Indigenous Rights as Tactics of Neoliberal Governance

Abstract

Indigenous rights are being increasingly recognised globally. This article argues that this recognition does not reflect radically changed positions on the part of states and other actors but rather a development indicating the cost-effective operation of neoliberal governance. The biopolitical aspect of that governance regulates the life of indigenous populations as collectivities, with rights used tactically in this process. The material for this article consists of reports of the United Nations special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples. The approach of governmentality is used to study how the rapporteur’s expert interpretations make indigenous peoples governable in particular ways, that is, through specific practices of power. The research identifies three such practices bearing on indigenous rights: indigenous peoples as exceptional – the necessity to intervene; indigenous rights – uncertain and calculated and indigenous peoples as claimants – the right to remedies. Expertise and legality function to depoliticise the language of indigenous rights, with states and other actors seemingly governing indigenous peoples less, yet, in recognising their rights, governing them more cost-effectively. These power effects go beyond the stated aims of safeguarding indigenous peoples and should be considered when indigenous rights are negotiated.

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