politics” (Khagram, Rilker, Sikkink, 2004, p.4). Scholars in the abovementioned fields have
moved substantially beyond what has oft been described as a “myopic state-centrism” in
international relations and a “myopically domestic” focus in social movement literature. They
have also coincided in an important re-focusing on multiplications of non-state actors as
important agents of global politics. (Brysk, 2000; Khagram, Rilker, Sikkink, 2004, p.6).
Challenges, however, remain. Methodologically, this article attempts to address some of
these challenges through an in-depth, single-N case analysis across multiple spatial scales of
conflict over a 12- year period between Colombia’s U’wa indigenous community and their allies,
and actors and institutions promoting the extraction of oil from within sacred U’wa land.
with Patton’s sampling strategies, my selection of the U’wa is a “critical case” sample, or a case
which “can make a point quite dramatically” or is “for some reason particularly important in the
scheme of things.” (Patton, 1990, p. 182). In this way, considering extensions, it “permits
logical generalization and maximum application of information to other cases because if it’s true
of this one case, it’s likely to be true of other cases” (Patton, 1990, p. 182). As Patton describes,
when choosing a single case site, or in this instance, a single conflict which to study in depth, “it
makes strategic sense to pick the site that would yield the most information and have the
greatest impact on the development of knowledge” (Patton, 1990, p. 174).
This case fits these qualifications for several reasons. First, the conflict between the
U’wa and proponents of oil extraction and export traversed multiple spatial scales, rapidly and
intensely, with strong import not only for democratic practice within Colombia, but, as the case
material reveals, in the U.S. electoral political scene as well. Additionally, Colombia’s legal
structure regarding indigenous rights is one of the strongest in the world. Indigenous peoples --
even though they constitute less than three percent of the population -- have legal control over
28 percent of the national territory, lands rich in mineral, hydrocarbon, and biodiversity
1
I am deliberately employing the term “the extraction of oil” and/or “proponents of an economic model centered on
resource extraction” rather than “oil/resource development.” The former describes a specific activity – pulling the
oil/resource from beneath or upon the earth’s surface -- which may have positive, intermediary or negative
consequences for those involved or affected by it. The latter term holds a connotative bias (it implies a naturally
positive, progressive result); it is inaccurate (the oil/resource is already “developed”); culturally, it is not commonly
used in Spanish, and most likely, less so in U’wa (proyectos petroleros, or petroleum projects, is more common).
2
Convention