À l'ombre de la reconnaissance : politiques identitaires et conflit social en Bolivie

The recent political and constitutional reforms that gave birth to a new plurinational state model in Bolivia took place in the framework of a larger international debate over the “indigenous question”. Drawing upon a multidisciplinary and diachronic perspective as well as the findings of two years of field work in Bolivia, I underscore the effects these reforms – which may more generally be classified under broader “politics of recognition” – have had on processes of identity construction. I also examine how the relationship between identity and resource allocation has been consolidated in order to explain the process by which identity has been ethnicized, resulting in new conflicts between rural communities (indigenous people vs. peasants). Drawing upon the views expressed by individuals as well as their actions, I offer a (ontological and operational) critique of this type of politics and its effects on a social environment already marked by economic weakness and social exclusion.