Domestic work and care tasks have historically been assigned to women and have never been considered as real work, as they happen within the private scene of the home in both its forms, salaried and unpaid. Due to this conception, dating back from the servitude and slavery systems of the colonial era, and rooted in the patriarchal structure of societies, domestic workers have struggled, and still struggle today in many countries to see their rights recognised. They face stigma and lack an institutional back up. In this sphere, Uruguay sets an example, with one of the most advanced legislations on domestic work in the world after a tripartite negotiation that happened in 2006 between representatives of domestic workers and employers as well as the mediation of the executive power. This research aims to see how the change in legislation changed domestic workers lives and what impact these changes had in the social shared thought. It also looks at the collective identity building of domestic workers in Uruguay through the conduction of interviews with members of the domestic workers’ union, the SUTD. Did the legislative change bring about a cultural change? What lessons can we learn from the Uruguayan case?

This dissertation examines the impacts of political developments in Brazil between the

2018 and 2022 presidential elections on democratic institutions and democratic

governance in the country. The study emphasises the emotive rhetoric in Jair Bolsonaro’s

presidency as a central factor. Employing a qualitative and exploratory methodology,

drawing exclusively on the analysis of academic literature, the study dissects

accountability and democratic erosion while offering strategies for fortifying democratic

governance in Brazil. The study underscores the urgent need to bolster institutional

resilience, restore public trust, and foster transparency and accountability in governance.

Future research directions advocate for methodological diversification and a

comprehensive exploration of political party dynamics. Through this scholarly inquiry, the

dissertation aims to contribute significantly to the nuanced understanding of Brazilian

political dynamics and the evolution of its democracy.

Natural disasters are on the rise in the Caribbean due to climate change that affects several OECS member states in the Eastern Caribbean region. However, OECS governments have developed structures for reducing vulnerability and building resilience. Climate change and disaster resilience projects were implemented, and regional, national, and local support is provided. A prominent voice in climate governance debate is late Elinor Ostrom, who argues that global climate agreements should be decentralized and taken place locally rather than centrally. According to Ostrom, a bottom-up approach creates a more multilevel governing system. This approach is described as a "polycentric approach" by Ostrom. A polycentric governance is argued to provide several benefits and is effective in combating climate change. Our study examines whether the existing regional and local climate projects and programmes of the OECS member states follow a polycentric approach to climate governance. In this study, the data were analysed by employing two frameworks that are related to the theory of polycentric approaches to climate governance, that have been used in previous studies. With this we aim to capture the multifaceted nature of polycentric climate governance.

The Peace Agreement of 2016 between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People's Army raised hopes after decades of internal armed conflict, but the levels of violence continue to be high in rural areas. Cauca is the department of Colombia where most social leaders and human rights defenders have been killed since 2016. To resist violence, to defend life and the territories, and to uphold rule of law based on the 1991 Colombian Constitution, the Indigenous Guards of the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca use an integral method of nonviolence in the everyday setting. The aim of this study is to understand the impact of this method, perceived by the local people, as an alternative way to create peace in Colombia with concepts defined by Johan Galtung. With a decolonial research approach, an exemplifying qualitative comparative case study with fieldwork for the data collection has been carried out in Cauca, to give voice to and learn from the local communities. The results show a complex situation of an uneven progress of conflict transformation within the department, with significant economic inequalities. The challenges of cyclical war on a small scale are occurring, as in the case of the Proyecto Nasa in the Municipality of Toribío. At once, the possibilities of using this method to break the cycles of war through the power of asymmetry have occurred by conflict resolutions of dialogs with armed actors, as in the case of the resguardo of Paletará in the Municipality of Puracé Coconuco. It is claimed that by strengthening the institution of the Indigenous Guards, the collective actions of peacekeeping and peacebuilding in the territories can improve the process of conflict transformation by revitalizing the implementation of the 2016 Peace Agreement with its territorial focus and the ethnic chapter. 

In this text we introduce the translation of the "The dispossessed", the first chapter of a book published in 1963: The radical right. The New American Right Expanded and Updated. In this book participated several authors and it was edited by the sociologist Daniel Bell, who wrote that first chapter. In this brief introduction we are guided by the following questions: first, why is it interesting today to look at and translate an author like Daniel Bell. Second, to what extent his academic contribution, along with other North American authors of his time, can be consider a modern classic; that is, it helps us to shed light and bring us closer to the present and the reality of a phenomenon like the radical right. Third, to what extent can we apply Bell's proposals and analysis to other political trends and radical actors in the light of the changes that have occurred in the last half century, in this second modernity or reflexive modernization.

In 2016, the case of Sepur Zarco in Guatemala marked the first time that a national jurisdiction recognized sexual violence in the context of armed conflict as a crime against humanity. This occurred in a case concerning indigenous women, within a country profoundly marked by gender-based violence and indigenous peoples’ marginalization. In order to account for the lack of reconciliation that has led to the present prevalence of sexist and racial discrimination, this study analyzes it as a transitional justice case. Through an impact evaluation, it interrogates the effectiveness of the legal path for victim-survivors, for rewriting historical narratives, and for promoting reconciliation. The qualitative indicators used include secondary data and interviews conducted with those who worked on the case. Findings suggest that although transitional justice legal cases are often met with backlash, they also empower social movements that promote democracy. The benefits tied to the legal tool, however, are conditional to the use of adequate strategies, which include active victims’ participation and the use of international standards. Moreover, successful cases require a legitimate national legal system that considers its population’s needs. 

In Sweden, samba - the popular Brazilian dance (and music genre), that has been named the“national rhythm” - is very widely known and practiced. This case study envelops questions about national cultures, cultural embodiment in dance, as well as cross-border relations. It aims to observe in what distinct ways, regarding these multiple facets of the topic, Brazilian culture can be expressed through samba in a foreign country so culturally different and geographically distant from the country of origin. The study focuses on samba no pé, a samba style popularized and mostly danced in Rio de Janeiro. To reach the objective, the research data has been collected through semi-structured interviews from samba teachers and dancers in Sweden. In addition, an observation has been carried out by watching a samba class in person. The collected data showed that dancing samba gives way to different interconnected processes and elements through which the Brazilian culture is transported, translated, and experienced in Sweden. As people migrate around the world in transnational spaces, links are created between the migrants’ host countries and their homelands. These connections enable different cultures to be transported, get established in different places and spread in popularity. Corporeality is also key, as culture is embodied in the movements. Samba therefore permits an experience of Brazilian corporeality and plays a central role in the expression of Brazilianness in Sweden.

The deteriorating quality of democracy in Latin America has been a debated issue for a long time. Numerous theories and authors have proposed different causes and reasons. For instance, Linz argues that the cause is presidentialism, while Brinks, Levitsky, and Murillo suggest that unstable economic and political circumstances have led to institutional weakness in Latin America. Considering the relevance of extractivism in Argentina and Uruguay and bearing in mind that politics and economics are related, this paper builds on dependency theory to investigate how the pink-tide extractive economic model affected democracy from 2005 to 2015. The cross-national comparison results indicate that extractivism is not the only factor negatively impacting their democracy. The findings reveal a positive relationship between fragile institutional checks and balances and the concentration of power in the executive allowing for a greater extractivism impact on democracy. The results of this study support the view that institutional checks and balances are vital to ensure political stability. 

The wicked nature of sustainability challenges facing food systems demands intentional and synergistic actions at multiple scales and sectors. The Southern Cone of Latin America, with its historical legacy of “feeding the world,” presents interesting opportunities for generating insights into potential trajectories and processes for food system transformation. To foster such changes would require the development of collective understanding and agency to effectively realize purposeful and well-informed action toward desirable and sustainable food futures. This in turn demands the transdisciplinary engagement of academia, the private sector, government/policy-makers, community groups, and other institutions, as well as the broader society as food consumers. While the need for contextualized knowledge, priorities and definitions of what sustainable food systems change means is recognized, there is limited literature reporting these differences and critically reflecting on the role of knowledge brokers in knowledge co-production processes. The political nature of these issues requires arenas for dialogue and learning that are cross-sectoral and transcend knowledge generation. This paper presents a case study developed by SARAS Institute, a bridging organization based in Uruguay. This international community of practice co-designed a 3-year multi-stakeholder transdisciplinary process entitled “Knowledges on the Table.” We describe how the process was designed, structured, and facilitated around three phases, two analytical levels and through principles of knowledge co-production. The case study and its insights offer a model that could be useful to inform similar processes led by transdisciplinary communities of practice or bridging institutions in the early stages of transformative work. In itself, it also represents a unique approach to generate a language of collaboration, dialogue, and imagination informed by design skills and methods. While this is part of a longer-term process toward capitalizing on still-unfolding insights and coalitions, we hope that this example helps inspire similar initiatives to imagine, support, and realize contextualized sustainable food system transformations.

This study delves into the intricate relationship between Latin American contemporary popular music’s (LA-pop) outreach and the formation of global youth identities, juxtaposed with the development of Korean popular music (K-pop) culture. Drawing on a range of theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence, we examine how LA-pop’s outreach initiatives, characterized by genres like reggaeton, salsa, and cumbia, interact with the construction and negotiation of identity among young people worldwide. Through a comparative analysis with the emergence and proliferation of K-pop, encompassing its music, fashion, and visual aesthetics, we aim to discern the unique impact of LA-pop’s outreach on the identity formation processes. By narrowing our focus specifically on the role of LA-pop’s outreach in shaping global youth identities, we aim to provide valuable insights into the cultural dynamics of contemporary globalized societies, offering a nuanced understanding of the interplay between regional cultural expressions and their global influence.

This study investigates how the feminist movement in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, relates to the International Women’s Strike – a transnational feminist mass strike launched by the Argentinian feminist collective Ni Una Menos in 2017. Based on a qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews conducted with representatives of 10 feminist organizations in São Paulo, this text explores the feasibility of a feminist strike in the context of São Paulo and highlights the structural challenges in its implementation. In addition, the text employs a qualitative literature review to examine the ways in which women in São Paulo have resorted to the strike as an instrument of their resistance since the early 20th century. Theoretically drawing on the theories of direct action and institutionalization of social movements, this work constitutes a synthesis of previous debates and sheds light on the implications that the institutionalization of the Brazilian feminist movement has had on the viability of direct actions such as the feminist strike. A central finding indicates a relative consensus that the feminist movement in São Paulo must first build a massive and popular feminist movement, before an inclusive and intersectional feminist strike can be carried out.

Humanity is at a crossroads inaddressingbiodiversity loss. Several assessments have reported on the weak compliance with the Aichi Biodiversity Targets by the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). To address this lack of compliance, the challenges in implementing and enforcingCBDobligations must be understood. Key implementation challenges of the CBD are identified through a content analysis of policy documents, multi-stakeholder interviews, and participant observation at the recent CBD Conference of the Parties. Building on this analysis, the article explores the extent to which the review mechanisms of international human rights law, with their various strategies for eliciting compliance, can help to improve CBDmechanisms. The findings of this article reveal insights that the CBD can draw from international human rights law to address these compliance challenges, such as facilitating the participation of civil society organizations to provide specific input, and engaging independent biodiversity experts to assess implementation. The article concludes that insights fromhuman rights review mechanisms are useful for improving the emerging peer reviewmechanismof the CBD, which is important for strengthening accountability within the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.

This article analyzes the experiences of the small Shuar community of Kenkuim (Congüime) in the Ecuadorian Amazon that since 2016 carries out gold mining through the communitarian company Exploken Minera. The case is unique in South America, not only for being the only example of indigenous mining granted formal state concession, but also for its green profile, without the usage of chemicals or heavy metals. Within a setting of expanding extractivism conditioned by global capitalism and a theoretical framework of a decolonial and postcapitalist approach to sustainability, this ethnographic study deals with the expressions of resistance and adaptation of the Kenkuim community and how socio-cultural, ecological, and economic values are articulated by Shuar actors in relation to the new indigenous mining project. The results indicate that this mining experiment constitutes a meaningful alternative to destructive extractivismin line with decolonial and postcapitalist reasoning.

The objective of this thesis on the paid feminized domestic work is to describe the two current forms of employment of the live-inside maids and the live-outside domestic workers of paid domestic work in Lima Peru. The live-inside employment, cama adentro is the traditional form of maids living inside the household, and secondly, the live-outside employment, cama afuera, describes the working woman as an independent worker who lives outside the household. By focusing on the two forms of employment in the 1970s, the 2010s and the 2020s, this study aims to describe the changes on the urban labor market wherein 95% are women and almost 87% have informal employment. The feminized domestic work and the women domestic workers are objects of devaluation and subjects of discrimination. The critical case in this study is to understand the impact of informality and the informal working conditions. Vulnerability and precariousness are concepts frequently used in the current debate and research which describes the feminized remunerated domestic work as a forced labor. Who are the domestic working women, and how do they describe their work and life situation? What are the preferences or the facts of the persisting informality in the domestic labor sector that still have a great impact on the work situation as well as the women’s life situation? By considering women’s right to decent occupation this study also focuses on female empowerment, autonomy, economic independence in the urban domestic sector with influence from the market-oriented labor market in Lima. This case study is grounded in feminist care economy theory and Pierre Bourdieu’s human capital theory.

Healthcare systems and medical services all over the world have been facing a significant reliability crisis that has peaked in the past couple of decades from a series of criticisms regarding inequality. It is well-established that the inequality problem, especially in the Latin American region is an abiding and deep-routed phenomenon particularly in regards to gendered relationships, which has only recently been given the necessary attention. 

Therefore, this study investigates the equality of healthcare access from a gendered perspective, as a result of gender inequality in Mexico. The foregoing issue shall be analysed by giving an overview of the pre-existing situation in Mexico and by examining the recent data from 2020 and 2021 resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, gender inequality in the country will be analysed from a theoretical perspective, while statistical data will be used to examine the possible existence of a pattern and the societal influences on it in relation to healthcare.

In times like these, when the whole planet has been affected by a pandemic, the ongoing discrimination and inequalities regarding healthcare access have been brought to the surface. Many discussions have taken place regarding racial inequality in the sector and its effects on minorities such as black or immigrant communities globally. However, the focus given to the gender inequality in the health sector and how it has been affected by the pandemic is minimal. For this reason, this study introduces an innovative and relevant perspective to the current healthcare discussion in connection to gender inequality in Mexico.

Transitioning towards renewable energy sources is crucial in mitigating climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Global energy consumption is expected to increase 50 % by 2050, meaning one of today’s main challenges is complying with those demands without tampering with the uncertainties of global climate change. To address climate change renewable energy sources are essential and wind power plays a great role in the energy matrix. Brazil is one of the front runners in the energy transition, where wind power has expanded since the early 2000’s. The state of Bahia, in Northeastern Brazil, is currently the region where wind energy is expanding the most. However, conflicts related to territoriality and justice aspects are increasing in the state due to the fast-expanding wind energy sector. This study applies document and content analysis to explore the multiple narratives regarding the wind energy expansion in the state of Bahia, Brazil. Framing theory and theories addressing power struggles and conflicts in relation to the energy transition will guide the analysis of the 27 documents included in the material. 

Based on the analysis of the Bahian case, this study shows that different actors frame the matter of wind energy expansion differently depending on their positionings. Civil society and local perspectives are not present in policies and decision-making processes, including the planning and installation of wind energy parks in the studied case. The results suggest that inclusion and participation of local actors, stakeholders and the civil society is essential to ensure a just and sustainable transition to clean energy sources. 

The possibility to earn a living and support a family independently is still a utopia for many women all around the world. Many organizations are constantly fighting for awareness of these issues and strive for an improvement in women’s economic equality. One of these organizations is the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) which in its preamble acknowledges that "discrimination violates the principles of equality of rights and respect for human dignity".By the tenth anniversary of the CEDAW, almost one hundred nations have agreed to be bound by its provision. Some governments have achieved their goals by replacing discriminatory laws and policies in order to guarantee gender equality. Others have even gone the extra mile by promoting legislation which in turn would make it easier for women to be able to develop their careers. For instance, some have provided longer maternity leave, and in a few exceptional cases, some others gave the possibility of joint parental leave, creating a co-responsibility between men and women. Nevertheless, some governments have not done enough to balance the gender gap. Some even keep discriminatory laws on the books despite having come to powerlifting the flag of social justice and gender equality. This has been the case of many of the so-called “Pink Tide governments” that ruled in the majority of South America during the first two decades of the 21st century. Despite the left turn of these governments, women in the region are still exposed to segregation and jobs with lower status or a lower payment. This paper focuses on this particular period of South American political history, with a focus on the government policies issued to fight the increasing gender gap on women's economic participation and opportunities. In order to account for the actions taken by these governments towards gender equality policies, we will analyze the maternity and parental leave laws implemented during this period, as we understand that women’s social and economic rights are closely related to their status and conditions at work. Finally, we argue that in this case, the color pink has not been representing women in Latin America.

The Brazilian HIV/AIDS policy faced a structural change with the political shifts that, starting in 2016, led to the election of a right-wing president in 2018. Focusing on the relation between the state and civil society, this work will help understand the evolution of the spaces for civil society to advocate for sexual rights related to HIV/AIDS. This research examines the case of the Brazilian Interdisciplinary AIDS Association (ABIA) and its relations with the different components of the state and other members of civil society. Data collection is built upon semi-structured interviews to evaluate factors that allowed the viability of a long advocacy trajectory and understand old and new strategies to face challenges in the social and political spaces. Further discussion concerns the strategies for the sustainability of advocacy in a field that has been threatened by national and international structural changes. The hypothesis is that thanks to the maturation of a solid network of intellectuals and activists, as well as figures from other fields, and thanks to strategical adaptation to changing times, ABIA has managed to fuel advocacy both within and outside institutional arenas, either on a more constructive or more conflictual level. 

La proyección continental americana dio sus primeros pasos enla delineación geográfica de Amerigo Vespucci (1454-1512), que seharía visible en un plano planetario con el mapa mundial de MartinWaldseemüller de 1507. El mundus novus era una realidad geopolítica, denominada América en honor a Vespucci. Es España quientoma los pasos iniciales hacia una percepción geopolítica continental de este mundus. Un motivo detrás de la “mirada continental” española, se debía a la necesidad de proteger al nuevo sistemageopolítico de los avances de potencias rivales (europeas e indígenas). Hacia el sur, se buscaba asegurar los hallazgos de plata en Potosí en 1545, lo que conllevó a la colonización del Río de la Plata yla posterior creación del Virreinato del Río de la Plata, en 1776. Lomismo sucedió hacia el norte, con el propósito de defender la platade Zacatecas y al estratégico Virreinato de Nueva España, a travésde las fronteras hacia Texas, Florida y la provincia de California.En el caso de Portugal, su alcance territorial, hasta mediados delsiglo XVI, llegó a la costa atlántica sudamericana. La situacióncambió con la integración de las coronas española y portuguesapor medio de la Unión Ibérica, en 1580. Bajo el reinado de FelipeII (1527-1598), las posesiones ibéricas, entonces unidas, crearonun estado de proyección continental americana. La América española se abrió al comercio portugués, produciendo también un gran211Parte III: Conceptosestímulo para una mayor migración a través de las antiguas fronteras. Este fue el comienzo del drang nach westen brasileño, lo cualconformó una tendencia geopolítica que marcaría el proceso haciaun estado-nación brasileño en un marco de expansión continentalsudamericano (Pandiá Calógeras, 1998: 155-159). Una diferenciaentre Portugal y España fue que, para Portugal, el marco de acción“continental” era América del Sur, mientras que, para España, erael continente americano. 

The issue of regional integration has been widely analyzed and debated for a long time. Yet, there is still a limited connection between regional integration issues and geopolitical perspectives. With an analysis focused on Latin America, this study aims to map out theory and practice on this subject. In doing so, the study explores different points of view in relation to regions and geopolitics, and how these two elements are combined in the specific topic of regional integration. This article shows that, in Latin America, there are specific contributions, such as the so-called ‘geopolitics of integration’. Different variations across time and states are identified, as well as common elements such as the search for ‘autonomy’ and ‘development’ as related to issues such as ‘nationalism’ and ‘resistance’ toward imperialism.

El objetivo de este artículo es resaltar y analizar los aportes del pensamiento geopolítico latinoamericano.  En primer lugar, se mostrará que hay algo que puede ser llamado pensamiento geopolítico latinoamericano, con raíces muy profundas que llegan al período colonial. Este se enlaza, muy temprano, con la nueva dimensión llamada geopolítica, con respecto al análisis de la relación entre Estado, nación, territorio y sistema internacional. Como se mostrará en el artículo, surgen variedades de pensamiento geopolítico en distintos países de la región, así como en diferentes dimensiones de análisis. En segundo lugar, nos enfocaremos en demostrar que, más allá de las diferencias, hay dos elementos comunes por resaltar en el pensamiento geopolítico de la región. Por un lado la dimensión del “desarrollo”, y, por otro, la “integración regional”. Dos elementos que pueden ser vistos tanto por separado como en conjunto, siendo la “geopolítica de la integración” la contribución más importante desde América Latina. 

El objetivo de este capítulo es hacer un análisis del proceso de construcción y actualidad del Mercosur, desde un punto de vista geopolítico

Rudolf Kjellén, regularly referred to as “the father of geopolitics,” developed in the first decade of the twentieth century an analytical model for calculating the capabilities of great-power states and promoting their interests in the international arena. It was an ambitious intellectual project that sought to bring politics into the sphere of social science. Bringing together experts on Kjellén from across the disciplines, Territory, State and Nation explores the century-long international impact, analytical model, and historical theories of a figure immensely influential in his time who is curiously little-known today.

This chapter offer insights into how development discourses are formulated, as well as how power drivers push and pull to move agendas. It analyzes the emergence of divergent paths between mainstream and heterodox positions in the elaboration of development-oriented policies. The main area of analysis here is the interface between the politics of international development and the influence of geopolitics, addressing that international arenas were not separated from power structures and interests. In the case of the UN, there was a tension between those experts aligned with the views from great powers and those with diverging goals, the so-called 'defiant bureaucrats'. The chapter pays particular attention on this 'defiant' positions that could be found at both global and regional oriented agencies. For example, the UN's regional economic commissions and the United Nations Commerce and Trade Conference (UNCTAD).

This chapter aims to analyse the connections between geopolitics, the environment, and development. A relevant perspective on this theme is from ‘environmental geopolitics,’ used to identify hidden complexities in relations portrayed as dominant. This position is inspired mainly by ‘critical geopolitics,’ going beyond states and material, spatial practices, with a focus on ‘representational spaces’ and ‘imagined geographies.’ From that point of view, ‘State’ and ‘capitalism’ are regarded as involved in a neo-liberal discourse, justifying exploitation of ‘cheap nature’ and ‘cheap human labour.’ This chapter deepens into the Latin American debate on these issues, where ‘development has become associated with ‘colonialist modernity’ and ‘predatory neo-liberalism,’ promoting patriarchal and hierarchical states without considering environmental or social dimensions. Our chapter contends that such a view of ‘development’ can be deconstructed and reimagined by engaging with other forms of Latin American imaginaries derived from different disciplines. Our chapter addresses a twofold integration based on ‘regionalist,’ ‘developmental,’ ‘nationalist,’ and geopolitical perspectives. A challenge of the twenty-first century is to find a balance between geopolitical and developmental projections alongside structural concerns related to environmental, ethnic, and gender issues.

This paper is about the networks around the fires in the Brazilian Amazon forest during 2019 in tweets with the English hashtags #PrayForAmazonas, #ActForTheAmazon and #AmazonFire. We have studied 2517 tweets. Both the languages and the content of the tweets were taken into consideration to see who is assembled and what discursive elements are used in the framing. Our results indicate that the fires are framed as a global concern, beyond the Brazilian borders, especially as ‘the lungs of the world’. The framing of responsibility for the fires is focused on president Bolsonaro, who is assembled in many tweets, while animals and indigenous people are framed as victims. We conclude that the tweets in English tend to produce more relationships in terms of likes and retweets, in comparison to tweets in Portuguese and Spanish. In addition, the role of politicians and celebrities seems critical in getting traction around a hashtag and making it trending.

Throughout the independent history of Latin America, and especially during the decades after the Third Wave of democratization, the vice presidency has manifested itself as an institution of great political relevance. However, the knowledge about the origins of this office is startlingly scarce, and usually limited to the idea that it was modeled after the Philadelphia Constitution of 1787. There is actually much more to its genesis than that, and within that territory lie the keys to understand the current performance of this office. But that history has never been investigated thus far. This article aims to fill that gap in the literature for the Argentine case, enriching the scrawny reference to imitation with a fourfold argument based on the following elements: the growing trend towards receiving foreign influences through the period 1810–1853; the growing influence of the United States, which will be evident in the 1853 text and even more so in its reform of 1860; the little importance given to the presidential succession (both in Argentina and in the United States); the haste with which the Constitution of 1853 was written.

Many elements of our political systems have a theoretical foundation, a profound study of the theoretical and practical principles that explain their adoption. On the contrary, the vice presidency has received very little attention, even in countries where this institution has been gaining remarkable political weight. The combination of this weight with the aforementioned lack of theoretical support produces notable deviations in the analyses of the institution and its performance — they try to study the fruit without knowing the roots. The aim of this article is to carry out a first theoretical reflection in this field, analysing the vice presidency in presidential systems in light of two theoretical principles — immediacy and availability of power.

In an increasingly polarizing world, the debate on the importance of public opinion in shaping foreign policy decisions has been raging over. This study explores the interactions between Chinese investment and credit and public opinion about China in Ecuador from 2012 to 2021 through two classical international relations theories: the realist and liberal hypotheses. Ecuador was selected as a case study because it is among the four Latin American countries that have received the most significant amounts of Chinese loans in the 21st century. We use a mixed methods approach combining a time series regression model to explore the evolution of Ecuadorian public opinion, as well as media content analysis of mainstream Ecuadorian news on Chinese investments. To run the regression model, we draw upon Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) survey waves. LAPOP is a unique survey exploring public opinion on foreign policy in Latin America in general and in Ecuador in particular. The media content analysis was based on top three newspapers in Ecuador by circulation: El Comercio, El Telégrafo, and El Universo. Research findings suggest that a realist approach contributes more to understanding attitudes of Ecuador’s foreign policymakers regarding Chinese investments over the years. In effect, Ecuadorian foreign policymakers seemingly ignore local public opinion when defining the country’s relations with China. The realist perspective allows to interpret the untangling between public opinion and Ecuadorian foreign policy because of the volatility of Ecuadorian public opinion about China, as evidenced by LAPOP surveys. Another explaining factor is the limited influence of Ecuadorian citizens living in provinces with a strong Chinese economic presence. Finally, the combined results of our newspaper content analysis and our regression study demonstrate that despite being systematically exposed to mainstream news which are predominantly negative regarding Chinese finance in Ecuador, a high proportion of Ecuadorian newspaper readers maintain a positive opinion about China. Further research on Chinese public diplomacy efforts in the country is needed to fully disaggregate the impact of Chinese loans and investments on public opinion about China in Ecuador. This could provide timely information about the complex dynamics of public perceptions and foreign relations in a moment where political and economic hegemonies are being rapidly reshaped.

The present thesis examined the reactions on social media regarding Drag Race México as the series aired (June-September 2023), with special emphasis on the perspectives of internal gender and sexual minorities within Mexico. Previous literature has seen the ways in which Drag Race reflects and constructs the drag landscapes it showcases on TV. The present work builds on that foundation with a Mexican case study to discover new implications for media that showcases Mexico’s gender and sexual diverse communities. Using Ethnographic Content Analysis (ECA), the study systematically processed a series of social media posts and replies uploaded on X (Formerly Twitter). Multiple analysis categories were generated, through them, it was found that these communities perceived the series to be a foreign perception of Mexican drag culture, designed for a foreign audience. At the same time, there was debate over whether this was still a move in the right direction for Mexico’s gender and sexual minorities. Ultimately, this brings new considerations to the development of accurate representation in Mexican media for marginalized gender and sexual communities. 

After emerging from the central Peruvian Andes in the 1950s, the israelita religious movement has expanded across Latin America and beyond, reaching the urban centers of the Global North. The growth of the Peruvian israelitas makes part of a regional trend that has transformed the Latin American religious field. A decline in Catholic adherence has benefited the rise of a diversity of protestant faiths that, within a few decades, have secured large followings as well as economic, media and political power. These transformations contradict theories of secularization that posit the decline of religion as concomitant with processes of modernization. This research project aims to provide insight on how the expansion of the israelita religious movement prompts alternative ways to think about modernity and contemporary religiosity. Through an interpretative qualitative exploration of the israelita presence in two spaces considered to be quintessential products of modernity, the Internet and a European cultural capital, Barcelona, this project identifies some of the characteristics that have facilitated the religious movement’s expansion and adaptation to different environments. The examination of the processes of transmission that underlie the israelitas’ expansion also motivate a consideration of the innovations and transformations that have taken place in the israelita faith, particularly after the death of their founder and leader, Ezquiel Ataucusi Gamonal, in 2000. 

Despite the growing knowledge that food system solutions should account for interactions and drivers across scales, broader societal debate on how to solve food system challenges is often focused on two dichotomous perspectives and associated solutions: either more localized food systems or greater global coordination of food systems. The debate has found problematic expressions in contemporary challenges, prompting us to revisit the role that resilience thinking can play when faced with complex crises that increase uncertainty. Here we identify four ‘aching points’ facing food systems that are central points of tension in the local–global debate. We apply the seven principles of resilience to these aching points to reframe the solution space to one that embeds resilience into food systems’ management and governance at all scales, supporting transformative change towards sustainable food systems.

En julio de 2019, Valencia acogió el XIII Congreso Español de Sociología. Allí se dieron cita numerosos especialistas en acción colectiva, que compartieron los últimos avances de sus investigaciones bajo la coordinación del Grupo de Trabajo de Movimientos Sociales de la Federación Española de Sociología.

En ese encuentro se sitúa el origen de esta obra.

La riqueza de los estudios allí presentados tuvo su secuela natural en una serie de fecundos debates. Los textos derivados de todo ello reclamaban ser publicados. Y demandaban un armazón que a un tiempo hiciera justicia a su valor individual y destacara las conexiones entre unos y otros, los hilos conceptuales que atraviesan la totalidad. Esta trilogía da respuesta a todo ello. Así, el primer volumen de este libro se ocupa de la Teoría sobre movimientos sociales; el segundo disecciona sus Genealogías; y el tercero reúne Estudios de caso.

Si un principio recorre esta obra, es el de unidad en la diversidad.

Se encontrará el lector aquí con los más diversos movimientos, analizados desde las perspectivas epistemológicas y metodológicas más variadas. Así, estos tres volúmenes son testimonio de un encuentro entre estudiosos de la acción colectiva, pero más aún, son un mapa del conocimiento sobre movimientos sociales existente al terminar el segundo decenio del siglo XXI.