Contested Territories: Lessons from Interdisciplinary Dialogues on Conflict, Resistance and Alternatives in Latin America

This working paper develops a typology of contested territories to offer a more holistic, interscalar, and interdisciplinary understanding of the spaces, actors, relationships, and processes that determine the emergence, consolidation, and transformation of specific territories. The six types or dimensions examined in this paper are: imagining, fighting over, delimiting, situating, using, and governing contesting territories. By examining these types, we seek to revise and refine the understandings of the multidimensional and multi-thematic nature of contested territories and complement the discussion about territorial accumulation. In addition to highlighting the general and particular questions and the conceptual and methodological approaches that underlie these forms of territorial contestation, we identify different topics that we consider critical for future research and action. This typology results from the analysis of the papers presented at three international workshops held at the universities of Leeds, York, and Sheffield, UK, and the extensive review of recent literature on contested territories in Latin America. Both were part of the research collaboration initiative on Contested Territories in Latin America funded by the White Rose University Consortium.