How Indigenous Identity and Recognition Shape Perceptions of Democracy and Inclusion

Michael Albertus
Professor of Political Science
University of Chicago

This lecture is based on this paper by Michael Albertus.

The recognition of indigenous claims to land and traditional authority have advanced rapidly in recent decades in many countries around the globe. How do these processes impact perceptions of democracy and inclusion? Prominent perspectives suggest that recognizing indigenous claims to community identity and authority can carve out spheres of detached autonomy and even subnational authoritarianism as communities “retreat” from the collective polity and reclaim customary practices and land claims. I examine this in the context of Peru, where the assertion of local community authority has spawned the official recognition of thousands of communities covering approximately one-third of the national territory. I leverage spatial and temporal variation in indigenous community recognition paired with detailed household survey data to examine in an age cohort analysis framework how these processes shape community members’ views on democratic governance and inclusion.

Presented by the Kellogg Institute Research Cluster on Democratization Theory.