Abstract
This introduction frames key questions on biofuels, land and agrarian change within agrarian political economy, political sociology and political ecology. It identifies and explains big questions that provide the starting point for the contributions to this collection. We lay out some of the emerging themes which define the politics of biofuels, land and agrarian change revolving around global (re)configurations; agro-ecological visions; conflicts, resistances and diverse outcomes; state, capital and society relations; mobilising opposition, creating alternatives; and change and continuity. An engaged agrarian political economy combined with global political economy, international relations and social movement theory provides an important framework for analysis and critique of the conditions, dynamics, contradictions, impacts and possibilities of the emerging global biofuels complex. Our hope is that this collection demonstrates the significance of a political economy of biofuels in capturing the complexity of the 'biofuels revolution' and at the same time opening up questions about its sustainability in social and environmental terms that provide pathways towards alternatives.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 575-592 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| Journal | Journal of Peasant Studies |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 23 Sep 2010 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This collection comes out of the workshop on the same theme held in October 2009 in Halifax, Canada, sponsored by the Journal of Peasant Studies and Initiatives in Critical Agrarian Studies (ICAS). We thank all the workshop participants, with special mention to Diamantino Nhampossa of União Nacional de Camponeses Moc¸ ambique (UNAC) and Via Campesina-Africa, for their participation, and the Canada Research Chairs Program, International Development Studies (IDS) Program at Saint Mary’s University, and the Inter-Church Organization for Development Cooperation (ICCO) through ICAS for financial assistance. We also thank all the scholars who peer-reviewed the papers, but for obvious reasons have to remain anonymous.