Finding the cracks: How do frontline officials maneuver state institutions to advance Indigenous rights to land and environment?

Kløcker Larsen R, Funder M, Golkar-Dakin C, Gustafsson MT, Hunsberger C, Marani M, Schilling-Vacaflor A (2025)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2025

Journal

Earth System Governance Elsevier

Book Volume: 25

Article Number: 100270

DOI: 10.1016/j.esg.2025.100270

Abstract

This paper challenges the monolithic portrayal of the state as inherently ‘bad’ when it comes to implementation of Indigenous rights. Offering a comparative analysis of case studies from four continents we demonstrate examples of frontline state officials proactively advancing Indigenous rights to land and environment. Combining distinct literatures on institutional theory, we develop an analytical framework that sheds light on bureaucratic agency within state-Indigenous relations. The findings show how government organizations maintain a broadly colonial agenda, but that officials on the inside sometimes manage to advance decolonizing or otherwise supportive actions. We propose the concept of institutional braiding to describe this agency exerted by state officials in collaboration with Indigenous representatives when navigating co-existing normative orders. By examining the fraught institutional constraints faced by frontline actors, we contribute to debates on Indigenous-state relations and the prospects of reaching common ground in the contact zone between divergent ontologies.

Authors with CRIS profile

Almut Schilling-Vacaflor del Carpio Lehrstuhl für International Business, Society and Sustainability

Involved external institutions

Uppsala University SE Sweden (SE) Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS) DK Denmark (DK) Western University CA Canada (CA) Stockholm University / Stockholms universitet SE Sweden (SE) University of Nairobi (UON) KE Kenya (KE)

How to cite

APA:

Kløcker Larsen, R., Funder, M., Golkar-Dakin, C., Gustafsson, M.T., Hunsberger, C., Marani, M., & Schilling-Vacaflor, A. (2025). Finding the cracks: How do frontline officials maneuver state institutions to advance Indigenous rights to land and environment? Earth System Governance, 25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esg.2025.100270

MLA:

Kløcker Larsen, Rasmus, et al. "Finding the cracks: How do frontline officials maneuver state institutions to advance Indigenous rights to land and environment?" Earth System Governance 25 (2025).

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