Transmodern transitions to buen vivir in early 21st century Andean seed systems
- Publication Type:
- Thesis
- Issue Date:
- 2023
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Our planet is facing an environmental crisis produced by modern human ways of being. Although there are multiple interpretations of its causes and solutions, there is a clear need for pathways towards more sustainable futures. This thesis frames the current crises humanity faces as resulting from the continuation of colonial power structures, and proposes visions of eco-centricity, plurality, and transculturality as a path towards more just and sustainable futures.
The research set out to understand how sustainability transformations happened in poor nations with a focus on civil society and social movements with alternative visions. It positioned seeds as technology to reflect on issues of colonialism, power, justice, and the interactions between two worldviews: the modern and non-modern. The research used a qualitative methodology to approach three case studies of seed system transformations in the Andean region. Its purpose was to study ‘seed guardian networks’, their transformative actions to protect native seeds and associated care practices, and their interactions with incumbent actors.
The thesis positions Latin American seed guardian networks as innovative transmodern spaces that have destabilised current ways of doing to ultimately change national seed system rules. It tells the story of inter-epistemic translational contact zones emerging between civil society and the state. To better understand this process, an integrative transdisciplinary approach and multiple theories are mobilised (new institutionalism, sustainability transitions, narrative transformation, and social practice theory).
The intended contribution of this work is twofold: To offer ways to operationalise sustainability transformations guided by alternative visions to Western development, and to decolonise sustainability transitions, a prominent theory studying long-term socio-technical change. The thesis ultimately argues that transmodern transitions to buen vivir are emerging through inter-epistemic agonism. It evidences the importance of alternative visions, transmodern practices, broad discourse coalitions, and epistemic justice in such processes.
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