Organising in defence of life: The emergence and dynamics of a territorial movement in Southern Chile

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to examine how territorial movements, as distinct forms of place-based social movements, organise in defence of life against the threat of resource extraction on their land. Based on the experiences of Indigenous Lafkenche-Mapuche members of a protracted struggle against a pulp mill in southern Chile, the study seeks to address the following research questions: (1) How do territorial movements emerge and organise the defence of their threatened lives? and (2) How do diverging (Indigenous and non-Indigenous) territorial relations shape the dynamics of the struggle? Combining insights from Enrique Dussel’s ‘ethics of liberation’ with that of Indigenous ontologies, this study suggests that territorial movements emerge out of the awakening of a critical consciousness of the threat of death and the collective ‘desire to live’ that define the dynamics of the struggle. The findings demonstrate how the diverging territorial relations, the societally embedded ‘coloniality of power’, and the state and corporate induced violence shape the movement dynamics. Changes in the movement dynamics also occur as a result of the struggle itself, as the movement actors’ unified desire to live continuously transforms the people and shapes the territory they inhabit.

The Political Ontology of Corporate Social Responsibility: Obscuring the Pluriverse in Place

“…These are meaningful and important critiques of CSR and its impacts on marginalized and often land-based communities. Yet, most of these studies remain centered on the institutional politics within a political economy domain rather than interrogating the material politics of place and the ontological multiplicity that comes with radically different ways of performing the world (Ehrnström-Fuentes, 2022a , 2022b ). There have been some recent calls for ‘a more Earth-centric perspective in organization and management studies’ (Banerjee & Arjaliès, 2021 , p. 3, see also Ergene et al, 2021 ), suggesting that scholars are becoming increasingly interested in radically different materialities and ways of performing the world.…”

“…The Environmental Justice Atlas (EJAtlas) lists over 3,600 of such conflicts globally, most of which are struggles over land and territory (Temper et al, 2015 ). For example, many of such conflicts are over water qualit and landscapes upon which fisherfolk, tourism entrepreneurs or Indigenous populations depend for their own existences, which are, however, affected detrimentally by large-scale industrial, forestry, mining, and windmill facilities (Dunlap & Correa Acre, 2022 ; Heikkinen et al, 2013 ; Ehrnström-Fuentes, 2016 , 2022b ; Joutsenvirta & Vaara, 2015 ; Littlewood, 2014 ; Kröger, 2021 ; O’Faircheallaigh & Ali, 2017 ). Such struggles tend to emerge in places where trees, mountains and rivers are not consider just as resources suitable for extractive purposes but sentient ‘earth beings’ (de la Cadena, 2015 ) that, together with (and inseparable from) people, shape how life is lived in place (Ehrnström-Fuentes, 2022b ; Mansilla Quiñones & Melin Pehuen, 2019 ).…”

“…For example, many of such conflicts are over water qualit and landscapes upon which fisherfolk, tourism entrepreneurs or Indigenous populations depend for their own existences, which are, however, affected detrimentally by large-scale industrial, forestry, mining, and windmill facilities (Dunlap & Correa Acre, 2022 ; Heikkinen et al, 2013 ; Ehrnström-Fuentes, 2016 , 2022b ; Joutsenvirta & Vaara, 2015 ; Littlewood, 2014 ; Kröger, 2021 ; O’Faircheallaigh & Ali, 2017 ). Such struggles tend to emerge in places where trees, mountains and rivers are not consider just as resources suitable for extractive purposes but sentient ‘earth beings’ (de la Cadena, 2015 ) that, together with (and inseparable from) people, shape how life is lived in place (Ehrnström-Fuentes, 2022b ; Mansilla Quiñones & Melin Pehuen, 2019 ). These conflicts are ontological in nature, as they go to the core of what Moore ( 2015 ) calls the ‘web of life.’In this article, we develop an analytical frame of political ontology (PO) to explain such place-based conflicts in relation to corporate social responsibility (CSR).…”

“…Business ethics scholars have long developed critical perspectives of CSR, understanding its political and power dimensions (Banerjee, 2018 , 2021 ; Böhm et al, 2008 ; Whelan, 2012 ; Fleming & Jones, 2012 ; Scherer & Palazzo, 2011 ; Vallentin & Murillo, 2012 ). While territory and land have been identified as vital by some CSR scholars (Banerjee, 2000 ; Ehrnström-Fuentes, 2016 , 2022b ), there has been a general lack of consideration of the struggles over place (Ehrnström-Fuentes, 2022a ). This is particularly important when considering the way Indigenous people are being treated in the encounter with the (modern) corporate world, but also extends to other communities (e.g., peasants, artisanal fisherfolk, small-scale tourism communities).…”

“…This is particularly important when considering the way Indigenous people are being treated in the encounter with the (modern) corporate world, but also extends to other communities (e.g., peasants, artisanal fisherfolk, small-scale tourism communities). The life and subsistence practices of these local groups are deeply rooted in the land on which they live (Ehrnström-Fuentes, 2016 , 2022a , 2022b ), and their ways of practicing responsibility together with nonhumans in place create wholly different sustainabilities to those of corporations (Jääskeläinen, 2020 ; Virtanen et al, 2020 ).…”