Globalizations Special Forum – Reclaiming democracy from below: from the contemporary state capitalist system to peoples’ sovereignty

The Introduction reviews other recent efforts towards convergence, looking at two related dimensions: sharing ideas and analysis in order to develop a common understanding of what is going on in the world, and bringing people together to take transformative action by building shared spaces, alliances and campaigns. The Siena workshop and the People’s Sovereignty process that has grown from it are situated in this broader context. The five articles that compose the Forum, built in dialogue between social movement, academic and civil society activists, are experiments in co-production of understanding, each of which takes forward a theme that aroused particular interest at Siena. Their special characteristic is the fact that they are the result of an exchange between experiences on the ground and a more theoretical lens, so the issues are discussed as they relate to concrete struggles. Additional articles on other themes will be coming.

Content:
1. Introduction – Nora McKeon and Gonzalo Berrón
2. Contextualizing corporate control in the agrifood and extractive sectors – Jennifer Clapp and Joseph  Purugganan
3. Land, territory and commons: voices and visions from struggles – Tomaso Ferrando, Isa Alvarez, Molly Anderson, Sophie Dowllar, Harriet Friedmann, Antonio Gonzalez, Chandra Maracle, Nora McKeon
4. Rethinking law from below: experiences from the Kuna People and Rojava – Felipe Bley Folly in dialogue with Manigueuigdinapi Jorge Stanley Icaza, Havin Guneser and others
5. Knowledge and education for people’s sovereignty – Molly Anderson and Priscilla Settee;
6. Releasing the full transformative power of feminism – Zdravka Dimitrova, Isa Álvarez, Sophie Dowllar, Havin Guneser