Do we need to categorize it? Reflections on constituencies and quotas as tools for negotiating difference in the global food sovereignty convergence space

ABSTRACT

Convergence – as an objective and as a process – designates the coming together of different social actors across strategic, political, ideological, sectoral and geographic divides. In this paper, we analyze the global food sovereignty movement (GFSM) as a convergence space, with a focus on constituencies and quotas as tools to maintain diversity while facilitating convergence. We show how the use of constituencies and quotas has supported two objectives of the GFSM: alliances building and effective direct representation in global policy-making spaces. We conclude by pointing to some convergence challenges the GFSM faces as it expands beyond its agrarian origins.     

Dalits and politics in rural North India: The Bahujan Samaj party in Uttar Pradesh

In the last decade the Bahaujan Samaj Party has established a strong electoral presence in northern India. It has been particularly successful in Uttar Pradesh where it has participated in government three times in the 1990s. Although the party seeks to mobilise the support of the ‘bahujan’ — the non‐high caste majority of the population — it is argued here, on the basis of aggregate and survey analysis, that it has been constrained by its excessive reliance on just some sections of former untouchables (Dalits). The Bahujan Samaj Party represents a significant social and political movement of some Dalit groups but it has failed to secure the support of the wider population of the rural poor.     

Foreign Contacts of the Communist Party of China

THE Communist Party of China is a political party that is firmly rooted in national conditions,attaches great importance to contacts with the outside world,and excels in absorbing advanced experience from beyond its borders.The Party has sustained international exchanges throughout its 90-year history.In the course of the Chinese revolution,construction of New China and its later reforms,its outstanding ability to avidly develop foreign relations and make positive use of them is one of the secrets of its...