| Description |
This comparative analysis between Costa Rica and Peru serves as an examination of the paradigms guiding national policy and discourse, with the potential outcome of being able to provide a clearer conceptualization of national and international relations that would be useful in other situations and contexts. The questions "What are the underlying paradigms informing the actions of different nations and their subnational actors?"; "How are these paradigms constructed and re-constructed?" and "What are the future implications of these paradigms; how can they be relevant to other contexts?" guide the analysis that uses mining conflicts as the platform for examining the conversations between governmental and civic society actors constituting national paradigms. The colonial and political histories are examined as well as the influence of civic society and international actors, using theories and literature introducing World Systems Analysis, eco-authoritarianism, and epistemic communities to conceptualize and understand the complex relations and paradigms that subsequently develop. Individual case studies of mining conflicts from each country are then studied as well, finding that the most salient theme and paradigm in both countries is a sense of legitimacy-in Peru, a lack of legitimacy between government and civic society leads to exploitative neoliberalist policies, while in Costa Rica the importance of legitimacy is mutually upheld and leads to environmentally literate actions. This suggests that the mutual respect and trust that occurs within a context of legitimacy are imperative to developing a paradigm that values the environment more, and that any forces eroding this relationship also work to constitute a harmful national paradigm. |
