Anthias, P., & Asher, K. (2024). Indigenous Natures and the Anthropocene: Racial Capitalism, Violent Materialities, and the Colonial Politics of Representation. Antipode.
Stay up-to-date with the latest announcements, milestones, and events from my professional journey.
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December 2024 (Upcoming): The Special Issue “Leaks: The politics of awkward circulations in Latin America’s geographies of energy production,” which I co-edited with Mattias Borg Rasmussen, Stine Krøijer, and Maria Cariola Ericksson, is now in production with the Journal of Latin American Geography and will be published in the December 2024 issue. We are grateful to JLAG editors for their support and enthusiasm for this project.
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9 November 2024: I testified in a Bolivian court hearing in defence of community members from Chiquiacá Canton in Bolivia’s Tariquía Reserve, who are facing criminal charges for obstructing the entry of oil companies Petrobras and YPFB into their communities without prior consultation and contrary to a recent vote by local peasant unions. My documentary Don’t Touch Tariquía was presented as evidence in the case, which it is hoped will pave the way for an appeal to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
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1 September 2024: Started my one-year British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship. My project, "Untapped Reserves: Mapping Extraction and Resistance in Bolivia’s Protected Areas, will involve new research, the completion of a book manuscript, and the production of a documentary film based on my research on gas extraction in Bolivia’s Tariquía Reserve.
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20 August 2024: This week I completed an intensive course on non-extractive filmmaking with the African film collective AFRISOS. The training, offered by Durham University, involved working in a group to make a short film under the guidance of mentors Jigar Ganatra and Thige Njuguna.
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16 August 2024: Article accepted by Journal of Latin American Geography. My article, Cuts, Flows, and Leaks: Enclave Imaginaries, Neoextractivist Territorialisation, and Countertopographies of Resistance at Bolivia’s Extraction-Conservation Frontier will be part of the Leaks Project Special Issue titled The Politics of Awkward Circulations in Latin America’s New and Old Geographies of Energy Production.
My research examines the struggles surrounding indigeneity, territory, and resource extraction in Latin America, particularly based on over 15 years of ethnographic work in Bolivia’s Chaco region. I contribute to interdisciplinary discussions on extractivism, territory, and decolonial politics, focusing on the interplay between hydrocarbons and citizenship in neoextractivist states, the implications of neoliberal multiculturalism for Indigenous movements, and the micro-politics of race and property at (post)colonial frontiers. Through in-depth case studies, I explore how fossil capitalism intersects with (post)colonial struggles, shaping new subjectivities, governable spaces, and political possibilities. Notable case studies include a Guaraní territorial claim over Bolivia’s largest gas field, a regional autonomy initiative linking plurinationalism to gas revenues, and a conflict over gas development in a protected area. My interdisciplinary approach incorporates critical literature on law, rights, extraction, and indigeneity, utilizing ethnographic methods, counter-mapping, and documentary filmmaking to investigate the dynamics of land, law, and extractivism in relation to Indigenous autonomy and citizenship.
LIMITS TO DECOLONIZATION: INDIGENEITY, TERRITORY, AND HYDROCARBON POLITICS IN THE BOLIVIAN CHACO
Winner of the 2019 Best Book in Race, Ethnicity and Comparative Politics, American Political Science Association Section on Race, Ethnicity and Politics. Investigates the persistent struggles of Guaraní communities in Bolivia as they strive for land and autonomy. Based on ethnographic research, it reveals how their efforts to map and claim territory have been obstructed by governmental boundaries, resistance from landowners, and hydrocarbon projects. Get it today.
Films
View all filmsDon't Touch Tariquia: The Resistance of Chiquiacá
This film explores a community's struggle to protect their land and livelihood from damaging oil exploration in the Tariquía Reserve, organizing protests and resistance to safeguard their environment and future.
La Casa Nueva (The New House)
This film tells Judith's story near the Ariguanabo textile factory, highlighting her struggles with inadequate housing and her commitment to improving her living conditions while caring for her family.
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Anthias, P., & López Flores, P. C. (2023). Neoextractivism and Territorial Disputes in Latin America: Social-ecological Conflict and Resistance on the Front Lines. Routledge.
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Anthias, P. (2023). Countertopographies and the Futures of Geographical Thought. Dialogues in Human Geography.
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Anthias, P. (2023). Indigenous Peoples and the New Extraction: From Territorial Rights to Hydrocarbon Citizenship in the Bolivian Chaco. Latin American Perspectives, 50(1), 85-105.
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Anthias, P. (2022). The Pluri-Extractivist State: Regional Autonomy and the Limits of Indigenous Participation in Gran Chaco Province. Journal of Latin American Studies, 54(1), 125-154.