. Currently, there are over 1,000 land disputes in Guatemala - many of them violent. This study explores the spectrum and outcomes of peasant resistance in Guatemala in the context of democratization and development. Utilizing a range of qualitative research methods including in-depth interviews, participant observation and archival investigation, this project seeks to better understand if and how land reform can facilitate the inclusion of rural subjects into the democratic polity. Further, it explores whether peasant mobilization for land reform is obsolete as the twentieth century begins, with the increasing prominence of commercial agriculture and the growing centrality of information as the commodity that drives economic growth. This project will contribute to sociological knowledge by bridging the sociological literature on social movements, democratic transitions and development. Key tensions include the conundrum posed by Barrington Moore: that democratization is often premised on the "disappearance" of peasant protest. On the contrary, this dissertation pursues the converse hypothesis: that peasant protest actually facilitates democratization. In the sociology of development literature, a similar paradox presents itself when discussions of globalization arise. Most scholars agree that rural subjects are increasingly marginalized as globalization processes intensify. This project explores the possibility that peasants can harness some of the energy created by globalization and engage in the global economy in ways that preserve a peasant identity. The broader impact of this project is the collaboration it will facilitate between less-integrated rural actors and urban researchers on both a national and international scale. Further, it will contribute to policy discussions about governance in post-conflict eras and states. Finally, it will shed light on questions of state reconstruction relevant to the Latin American region and perhaps other parts of the world.