Local and regional conflicts in Latin America 1900-3-KAM-GL
Lectures:
The lectures cover conflicts and conflict situations in a general perspective, with particular emphasis on their origins, course, structure, and consequences, as well as the conditions that facilitate their emergence and their potential outcomes.
A substantial part of the course is devoted to resource-related conflicts and ways of managing them. In this context, the socio-economic and political situation of Latin American countries (developing countries, the Global South) is analyzed, where poverty, weak democratic institutions, and corruption constitute key sources of tensions and conflicts.
In particular, the course examines material conflicts, conflicts of interest arising from unequal distribution of goods, competition for access to resources, and conflicts of ideas. Special attention is given to indigenous peoples, who often represent the weakest party in conflicts and become victims of companies exploiting natural resources.
The consequences of activities carried out by national and international corporations are also analyzed in the context of weak state institutions, including threats to the natural environment and protected areas (e.g., national parks), resulting from the limited capacity of states to ensure their protection.
In addition, the course addresses: rural conflicts (Brazil, Bolivia) and urban conflicts (Mexico), terrorism (including Peru), the phenomenon of hyper-criminality in Central America (its causes, consequences, and policy responses), left-wing and right-wing authoritarianism, youth social movements, and the history of drug cartels in Mexico and Colombia. The course content may be subject to minor adjustments due to updates in current issues and developments.
---
Exercises:
The exercises involve the implementation of a research project grounded in political ecology methodology. They include the conceptualization and operationalization of research on environmental conflicts in Latin American countries, as well as the analysis, interpretation, and presentation of results.
Empirical data are collected and processed using the Environmental Justice Atlas. The creation of the database and its analysis are conducted using Excel and the fsQCA method (or other appropriate software). The presentation of results is prepared using the Microsoft Office suite.
Teaching materials presented during classes, including presentations, are protected by copyright law. The instructor may make selected materials available to students in electronic form; however, they is not obliged to do so. Any materials that are shared are intended solely for students’ personal use and may not be further distributed without the author’s consent. To facilitate students’ preparation for the exam, the instructor may prepare and provide a list of key topics covering the content discussed during the classes.
Student workload (ECTS):
Lectures (1 ECTS + 2 ECTS = 3 ECTS):
* 30 hours – classes in direct contact with the instructor
* 50 hours – preparation for the oral examination
**Exercises (0.5 ECTS + 1.5 ECTS = 2 ECTS):**
* 15 hours – classes in direct contact with the instructor (including discussions on the project)
* 40 hours – preparation of the database, multimedia presentation, and final report
Course coordinators
Type of course
Mode
Prerequisites
Prerequisites (description)
Learning outcomes
Directional effects: K_W03, K_W12, K_W13 / K_U07, K_U08 / K_K02
Specialization effects: S2_W03, S2_W11, S2_W13 / S2_U07, S2_U08 / S2_K02
KNOWLEDGE: The graduate knows and understands
- causes (background) of conflicts in human-environment relations in Latin American countries (more broadly in developing countries) in conditions of limited access to various goods, malnutrition, illiteracy, weakness of state structures;
- the structure of conflicts over resources in Latin America;
- consequences (actual and possible) of conflicts over resources in Latin America, which, in the light of modern knowledge, lead to environmental degradation and pose a threat to the ever less numerous and less numerous groups of indigenous peoples.
- basic terminology in the field of environmental justice, with particular emphasis on Latin American specificities,
- history of local and regional conflicts in Latin America.
SKILLS: The graduate is able to:
- search for information and data on environmental conflicts in Latin America;
- acquire research skills allowing to formulate problems, questions, goals, research hypotheses in the field of environmental conflicts in Latin America;
- select, apply and interpret the results of appropriate methods of analysis concerning environmental conflicts, taking into account the adopted hypotheses and available data;
- participate in discussions on environmental conflicts in Latin America;
- present the results of the analysis of a simple research problem in the field of environmental conflicts in Latin America in written and oral form.
SOCIAL COMPETENCES: The graduate is ready to
- work in a group research project on environmental conflicts in Latin America;
- conducting a critical analysis of conflict situations in Latin America;
- is aware of the opportunities and threats related to local and regional conflicts in Latin America;
- understanding the importance of environmental conflicts as catalysts for change in Latin America.
Assessment criteria
Failure to pass the exercises course prevents the student from taking the lecture examination. The final grade for the course can be awarded only if the lecture examination is passed (at least a satisfactory grade). In such a case, the final grade is calculated as follows: the grade from the exercises accounts for 40%, and the grade from the lecture examination accounts for 60% of the final course grade.
Lecture:
The lecture examination is oral and covers exclusively the topics discussed during the lectures. At the request of students and with the consent of the entire group, the examination may be conducted in written form.
**Exercises:**
Attendance is mandatory. One unexcused absence is permitted; any additional absences must be justified. The grade for the exercises is based on the total number of points obtained from the following components:
1. active participation in classes, particularly in discussions on the research project and environmental conflict issues in Latin America (30% of the grade);
2. presentations of partial research results in the form of oral presentations supported by multimedia slides – completed individually or in pairs, depending on group size (30%);
3. a final research report prepared as a group project (40%).
Bibliography
Bozigar M., Gray C.L., Bilsborrow R.E., 2016, Oil Extraction and Indigenous Livelihoods in the Northern Ecuadorian Amazon, World Development, t. 78, 125–35.
Czerny M., 2015, Ameryka Środkowa – trudne sąsiedztwo na przesmyku między Meksykiem i Ameryką Południową, Studia z Geografii Politycznej i Historycznej, t. 4, 37–54.
Czerny M., Czerny A., 2017, Geograficzne aspekty ochrony dziedzictwa kulturowego w Ameryce Łacińskiej, Zeszyty Naukowe Uczelni Vistula, t. 52, 40-54.
Díaz A., Padilla C., 2018, Conflictos mineros en América Latina: extracción, saquero y agresión. Estado de situación en 2017, Observatorio de Conflictos Mineros de América Latina.
García Pérez J., 2005, Conflictos territoriales y luchas fronterizas en América Latina durante los siglos XIX y XX, Norba. Revista de Historia, t. 18, 215-41.
Haslam P.A, Tanimoune N.A., 2016, The Determinants of Social Conflict in the Latin American Mining Sector: New Evidence with Quantitative Data, World Development, t. 78, 401–19.
Lisińska M., 2017, Stan bezpieczeństwa w Ameryce Łacińskiej w 2016 roku, Przegląd Strategiczny, nr 10, 529–45.
Luján P.M., 2017, Geopolítica, conflictos fronterizos en América Latina, Revista Geopolítica Transfronteiriça, t. 1, nr 1, 1–14.
Łaciński P., 2017, Wyzwania i uwarunkowania stabilności geopolitycznej Ameryki Łacińskiej, Ameryka Łacińska. Kwartalnik analityczno-informacyjny, t. 3, nr 97, 5–17.
UNDP, 2013, Understanding social conflict in Latin America, United Nations Development Programme, La Paz.