Uneasy alliances: Household and community partnerships in rural Ecuador.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

As the title suggests, this dissertation is about relationships forged by alliances: alliances between people sharing household membership, alliances between members of a small, rural farming community in northeastern Ecuador, and, finally, alliances between the men and women of that rural community and representatives from several state and international organizations intent on helping community members “develop” local resources. The central theme concerns negotiation and bargaining in relationships during moments of conflict and contestation, and the potential such moments hold for radically transforming the nature of established relationships.
In keeping with this core concern, the individual chapters describe and analyze an array of relationships to highlight the ambivalence with which individuals often approach such alliances. Whether we are discussing household, community, or transnational alliances, the resulting relationships can lead to mutually beneficial relationships in which people share resources and knowledge and work collaboratively to realize commonly defined goals. At the same time, these alliances can be tenuous and conflict-laden. While disagreements are a part of any collaborative effort, this dissertation demonstrates how serious and prolonged disagreements can threaten household and community alliances, while also providing the impetus to renegotiate power and authority in relationships. However, using situations of conflict as a means to critically re-examine relationships can lead to innovation and the transformation of these relationships.
When individuals argue over how resources should be allocated within the household, each individual is also attempting to assert his or her own interpretation of the significance of shared household membership. What does it mean to pool resources with other household members? To withhold resources or steal from others? An individual's decision whether or not to share resources has a direct material impact on the household economy, but it also makes a strong statement about what household relationships mean to that individual. If practice cannot be separated from meaning, then we must realize that conflicts over particular practices challenge and question meanings. Seen from this perspective, it becomes apparent how conflict, negotiation, and bargaining—whether at the level of the household or community—can serve as mechanisms for social transformation.