Kashwan, Prakash

Commons - global and local are witnessing a resurgence of interest from scholars, activists, and policymakers. Yet, this resurgence occurs within a context that is remarkably different from the context of the late 1980s and early 1990s when commons and common property gained prominence. The current context is characterized by an explosion of inequality, greatly exacerbated environmental and climate crisis, and increasingly powerful policy regimes captured by global political and economic elites. The effects of the polycrisis are especially intense within the context of resource governance and resource grab. This roundtable brings together a diverse group of scholars who have made unique contributions to the debates on the relationship between the commons and environmental justice, just sustainability, social causes of vulnerability, including the role of social and economic inequality in the constitution and governance of commons.

This roundtable will explore some of the following themes drawing on the expertise on the panel:
What lessons does the scholarship on urban commons and just sustainability offer for enhancing the commons scholars’ engagement with questions of justice?
How might unequal access to markets and other economic opportunities shape the governance and stewardship of commons in rural and urban areas?
What lessons can we draw from radical feminist scholarship to enrich our understanding of commons and commoning in the presence of deeply entrenched inequalities?
What frameworks, other than environmental and climate justice, might help scholars investigate effects of power and inequality in commons?

Julian Agyeman Professor, Urban & Environmental Policy & Planning, Tufts University
Sheila R. Foster, Professor, Climate School, Columbia University.
Prakash Kashwan, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies, Brandeis University
Diana Ojeda Professor, International Studies and Geography; Director, Ostrom Workshop Commons Program, Indiana University
Jesse Ribot Professor Environment, Development & Health, School of International Services, American University
Moderator: Praneeta Mudaliar, Assistant Professor Geography, Geomatics and Environment, University of Toronto Mississauga"""

Indigenous territories, often managed as community-governed commons, host some of the most valuable biodiversity areas and Indigenous rights have gained prominence in the debates on biodiversity conservation. For example, Indigenous and Other Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs) have become a permanent part of global conservation. Yet, these Indigenous commons and Indigenous Peoples also bear the burden of long and painful histories of colonization and neocolonial dominance of western models of resource extraction. This author meets critics roundtable is organized as a reflective conservation around the key themes from Kashwan & Hasnain’s Decolonizing Environmentalism: Alternative Visions and Practices of Environmental Action (Bloomsbury 2024) to distill lessons for the constitutions and governance of commons. The panel will engage with debates on the role of Indigenous communities in biodiversity conservation, the praxis of Indigenous environmentalism, and social movements acting collectively to protect community rights to seed commons, food sovereignty, and decolonization of resource management regimes. Participants: Kiran Asher (Professor & Department Chair, Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies, UMass, Amherst). Gendered and racialized dimensions of social and environmental change in the global south as well as the meanings and practices of feminist “field work.” Mwangi wa Gĩthĩnji (Associate Professor of Economics, UMass, Amherst). Political economy of development with particular interest in Africa and issues of inequality, poverty, rural development and the environment.

The discourse on power has become a crucial focus for commons scholars, especially in the context of striving for a more just and sustainable future. Recent studied highlight how race, gender, caste, and class influence power dynamics and shape local and multi-level collective action in a range of commons, including urban and transboundary commons. Critical commons scholars have expanded the understanding of commons beyond economic resources to include social and symbolic aspects, such as affective attachment to commons and the philosophy and praxis of commoning.

To further the research agenda on power, inequalities, and institutions, this panel invites submissions that draw upon diverse ideas and disciplines in the present context of the polycrisis. We welcome contributions that focus on, but not necessarily limited to, the following questions:

How do micro-level social inequalities and power dynamics shape local commons governance?

In what ways do political and economic structures shape institutions and influence individual and collective actions in the commons?

How can conceptualizing commons as social and symbolic spaces enhance our understanding of power dynamics?

What strategies can be employed to address and mitigate power imbalances in commons governance?

How do intersectionality and solidarity manifest in the governance and management of commons?