A tribute to Willem Assies (1954-2010) : reflections on his contribution to peasant and indigenous studies.

Un homenaje a Willem Assies (1954-2010) : reflexiones sobre su contribución a los estudios indígenas y campesinos.

This article discusses the manifold contributions of Willem Assies to the social sciences and Latin American studies. It focuses on his writings on agrarian and peasant studies, social movements, and indigenous peoples. In particular, he made important contributions to our understanding of multicultural citizenship, the multiethnic state, and plurinational democracy. His writings had a major impact on those working on rural and indigenous peoples’ issues, although the Dutch academic establishment largely failed to appreciate his exceptional talents. It is argued in this article that he never wavered from his early recognition of the importance of class in social analysis, while acknowledging its limitations. In his view, one of the central challenges facing the indigenous peoples’ social movements was how to link indigenous issues to general national problems. To what extent had they met this challenge? His premature death prevented him from exploring this key issue further, but hopefully other scholars will take up the baton and continue to debate his ideas.

1. Assies, W. (1987). The agrarian question in Peru: some observations on the roads of capital. The Journal of Peasant Studies, 14(4), 500-532.
2. Assies, W. (1990). Of structured moves and moving structures: an overview of theoretical perspectives on social movements. En: W. Assies, G. Burgwal, y T. Salman (eds.), Structures of power, movements of resistance: an introduction to the theories of urban movements in Latin America (pp. 9-98). Amsterdam: CEDLA.
3. Assies, W. (1992). To get out of the mud: neighborhood associativism in Recife, 1964-1988. Amsterdam: CEDLA. Puede descargarse de http://www.cedla.uva.nl/50_publications/archive_CLAS.html#63 .
4. Assies, W. (1994). Urban social movements in Brazil: a debate and its dynamics. Latin American Perspectives, 21(2), 81-105.
5. Assies, W. (1997). The extraction of non-timber forest products as a conservation strategy in Amazonia. European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies, 62, 33-53.
6. Assies, W. (1999). Theory, practice and ‘external actors’ in the making of new urban social movements in Brazil. Bulletin of Latin American Research, 18(2), 221-226. Parte de una edición especial sobre movimientos sociales y cambio religioso editado por David Lehmann.
7. Assies, W. (2000a). Lands, territories and indigenous peoples’ rights. En: A. Zoomers y G. van der Haar (eds.), Current land policy in Latin America regulating land tenure under neoliberalism (pp. 93-109). Amsterdam: KIT Publishers.
8. Assies, W. (2000b). Indigenous peoples and reform of the state in Latin America. En: W. Assies, G. van der Haar, y A. J. Hoekema (eds.) The challenge of diversity: indigenous peoples and reform of the state in Latin America (pp. 3-21). Amsterdam: Thela Publishers.
9. Assies, W. (2002). From rubber estate to simple commodity production: agrarian struggles in the northern Bolivian Amazon. The Journal of Peasant Studies, 18(2), 83-130.
10. Assies, W. (2003). David fights Goliath in Cochabamba: water rights, neoliberalism and the renovation of social protest in Bolivia. Tinkazos: Bolivian Social Sciences Journal. Anthology 1998-2002, 179-205.
11. Assies, W. (2005a). The challenge of diversity in rural Latin America: a rejoinder to Jean-Pierre Reed (y otros). Journal of Peasant Studies, 32(2), 261-371.
12. Assies, W. (2005b). Some notes on citizenship, civil society and social movements. En: W. Assies, M. A. Calderón y T. Salman (eds.) Citizenship, political culture and state transformation in Latin America (pp. 93-110). Amsterdam: Dutch University Press and Zamora: El Colegio de Michoacán.
13. Assies, W. (2006). Land tenure legislation in a pluri-cultural and multi-ethnic society: the case of Bolivia. The Journal of Peasant Studies, 33(4), 569-611.
14. Assies, W. (2008). Land tenure and tenure regimes in Mexico: an overview. Journal of Agrarian Change, 8(1), 33-63.
15. Assies, W. (2009a). Land tenure, land law and development: some thoughts on recent debates. The Journal of Peasant Studies, 36(3), 573-589.
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22. Assies, W., van der Haar, G. y Hoekema, A. J. (2000). Diversity as a challenge: a note on the dilemmas of diversity. En: W. Assies, G. van der Haar, y A. J. Hoekema (eds.) The challenge of diversity: indigenous peoples and reform of the state in Latin America (pp. 295-315). Amsterdam: Thela Publishers.
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