Anthias, P., Cariola, M., Krøijer, S., & Rasmussen, M.B. (2024). Leaks: The Politics of Awkward Circulations in Latin America's Geographies of Energy Production. Journal of Latin American Geography, 23(3), 8-23.
Stay up-to-date with the latest announcements, milestones, and events from my professional journey.
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Upcoming: I am preparing to shoot her latest documentary (in collaboration with Bolivian filmmaker Luciana Decker Orozco), focusing on the struggle for legal recognition of a Guaraní community impacted by new gas development in and around Bolivia’s Tariquía National Reserve. Stay tuned for further updates!.
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February 2025: The Special Issue Leaks: The Politics of Awkward Circulations in Latin America’s Geographies of Energy Production, co-edited by Penelope with Maria Cariola Ericksson, Stine Krøijer, and Mattias Borg Rasmussen, is now out!
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February 2025: My individual paper, Cuts, Flows, and Leaks: Enclaving Practices and Countertopographies at Bolivia's Hydrocarbon-Conservation Frontier, interrogates the spatial practices and politics involved in remaking Bolivia's protected areas as territories of extraction, focusing on the ongoing conflict over natural gas development in the Tariquía National Reserve of Flora and Fauna.
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February 2025: I recently gave a talk about my work at Cafe Biocultural, Tarija City, Bolivia, followed by a lively debate on extractivism and resistance with local participants. For photos and more details about the event, please visit the Public Engagement page.
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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.
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. (2024). Cuts, Flows, and Leaks: Enclaving Practices and Countertopographies at Bolivia's Hydrocarbon-Conservation Frontier [Cortes, flujos y fugas: prácticas de enclavamiento y contratopografías en la frontera hidrocarburosconservación de Bolivia]. Journal of Latin American Geography, 23(3), 138-166.
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Anthias, P., & Asher, K. (2024). Indigenous Natures and the Anthropocene: Racial Capitalism, Violent Materialities, and the Colonial Politics of Representation. Antipode.
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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.