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Political apologies have become particularly prominent in recent years. Elazar Barkan (2000)contends that we should not expect to find a universal pattern to the apology process because apologies are socially negotiated and therefore unique to time and place. The possible exception, he notes, are apologies from states to indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples around the world share similar experiences at the hands of the state (land dispossession, cultural genocide, loss of sovereignty, and sometimes even death). Therefore, there may be a pattern to apologies from states to indigenous peoples that is not present in other types of cases. My paper argues that frames represent a useful tool of inquiry for examining the apology process because their construction and content reveals much about the motivations, intentions, and ultimately the actions of those involved in their construction. States and indigenous peoples often use similar frames in negotiating remedy. Indigenous peoples worldwide commonly call for "justice" while states frequently counter with offers of "reconciliation." The central question of my paper is this: in seeking to remedy historical and contemporary harms with its indigenous populations does the United States frame its efforts in terms of "reconciliation" with both Native Americans and Native Hawaiians? Is the U.S. "recycling" the reconciliation frame in the framing wars it is engaged in with these two groups? If so, what are the implications of using a "recycled" frame? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although indigenous peoples constitute one of the most socially, economically, and politically marginalized groups in the world, few quantitative social scientists have studied public attitudes toward this ethnicity in Canada or the world. We are not sure, for example, whether mass-level views toward First Nations are caused by the same factors that determine Canadians' opinions toward immigrants or Visible Minorities in general. To help answer this question, the paper investigates why ordinary British Columbians decided 1. to vote in; and 2. to vote "yes" on the controversial 2002 Aboriginal Treaty Negotiations Referendum. I first set the Referendum in the electoral and negotiation dynamics of the time by relying on archival research and personal interviews with such key figures as Premier Gordon Campbell, Attorney General Geoff Plant, and leading First Nations Treaty Negotiators. The essay next examines the theoretical literature on attitudes toward ethnic minorities in the abstract, which suggests that support for the measure might have been rooted in economic self-interest (e.g., income, occupation, employment status, and region), identity politics (e.g., ethnic, religious, or gender identification), education, partisanship, or age. To evaluate these hypotheses, the paper examines data from the April 2002 BC Reid Express Poll as well as official census and voting results. Cross-tabulations of the Reid Poll and Gary King-method, R x C ecological analysis of the election statistics indicate that identity politics, regional selfinterest, and education primarily motivated British Columbians' responses to the 2002 Aboriginal Treaty Negotiations Referendum. Purely individual economic circumstances, on the other hand, do not seem to have played a role. More broadly, these findings suggest that the roots of non-indigenous Canadians' views on First Nations are similar to the determinants of attitudes toward minorities in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that the exclusion of women from political offices in Mexico and Latin America's customary law communities, more broadly, is much more than a problem of the purported patriarchal cultures of indigenous and rural communities. We claim, based on a comprehensive survey of 466 mayors in the indigenous state of Oaxaca, that the underrepresentation of women is a function of institutions limiting female candidates. We test this "candidate pipeline" hypothesis, adapted from U.S.-based studies, against the hypothesis that culture--as measured by indigenous ethnicity--has an independent effect on women's representation. The paper disconfirms that patriarchal, traditionalist cultures of indigenous communities cause underrepresentation in the election of women and instead finds that a particular set of local institutions, which are more prevalent in indigenous municipalities, blocks the pipeline of potential women candidates. We conclude by considering the normative implications for customary law representation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A conference paper about consultation, mining and indigenous mobilization in Latin America is presented which is to be presented at the American Political Science Association conference in Seattle, Washington, in September 2011. The paper discusses topics including indigenous political mobilization in Latin America, Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization, and cases of Peru and Guatemala.

The dominant school of international relations theory holds that only states are important in world politics, a reading of world politics that is closely linked to the way that school conceptualizes the state as a reified body. This is a problem because such an analysis misses crucial global political happenings and possibilities. While this school has been critiqued of late from many perspectives, this paper focuses on the particular challenge of indigenous politics and argues that case of indigenous politics provide a particularly perspicuous example to unpack the conceptual confusion surrounding the concept of the state. The paper begins with close readings of key works of Kenneth Waltz and Hedley Bull, and then goes on to consider the implication of an anthropological theory of culture for these authors' theories. The paper discusses how and in what ways indigenous politics are international and discusses the significance of this fact with reference to two contemporary cases: the Oka "crisis" and the Zapatista movement. In conclusion, it is argued that indigenous politics reveal hidden realities and possibilities of world politics, as well as an alternative understanding of certain state practices. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the causes of the electoral volatility that has plagued Latin America in recent decades. It suggests that the ethnic composition of societies in Latin America have significantly influenced electoral volatility in Latin America, but not in the way that the literature on electoral volatility would predict. The failure of the existing political party systems in Latin America to adequately represent the indigenous population, I argue, has weakened party identification among many indigenous voters, causing them to shift party allegiances frequently over time. As a result, electoral volatility has been higher, rather than lower, in more ethnically diverse areas in Latin America. A national-level OLS analysis of the determinants of electoral volatility in Latin America as a whole, and municipal and provincial-level analyses of electoral volatility in Bolivia, Mexico, and Peru provide support for these arguments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the main criticisms levelled against attempts to use cultural and religious identity as a reason, to be balanced with other reasons, to protect a particular practice or tradition from laws that otherwise restrict it. I defend the public consideration of identity claims especially in cases that require accommodation. In contrast, identity-based arguments are of only limited value in advancing the case for self-determination. The argument is illustrated using Aboriginal cases heard by the Supreme Court of Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the contributions to democratization made by the Pachakutik Political Movement in Ecuador, a party founded by a coalition of indigenous organizations, social movements and labor unions in 1996. Despite the high levels of social mobilization and political volatility experienced in Ecuador during the 1990s, I argue that democracy was strengthened in this period by the emergence of this party. The two-pronged argument begins by referring to Rustow’s (1970) notion of the importance of ‘habituation’ to democratic rules and procedures as a key stage in democratic consolidation, and offers evidence that this has been taking place within the indigenous movement. Secondly, I argue that Pachakutik has been enriching democratic practice and challenging traditional hierarchical and clientelistic patterns of politics by introducing new participatory practices and by developing mechanisms designed to create greater transparency and accountability in government and by elected authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Those who face long-standing conditions of disadvantage must, in many cases, envision radically new futures if they are to overcome deep presumptions associated with their mistreatment, both by others and among their own members. For American Indian and other Aboriginal populations, for example, James Youngblood Henderson argues that it is necessary to "dream the seemingly impossible". Yet there are reasons for caution about taking these visions as literal guides to political action. There are at least two kinds of problems. First, such visions, even if they would help future generations live the most fulfilling lives possible if realized, may make it more difficult to pursue strategic political action where social orders remain fundamentally at odds with this vision in the present. Second, conditions of long-standing injustice often make it difficult to determine precisely what justice and a flourishing human life entails, so that attempts to envision successful futures for generations still to come are likely to misfire in their substance as well. In these circumstances, the paper argues, it will generally make the most sense for Aboriginal peoples and others to treat visions of the future as self-consciously uncertain and protean tools for thinking, which are expected to need deep reinterpretation as political life moves forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a research paper which focuses on the impact of climate change on poorer communities and indigenous populations who are already suffering due to globalization and the modern industrialized world's attack on natural resources, and on the indigenous cultures. It focuses on a capabilities approach to environmental justice by analyzing the capabilities of communities, affected by climate change.

Mobilization of ethnic identities has received increased attention in recent years. This paper examines the organizing efforts of indigenous groups in Ecuador and Peru in order to understand why ethnic identities are mobilized and politicized by some populations and not others. I argue that ethnic mobilization results from the formulation of a collective identity by entrepreneurs and activists through consciousness-raising and meaningful framing of symbols, which shapes or takes advantage of opportunities to advance the claims and grievances of the community to a broader audience, at least some of whom endorse the validity of the movement. Ethnic identities are then politicized by the ways in which movement members interact with other actors within the political system, and with the system itself. Of the many mechanisms that social movement scholars argue play a role in episodes of contentious politics, I focus on the mechanisms of identity formation, attribution of opportunity or threat, and certification by outside actors. Movement entrepreneurs, or brokers, do the work of identity formation by framing identities through consciousness-raising and activating symbols that resonate with potential movement members so that those individuals re-order attributes of their identity to privilege an ethnic identity as their public identity. Movement entrepreneurs also play a key role in attributing opportunity or threat to an event or issue, around which ethnic identities can be mobilized. Certification of the mobilization of ethnic identities by those outside the movement conveys a sense of validation of the ethnic identity and communicates endorsement of the identity to movement members and potential members. How ethnic identities are politicized depends on the sites that movement entrepreneurs have connected, literally (in the case of coalition-forming) and figuratively (in the case of politicization of discourse). I found that the aforementioned mechanisms of ethnic mobilization played important roles in all cases of ethnic mobilization, but the importance was weighted differently across cases, depending on from where the articulation of the identity came. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the low opportunities of international migrants for inciting civil war violence, at least as compared with the indigenous populations of countries that face threats of internal migration. First, it lays out the stark contrast between immigrants and the indigenous based on data adapted from the Minorities at Risk (MAR) dataset. It then explores the reasons for the low opportunities for international migrants through an examination of three cases: Bahrain, which has a large and restive working-class immigrant community; Estonia, where some thirty percent of the population are migrants from that past several generations from other states from the former Soviet Union; and Pakistan, where the immigrant Muhajirs are a partial exception to the pattern. It concludes with a general statement of the relationship between immigration and rebellion. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In what ways might historical events matter for the present day in moral terms? This essay considers two possibilities, with a focus on the historical interactions between indigenous peoples and the settler societies that now surround them. One way in which historical events might matter is where treaties were signed that were intended to have continuing relevance through time. The second way in which the past might matter is more personal - individual members of settler societies may have obligations to feel shame for the actions of forebears with whom they identify. As this essay argues, however, the cases for the continuing relevance of treaties and for obligations of shame are more ambiguous than they often seem, leaving the moral force of each somewhat uncertain. The paper's final section considers whether, in light of this ambiguity and the difficulties of understanding historical events, it would be better simply to ignore such historically-based responsibilities even if they are defensible in the abstract. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary conflict research usually measures the influence of ethnicity on conflict by capturing the former in the form of a country-based index, such as ethnic fractionalization or polarization. However, such aggregated measures are likely to conceal the actual operation of micro-level mechanisms. In this paper, therefore, we focus on relation-specific causes of ethnic conflicts by disaggregating both ethnicity and conflict to the level of explicitly geo-coded center-periphery dyads. This analysis allows us to measure the power balance between peripheral ethnic groups as terrain-adjusted demographic proxies. We rely on GIS-coded layers of empirical information, including newly geo-coded dyadic conflict data, data on ethnic groups' access to power, newly geo-coded data on the location of ethnic groups, and geo-coded logistical data on distances and terrain. Our results show that exclusion of powerful ethnic minorities increases the likelihood of conflict considerably, thus casting doubt on the claim that ethnicity is unrelated to civil-war onset. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the end of the 1940s, North-South relations took place in part within the framework of the aid regime. In this context, many development projects have been implemented by bilateral or multilateral actors, and notably by the World Bank, which is a leading institution in this field. The specialized literature as well as donors have much looked into the effects of these projects in terms of efficiency. However, the negative externalities of this kind of foreign interventions have until recently given rise to far less debate within the academic literature despite the alarm signals formulated by activists, aware and witness that development interventions can sometimes do more harm than good. Among criticisms of this type, some claim that development projects can be disastrous for the environment or can be socially unfair, but also that they can have negative impacts on indigenous peoples living where the project is implemented. Indeed, development projects can hurt these populations by modifying their environment, by resettling them, or by inciting them to adopt a different lifestyle. In this respect, it is interesting to note that among the complaints that have been lodged with the World Bank Inspection Panel, near half of them mention problems affecting indigenous peoples. Through our analysis of some of these cases, our paper shows that the North possesses a real power of destabilization that operates through development interventions and that can particularly affect indigenous peoples. The asymmetry of power in the process of decision making between the "interveners" and the indigenous peoples can result in the implementation of projects that affect these populations in an unfortunate way. Being confronted to development projects that disrupt their habits, indigenous peoples can loose their marks, and their identity can be threatened, leading to the destabilization of their social organization and creating tensions between those strongly attached to their traditional livelihood and those seduced by a "modern" model of development. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For decades the lens of democratization has been used to capture and dramatize the efforts of subject peoples seeking self-determination, beginning with the first wave of decolonization at the end of the second world war and continuing through the end of the cold war and the emancipation of the peoples and states of Eastern Europe. Yet surprisingly, the democratic dimensions of the global movement of indigenous peoples struggling for self-determination in the second wave of decolonization has received scant attention from researchers. This paper addresses this gap through an examination of the theoretical and institutional relationships between democracy, decolonization and indigenous self-determination. A focus on democracy will serve two purposes. First, it will help establish claims to indigenous self-determination on a more sound normative footing. Second, it will focus greater attention on the political dimensions of indigenous self-determination: questions of governance, the distribution of power and authority, and the institutionalization of democratic decision-making. This in turn will help bridge the significant gap that exists between normative theory and the institutionalization of indigenous self-determination in concrete political settings. This gap continues to hamper the capacity of normative theory to speak to the complexity of contemporary indigenous-state relations around the world. In particular, there is a tendency in the normative literature to focus almost exclusively on the autonomy (self-government) dimension of indigenous self-determination, at the expense of the co-operative and shared-rule dimensions that are essential to managing the complex interdependence characteristic of contemporary indigenous-state relations. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A conference paper on Immanuel Kant's cosmopolitan right and its relation to the works of Jeremy Waldron about cultural interaction and indigenous peoples is presented. It analyzes whether Waldron has properly reconstructed Kant's category of cosmopolitan right. It discusses why the demands of indigenous peoples can not be dismissed as involving a non-negotiable stance. It discusses Waldron's global proximity principle and the circumstances of cosmopolitan right.

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This article evaluates the relative strengths and weaknesses of fuzzy-set methods and additive linear statistical methods for explaining the ?great reversal? in Spanish America. From 1750 to 1900, the most marginal colonial territories often became the region?s wealthiest countries, whereas the most central colonial territories often became the region?s poorest countries. To explain this reversal, five competing hypotheses are tested using both statistical and fuzzy-set methods. The fuzzy-set analysis reaches substantively important conclusions, finding that strong liberal factions are probabilistically necessary for economic development and dense indigenous populations are probabilistically necessary for social underdevelopment. By contrast, the statistical analysis generates findings that are not meaningful. These contrasting results are traced to differences in how the methodologies construct populations, formulate hypotheses, understand causation, and measure variables. The article concludes that fuzzy-set analysis and statistical analysis operate in different ?causal universes,? and that greater attention should be granted to the causal universe occupied by fuzzy-set analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

this is a version of a chapter from a forthcoming book on indigenous peoples political parties in 4 south american countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to explore the theoretical and empirical implications of cyberspace-based national identity projects, specifically among historically marginalized ethnic groups. It has been argued that with the coming of the Internet-a deterritorialized, global medium for communication, news, entertainment, and coordination, the old rules of nation- and state-building are in the process of being re-written. While I do not accept the notion that the Web completely liberates national minorities from the realities of daily existence, I do assert that the impact of Internet use by national minorities is not neutral. My study demonstrates that when a sizeable percentage of the nation or diaspora has access to the Web, elites within the community are employing the communicative and publishing capacity of the Internet and cyberspace to affect political, social, and cultural cohesion and/or advancement of the nation. Paradoxically, the structure of the Internet is simultaneously leading to a globalization of identity among those who use it. Pre-existing organizational, demographic, economic, and political characteristics of a given group play a large role in determining which is of the above-mentioned phenomena is more keenly realized. This paper employs several case studies to provide context to its theoretical discussions including: near abroad Russians, overseas Chinese, the Roma (also known as Gypsies), and 'Yugoslavian' Albanians. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on Aboriginal rights within existing democratic states. Topics discussed include the rights of Aboriginal peoples, deliberative democracy, and property rights of Aboriginal peoples. Also mentioned are political strategies that could be adopted by Aboriginal peoples, Aboriginal rights and rights of land ownership in Canada, and social changes pursued by non-Aboriginal people.

The article focuses on the relationship between indigenous rights and international human rights. It discusses how indigenous rights pose a challenge to human rights such as indigenous rights being collective rights and human rights standing for individual rights and dilemmas faced by courts while deciding cases these rights. It mentions the relationship between indigenous populations of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

The current study examines the effects of tourism and the state on the political choices of indigenous populations in Mexico and Guatemala. Traditionally, anthropologists and other social scientists have decried the effects of tourism on "exotic" cultures but contemporary research may reveal that this growing economic resource, especially indigenous related tourism that specifically requires the presence of indigenous people, is being utilized by savvy rational actors to further political and social gains in regions largely ignored or even repressed by controlling classes. The current study suggests that the findings of scholars of agrarian political mobilizations such as Jeffrey Paige, James Scott, Samuel Popkin and Theda Skocpol can be applied to other forms of economic interaction, namely indigenous populations, rather than simply "peasants" and the economic resource of tourism can be substituted for the traditional resource of "land" with more nuanced results. Additionally, the structure of the state apparatus is also informative in the political mobilization choices of indigenous populations and may dictate the parameters from which choices are made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses human rights and its association to the Commons in England. The emergence of capitalism as competitiveness replaced traditional values and economic motive in the enclosure movement is outlined. Attacks describing unhealthy and unsafe habitats emphasizing moral and historical points are noted. Child protection, ecojustice, indigenous people, and environmental disruption respect for life are the other topics discussed.

In this article the author focuses on indigenous peoples and mutilevel governance in Canada and the U.S. The author states that Canada and the U.S. are highly resistant to indigenous claims. The author further discusses compact-based governance in the U.S., status of indigenous governments in the Canadian federation and development of new governance regimes.

The article offers information on the recognition, and identity-based claims focused on indigenous people at World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in the U.S. It mentions that intellectual property is the part of global politics. It focuses on the demand for international organizations to accommodate diverse practices in universalizing global frameworks.

The number of people belonging to an indigenous group is estimated at 300 million, distributed in about 70 countries. Despite the diversity of groups and their particularities, they all face common problems and challenges, such as the defense of their traditional knowledge, culture and values, the protection of ancestral lands and the struggle to have their rights fully recognized and applied. They are also confronted with other actors whose interests are in conflict. We propose to tackle indigenous peoples through a discourse analysis. By doing so, we want to show how indigenous peoples are represented, or constructed, by various groups pursuing diverging interests. Focusing on the case of Cameroonian Pygmies, we will work on three groups of actors: 1. Environmental/Conservationist NGOs that defend the nature above all; 2. Implementers of development projects; 3. NGOs that defend indigenous people's rights.We will not only show how indigenous peoples are constructed but also which values and norms stand out in discourses. Inspired by the Critical Discourse Analysis approach, we will also focus on power dynamics and on how the rhetoric and the construction of one's own reality can advantage or disadvantage certain groups of persons and interests. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay explores Cordillera indigenous peoples' subjection and opposition to "the new imperialism of exploitation as development" (Spivak 1999) in the post-independence Philippines. I provide some context for understanding developmentalism and indigeneity in the Philippines before examining specific struggles of Cordillera indigenous peoples (IPs) to maintain their land and assert the authority of their customary laws regarding ancestral domain. I discuss the juridical history of state appropriation of IPs' ancestral domain, arguing that the much heralded Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997 cannot successfully accomplish the abjected (Kristeva 1982) indigenous other's juridical inclusion without displacing the sovereignty of the state. Finally, I address women's leadership in mobilizing against "development aggression," and examine how the practice of Kalinga and Bontok women's "breast-baring" to achieve visibility as political subjects subverts commodity fetishized femininity in the Philippines. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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What exactly does it mean to describe a people as the "indigenous" inhabitants of a land and why is indigeneity important? There are two possible ways of defining "indigeneity": (a) indigenous peoples are the descendants of the first human inhabitants of a land; and (b) indigenous peoples are the descendants of those who inhabited the land at the time of European colonization. Corresponding to these definitions, we find arguments for indigenous rights based on (a) a Principle of First Occupancy (PFO), which gives moral recognition to the fact that a people have taken possession of land without disturbing any other occupants; and (b) a Principle of Established Order (PEO), i.e. a conservative principle that commands us (and should have commanded the colonizers) not to disturb established arrangements. Often there is confusion as to which of these is meant when theorists of indigeneity talk about "an indigenous people's original occupancy of a territory." And once we distinguish the two principles, we begin to see that they have been adopted opportunistically and carelessly by the First Peoples' movements. PEO might be used to condemn colonial invasion as disruptive of an existing indigenous order; but - as a conservative principle - it cannot be used now to justify any sort of reversion to the status quo ante. The conservative protection that PEO offered to the status quo in (say) 1840, it now offers to the status quo in 2002. It condemns historic injustice, but it blocks radically disruptive remedies. PFO seems more promising as a basis for radical remedies, but it is a difficult principle to apply, inasmuch as it makes tremendous demands on our historical knowledge, and it assumes lack of conflict and conquest among so-called indigenous peoples. In any case, PFO is problematic in ways that theorists of property have understood for a long time. It legitimizes occupancy which is not disruptive of anyone else's occupancy; but it puts too much weight on history and it is insufficiently sensitive to subsequent changes in circumstances and to the conditions that face us today. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT With the return to democratic government in Chile in 1989, after 17 years of military dictatorship, a “democratic” indigenous policy was developed by the new government, producing important changes in the traditional political structure of the indigenous communities. These changes are a product of both the incorporation of Pehuenche communities into the economic globalization process as well as State action and policy in the communities. After characterizing the new indigenous policy, this study characterizes and analyzes the changes produced by this policy in the traditional Pehuenche leadership structures in Alto Biobio, Southern Chile. The results are based on a series of interviews with Pehuenche community leaders. The most important change in the Pehuenche leadership structure consists in the loss of the traditional figure of “lonko” as the spiritual and political authority in the community. The interviewees attributed the changes in many aspects of its traditional authority due to the outside influences of western religions, the formal education system, and the relations with the Chilean government and internally due to community divisions. The second change found is the instrumentalization of the leadership position, where the leader’s capacity to relate with non-Pehuenche actors has become especially important. The third transformation is a generational change towards younger leaders, when traditionally Pehuenche leaders had been older community members. Pehuenche identity is being redefined with respect to the State and other “Chileans” and with respect to its monetary value in tourism. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on the dilemmas faced by a contemporary indigenous intellectual culture in defending the rights, sovereignty and nationhood. He argues that contemporary Aboriginal rights discourse in Canada is problematic for a number of reasons. He outlines three kinds of indigenous intellectual epistemologies or theories. He examines the meaning and significance of the term indigeneity and illustrates how its use in Canadian law has served to narrow the meaning and content of Aboriginal rights as they are protected in the Canadian constitution.

This essay looks at the history of changing levels of power and interactions between indigenous populations in Brazil and the Brazilian nation state. The theoretical framework of this essay considers this change through international relations theories of constructivism (Price 1998: Wendt 1994: Wendt and Friedman 1995) as well as through Foucault’s (1977) conception of policy being considered differently within different temporal contexts. Foucault’s idea of changing conceptions and operations of policy is related to historical change of policy in Brazil though the creation and enforcement of norms on the societal level (see: Finnemore 1996: Finnemore and Sikkink 1998 for an overview of the conception of norms). In light of the history of poorly enforced laws to protect indigenous populations in Brazil this essay turns toward Machiavelli’s assertion (1517) made in The Discourses that governments can use time to default on promises of change made to dissenting people and organizations. The unwillingness of local governments to enforce national and international norms is conceptually related back to Allina-Pisano’s (2004) analysis of land use in post-Soviet Ukraine which analyzes reasons why policy makers only pretend to follow national directives while simultaneously doing the opposite. The main argument of this essay is that, despite some of the positive changes in the levels of power of indigenous populations, as reflected in partial legal victories in Brazil, the history of state society relations in Brazil has many examples which provide empirical evidence to demonstrate that the Brazilian nation state has potential to fall short of its legal promises. Subsequently, this essay concludes by recommending that indigenous people and concerned NGOs should focus more on gaining power at the local level, rather than the national level in Brazil. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]