Soon after the formation of the Plurinational State of Bolivia in 2009, the Isiboro Sécure National Park and Indigenous Territory (TIPNIS) became the epicentre of a conflict over the construction of a road, initiated by Evo Morales's administration, that would run through the park. Initially undertaken by the Brazilian company OAS, and funded by the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), the project was justified on the grounds that it would link the departments of Beni and Cochabamba, and bring development to an isolated locality. However, indigenous peoples from the lowlands opposed the scheme, and, together with their counterparts in the Andean region, organised a march that was violently dispersed by the Bolivian armed forces. In this article, I analyse the political processes in this Andean country, notably the reconfiguration of power from 2011 onwards, in parallel with economic measures adopted by the government. I conclude with observations about the relation between the national and regional spheres, arguing that indigenous repression forms part of a new developmentalist agenda.

This article examines a key element of the power relations underpinning international politics, namely coloniality. It delineates the coloniality of international politics, and elucidates the fundamental aspects of its operationalisation on the one hand, and its crystallisation into international politics on the other. The article is structured into three sections. First, it explores the meaning of coloniality, and outlines its fundamental characteristics. Next, it delineates a crucial operative element of coloniality, the idea of race, and the double movement through which coloniality is rendered operational – the colonisation of time and space. Finally, the article analyses two structuring problematisations that were fundamental to the crystallisation of coloniality in international politics – the work of Francisco de Vitoria, and the Valladolid Debate. It argues that the way in which these problematisations framed the relationship between the European Self and the ultimate Other of Western modernity – the indigenous peoples in the Americas – crystallised the pervasive role of coloniality in international politics.

El inicio del siglo XXI en Sudamérica se caracterizó por la emergencia de gobiernos “progresistas”. En Venezuela y Bolivia, estos gobiernos han logrado obtener mayorías sucesivas en el Congreso, impulsando a los “procesos de cambio” pero reduciendo la representación de grupos de interés minoritarios. En este artículo nuestro objetivo es contrastar las experiencias venezolana y boliviana, poniendo en relieve la reconfiguración de sus élites y fuerzas político-sociales que los condicionaron. Como hipótesis central, argumentamos que la polarización entre gobierno y oposición, crucial en los dos casos, asume características distintas respecto a los grados de pluralidad interna de ambos bloques.

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The “pluriverse” has recently gained momentum in International Relations among scholars focused on ontological pluralism. Nevertheless, theoretical debates may obscure several political tensions observed in local experience. In this paper, I analyze narratives on Suma Qamaña, which synthesizes Aymara cosmology and is both reproduced and criticized by political actors in Bolivia. I argue that the discourse on Suma Qamaña entails a strategy of power by both Aymara people and the government. The paper is developed in three parts: first, I examine the term`s framing in literature, Suma Qamaña`s risen in Bolivian society and its connection to the reconstruction of Aymara identity. Then, I analyze Suma Qamaña`s insertion into governmental discourse. Finally, I stress power disputes over Suma Qamaña. I suggest that the emphasis attributed by IR academics to its ontological potential without considering this strategic facet might lead them to depoliticize the term, reproducing a similar pattern advanced by other theorists and the government.

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Desde hace ya más de una década la revista Nuevo Itinerario, con el apoyo del Instituto de Filosofía de la Universidad Nacional del Noreste, se ha constituido en un espacio de difusión de los trabajos de los investigadores nacionales, regionales e internacionales que profundizan diferentes tópicos con el objetivo fundamental de mantener la amplitud de miradas sobre temas que ocupan a los expertos, ya sea por sus intereses personales o disciplinares o bien por la demanda de las problemáticas que surgen dentro de nuestro contexto sociocultural y que ameritan su indagación